Adam has been working on this recipe for quite some time, and I think it is ready for a debut on the blog.  It’s loosely based on the Nourishing Traditions pancake recipe, but we found that if we followed that recipe to the letter the resulting pancakes didn’t have such a great texture.

The biggest difference is Adam uses baking powder.  Oddly, Nourishing Traditions seems very adamant about not using baking powder, but I have yet to find an explanation why.  So we’ll keep using it until we see some strong evidence against it.

Amounts here are not exact, because Adam never measures, but you’ll get the idea when you see the pictures.

100% Whole Grain Pancakes (That Actually Taste Good)
1 1/2 c. whole grain flour (we often use a combo of 1 c. wheat + 1/2 c. buckwheat)
Approx. 1 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 T. baking powder
1/4 c. butter, melted and then slightly cooled
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
Blueberries (optional)

First of all, if you can possibly get your hands on freshly milled flour, that is ideal.  Our flour mill has totally revolutionized our cooking.  However, store-bought whole wheat flour, as long as it’s relatively fresh, is fine.

Put your flour into a glass container and add enough buttermilk to make it very wet.  Soak overnight on your countertop (no refrigeration req’d).

The next morning, your flour will have soaked up most of the buttermilk, and the consistency will be much thicker.  Soaking is the most important step of this recipe, so don’t skip it!

Add all the rest of the ingredients and stir.  If it seems insanely thick, add a little regular milk to desired consistency.

We added an 8 oz bag of frozen blueberries to this particular batch.  A full package like this is on the upper end of the right amount of blueberries to add.  If you add too many, it can make the pancakes fall apart when you cook them.

Fry over medium-low heat in a lightly-oiled pan (or use waffle maker).  These have a tendency to stick a bit more than regular pancakes so let one side cook very thoroughly before flipping.

Now that we’ve really figured out how to properly cook whole grains, I can’t say that I miss refined carbohydrates like white flour one bit.  Soaking is really the key, as it softens the grain, making it taste better as well as neutralizing phytic acid.

We’ve used a number of different grains here.  The other day Adam used about a cup of freshly-ground barley flour and 1/2 c. or so of rolled oats, keeping the rest of the recipe pretty much the same.  Freshly-ground brown rice and oats is also good.

Update, 18 Nov. 2009: We’ve been making pumpkin waffles with this recipe lately by adding 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg.  Top with plain yogurt and a little maple syrup.