“Ancient grain” pancakes (of the thin, roll-able variety)

Unabashedly simple. No-nonsense food. That’s what pancakes seem to be. Whether they are stacked, spherical, or of the thin, roll-able variety, it is a universal comfort food. I have good memories of my dad making pancakes in the morning, sometimes even on those busy school days. He always makes the best breakfasts and still does. When I was even younger, I still remember my grandmother, who moved to the Philippines when I was about 7 years old, making pancakes and mixing the batter with her hands–no whisk or spatula. She always seems to have the magic touch when she cooks. Her food is always good, including the pancakes. So I have a soft spot for pancakes. While I have fond childhood memories of thick, fluffy pancakes, I am growing to love pancakes in all it’s forms and am a new fan of the thin pancakes, which is more common outside the US. When I first had blintzes with all the different fillings, I was hooked. I had to have rollable pancakes in my repertoire. Now here it is,  a recipe for thin pancakes with “ancient grains.”

Mmmmm….that’s all I can say right now about these pancakes.

I tweaked the traditional Swedish-style pancakes with some ancient grain flour from King Arthur Flour. They had a sale and I couldn’t resist ordering this flour. It’s a mixture of 30% each of amaranth, millet, and sorghum flours + the quinoa flour for remaining 10%. So you could make your own using that formula, for instance 300 g each of amaranth, millet, and sorghum flour + 100 g of quinoa flour. It would probably be cheaper that way. Actually, I would prefer making my own because I prefer to toast quinoa flour as it gets rid of excess saponins and overpowering bitterness.

This is how the ancient grain flour blend looks. It’s a pretty yellow-hued color, I think. And, it’s gluten-free as well! hehe. I add ground psyllium husk and ground flax seed to help everything gel since there is no gluten here.

Here’s how the batter looks like. I like to use a blender for a smooth batter, but you don’t need it. It’s a standard pancake batter in which you mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, just with a more liquid-y consistency. Gradually you whisk in half of the dry mix to the wet mix and once that is combined, whisk in the remaining dry mix until everything is moistened. Before you mix everything togetether, however, I suggest heating up your griddle, or, as I suggest, a cast-iron skillet. If you don’t know already, I’m a big fan of cast-iron.

It looks kind of like a crepe, but a bit thicker and easier to flip. Cook each side until GBD (for golden brown delicious, as Alton Brown likes to say).

You can stack them and keep them warm in the oven while you cook up the rest of the batter. I snuck in a taste while cooking. Very delicious, though I would use my own ancient grain flour blend as I don’t think this King Arthur brand toasts the quinoa flour. I like quinoa flour to be a little less assertive. So if you don’t like quinoa flour, I think that any multi-grain gluten-free flour blend would be fine as long as you add the ground psyllium and ground flax as the binding agents.

The cheese filling. You can use a non-dairy alternative, like the cashew cheese on my last post, if you desire.

We went Swedish-style with lingonberry preserves as the topping. I wish I can get my hands on some fresh lingonberries so I can make my own lingonberry sauce, but the Ikea brand that my sister got me is really good. The Ikea Swedish pancake mix is really good too! You can put any topping you want, even ice cream if you feel like!

Pancakes with cheese filling and fruit topping. No other adornment needed. 🙂

Ancient Grain Pancakes with Cheese Filling

Serving size, about 4

Ingredients

Pancakes

• 175 grams ancient grains flour blend (King Arthur Flour brand or can make your own, alternatively could use your favorite multi-grain gluten-free flour blend)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground psyllium husks
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar (optional)
• 3 eggs
• 2.5 cups milk (or non-dairy milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons butter (or coconut oil) melted and cooled slightly
• Cooking oil
• Filling and toppings:  fresh fruit, fruit preserves, maple syrup, chocolate sauce, cheese filling, whipped cream, chopped nuts, etc.

1. Heat griddle or cast-iron pan on medium.
2. Dry ingredients:  Whisk together the ancient grain flour, ground flax, ground psyllium, salt, and  evaporated cane sugar.
3. Wet ingredients:  In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, and butter.
4. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, whisk until combined. Alternatively, you can use a blender.
5. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
6. Add a dash of oil to the griddle, swirl around to coat the surface.
7. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter and swirl around to coat the pan. Cook about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
8. Keep warm in a ~200 degrees F oven and serve immediately with your favorite fillings and toppings.

Cheese filling

• 8 ounces cream cheese (or 4 oz. cream cheese + 4 oz. goat cheese), room temp-softened–can microwave in 30 second intervals until softened, then cool it slightly
• 1 cup ricotta (or 1/2 cup ricotta and 1/2 cup mascarpone)
• 2 tablespoons evaporated cane sugar (or 2 teaspoons stevia powder)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)

Mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined. Put 2-3 tablespoons of filling on a pancake and roll up.

I must say, slicing into these pancakes is as much fun as eating  a stack of fluffy hotcakes and also as delicious, if not more 😀

Happy Sunday all!

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