Not-Too-Heavy Whole Grain Pancakes
Pancakes again? You bet. While last weekend’s Buttermilk Pancakes are a recipe I can’t live without, I admit that they’re not my standby, because they’re made with white flour rather than whole grain. These ones, on the other hand, are the pancakes I make the most often. I’ll generally grill a batch on a Saturday morning, eat just one, and stash the rest in a ziploc bag in the fridge for the coming week. These are guilt-free pancakes, full of fiber and omega three fatty acids (if you add flax seed, as I do). They’re both yummy and good for you, and thanks to a little secret I’m going to share with you, they’re unexpectedly light and fluffy.
I’ve attempted many recipes for whole grain pancakes over the past several years, seeking to meld my love of the flat griddle cake with my desire to maintain a diet grounded in whole foods. While whole grains can provide fabulous flavor in baked goods, they also tend to yield a denser, heavier texture, which is what I was trying to avoid. Finally, New York Times food writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman offered a solution. In his recipe for Whole Grain Pancakes in Food Matters, he suggests simply separating the eggs and beating the whites separately, then folding them into the pancake batter as the final step before cooking, to add lightness and volume. It works.
This version of Whole Grain Pancakes, which combines whole wheat flour with oat bran, and is sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, has become my favorite, and the extra step of beating the egg whites separately is, I think, worth the result.
Whole Grain Pancakes
2 eggs, separated
2 cups milk (2% makes the batter a little richer, but skim does just fine, too)
3 tablespoons sweet cream butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons maple syrup (if you don’t have maple syrup handy, you can substitute 2 tablespoons of agave nectar or raw sugar)
1-1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oat bran
2 tablespoons ground flax seed (optional)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the egg yolks, milk, melted butter, vanilla, and maple syrup, and beat well by hand. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix well. Gently, fold in the egg whites until just combined. Drop by 1/3 cupfuls onto a hot, greased skillet. Cook on one side until bubbles form, lifting the edge of the pancake every couple of minutes to check it for doneness; when the first side is golden brown, flip over and cook the other side, checking its progress as before. Remove to a platter placed in a warm oven until ready to serve. These are at their best with sweet cream butter and a drizzle of maple syrup.