http://www.care2.com/greenliving/healthy-pancake-tuesday.html
Healthy-Pancake Tuesday
By Melissa Breyer, Senior Producer, Care2 Green Living
Did you know that Mardi Gras is also known as Fat Tuesday, as well as Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Tuesday?!! Pancake Tuesday is the way they top off carnival season in the United Kingdom and we think it’s a glorious idea. And although, yes, the main motif of Mardi Gras is indulgence before fasting, we have decided we’ll indulge in some healthy pancakes that taste no less decadent. Read on for our secret for light and sweet, whole grain pancakes.
If you love pancakes but don’t love the idea of refined flour, let us introduce you to white whole wheat flour. White wheat is a naturally occurring albino variety of wheat, and when it is turned into whole wheat flour it doesn’t have the heavy taste of the common whole wheat flour (made from red wheat) that we are accustomed to. White whole wheat flour has the same nutritional and fiber benefits of red whole wheat, but since it doesn’t have the same tannins and phenolic acid found in the outer bran of red wheat, it is less bitter and tastes sweeter. Yay!
Many people love the taste of regular whole wheat, but sometimes, like for pancakes, a lighter alternative that doesn’t lack in nutrients and fiber is a godsend. You can buy white whole wheat flour at some health food stores or gourmet markets (like Whole Foods). You can also order it online from our favorite flour company, King Arthur Flour.
And now for the pancakes. You can try substituting some or all of the regular flour in your favorite pancake recipe with white whole wheat. Or follow our recipe, which, in the British Pancake Tuesday tradition, make pancakes that are thinner (more like crepes) than their fluffy American cousins. For a thicker pancake, use less buttermilk.
INGREDIENTS
1 cups white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup Sucanat
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups organic buttermilk
1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoons melted butter
oil or butter for the pan
1. Stir all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add wet ingredients.
2. Lightly stir until just combined, leaving some lumps. Overbeating will result in tough pancakes.
3. Brush skillet with oil or butter over medium heat until a droplet of water sizzles. Pour batter into pan and cook until small bubbles form in pancake. Flip, cook and remove to a warm plate.
4. Top with your favorite pancake toppings, and eat them like there’s no Wednesday.
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14 comments
add your comment »When I make pancakes, I use 3 or 4 flours. I pulverize oatmeal in a food processor, add cornmeal, flax seed, wheat germ, bran and add that to my base flour. (White wheat or whole grain would be best.) Baking soda or powder, vanilla, eggs,1/4 c. oil, buttermilk, sour cream, apple sauce or fruit is optional, too. I usually mix eggs and liquids first and then add dry ingredients. I don't measure or use a recipe. Good sense should prevail!
For waffles, add more eggs & oil! Make batter thicker.
Comfort Food:crepe-bread pudding-french toast.
Place 1 tlb. olive oil in non stick fry pan, add 2 slices of bread in small pieces,sugar, cinnamon. Stirfry to lightly brown, as toast. Mix two eggs, milk, vanilla,cinnamon, nutmeg and sweeten as preferred. Pour over toasted bread, cover and cook slowly until set. Serve as a large pancake with butter/syrup or place in a serving bowl to share. This is like a bread pudding-french toast comfort food. If you use 2 slices of bread and 2 eggs, it's a normal portion for breakfast, but seems like so much more to you, while eating it!
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When I make pancakes, I use 3 or 4 flours. I pulverize oatmeal in a food processor, add cornmeal, flax seed, wheat germ, bran and add that to my base flour. (White wheat or whole grain would be best.) Baking soda or powder, vanilla, eggs, buttermilk,sour cream apple sauce or fruit is optional, too. I usually mix eggs and liquids first and then add dry ingredients. I don't measure or use a recipe.
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What is sucranat? Where can I purchase it?
Thanks very much.
Joanne Robinson
jhr1622@comcast.net
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Thankyou for explaining what sucanat is. I always use natural raw muscovado sugar, which seems to be the same thing.
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In Catalunya (Spain) we celebrate Dijous (Thursday) Gras. We don't eat pancakes, but we prepare delicious "butifarra d'ou" omelettes. The butifarra d'ou is a sausage which wears egg as a component.
We also eat "coca de llardons", a pork crakling sort of pie.
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It's not just the UK that celebrates Pancake Tuesday, but also your next door neighbours - CANADA! It was always a tradition when I was growing up as a child to make pancakes on Pancake Tuesday. And we always had them thin like crepes. I've only recently learned about the connection with Mardi Gras.
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substitute olive oil for the melted butter and you add "good fat" to the other health benefits of these pancakes
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Whole wheat pastry flour, substituted 1-1 for white flour in any pancake or waffle recipe, gives a delightful whole wheat recipe. Whole wheat pastry flour is smooth, not gritty like regular whole wheat flour, mixes well, and tastes delicious! You may also use raw honey as a superior sugar substitute, low in hypoglycemic index. We add no sugar or honey as a rule, but put about a teaspoon of organic or otherwise pure maple syrup per cup of flour, to just sweeten it a bit. Delicious for both crepe style and regular pancakes.
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Liberal, Kansas also celebrates Pancake Day. Big celebration, and the two towns compete as well. Olney, England usually has the faster runners though. ;) Liberal is also home to the Wizard of Oz fest, and the original munchkins in the movie stil come back to celebrate each fall. They sure are getting up there in years, but they still make that commitment.
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I also like to sub in some corn flour - l I love the taste and texture it adds.
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