Heat up that griddle…time for some flapjacks!

I’m a pancake nut. I think they are, by far, my favourite breakfast. I would eat them every morning, big steaming stacks of them, if they weren’t so time consuming to make. On this page I’ll offer a basic pancake recipe, with some variations, and topping suggestions. This recipe yields enough pancakes for six pretty hungry people, or you can halve it.

Basic Pancakes

3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 tbsp alum-free baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup unrefined sugar, or granulated beet sugar
3 cups non-dairy milk whipped with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup tbsp light, natural oil (sunflower is best)

Begin by heating your skillet(s) over medium flame as you mix your ingredients.

Stir the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a large bowl.

Whip the milk, vinegar and oil together in another bowl.

Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, stirring lightly until the flour mixture is just moistened (there should still be lumps). It should be a loose batter (thin enough to pour, but not runny)

Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil to the heated pans. Use a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup measure to add batter to the pans – but don’t overcrowd them (depending on the size of your skillets, 3 – 4 pancakes per pan is probably good…)

Cook until the top of the pancake is covered in bubbles and the edges look quite dry, then flip. Only flip pancakes once during cooking. Cook on the other side for 30 to 60 seconds.

Serve immediately, or keep them warm in a 225F oven. Repeat until all the batter is used up – re-oiling the skillet(s) as neccessary.

Variations

Berry: Gently fold 1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries of your choice into the batter just before cooking.

Buckwheat: Substitute 1 1/2 c buckwheat flour for 1 1/2 cups of the unbleached flour.

Pineapple & Coconut: Mix 1 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut to the dry ingredients. Add 1 cup chopped, fresh or canned pineapple to the batter just before cooking.

Whole Wheat: Substitute 2/3 cup white flour and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour for 1 cup white flour. Omit the sugar and add 2 tbsp molasses, if desired. You can also make these 100% whole wheat pancakes by using all whole wheat flour, or 1/2 cup buckwheat flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour for a whole grain pancake. These may come out a little dry and flatter, but are still very tasty.

Toppings

Maple syrup
A drizzling of freshly squeezed lemon juice, and sprinkled with unrefined brown sugar (my personal favourite)
Fruit Compote
Tofu Whipped Cream
Apple Sauce

Eat up! They’re getting cold!