Last Friday I received an e-mail that read: “THE
SHOCKING TRUTH ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME.” [Pause.] Could there be
something truly sinister lurking about this yearly occurrence? Something worthy
of all caps font?
Something so shocking that it could lure me into losing time
by clicking on a link about losing time? Are we (and I use the collective “we”
loosely here) really trying to drum up commotion over time? One
hour, to be exact.
I never did get jazzed up enough to actually click on the
link. Sorry. Consider me a Daylight Saving
deadbeat. I guess we'll never
know the shocking truth. What I do know is that what
we’ve lost in time we can potentially gain in pancakes.
Pancakes, now pancakes incite passion. I’ve been
looking for the perfect recipe. And I think it’s safe to say I’ve found my syrup
mate. In fact, I’ve been holding
out on you. At least one—if not
two—rounds of saving daylight have gone by without me sharing the recipe. This was not intentional, I assure
you.
They were just hard to photograph. I would stand in my kitchen flipping
pancakes, eating them hot and crispy straight from the pan, and labeling the glass jar of forks on my countertop as situationally obsolete. By the time I’d sit down to eat
breakfast, I’d have a belly full. Eating a composed stack seemed a tad aggressive. So it took some restraint to get this shot. I hope you can appreciate that.
Because these pancakes are a special breed. Though they have a
healthy dose of whole grain in them, they refuse to come off as heavy. And, yes, it’s absolutely worth the
extra step of whipping the egg whites separately. Take the time. I know we’ve recently lost an hour, but
it’s important. It’s equally
important that the butter and sugar make their way into the batter. I know what you’re thinking, but just
do it. All of it. These things make the pancakes light and buttery and slightly sweet.
No accompaniments necessary. Though, a drizzle of grade B maple syrup and a healthy pat
of butter is unabashedly appropriate.
So butter away. Gild with
syrup.
Now, depending on you and your breakfast routine, what
happens next may vary. Normally, I try to use breakfast time
to compose myself before the-madness-that-is-life begins. But there is really no other way to say
this. THESE PANCAKES ARE SO
DELICIOUS THAT YOU MAY FALL OFF YOUR CHAIR IN SHOCK. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED.
Buckwheat Buttermilk Pancakes
Inspired by the Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant and A Chica Bakes
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1½ cups buttermilk
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus a few tablespoons more for
the pan or griddle)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
Sift the flours and baking powder into a large
mixing bowl; mix in the sugar and salt and set aside. In a
medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk the wet liquid into the flour
mixture until well combined. Whip
the egg whites in another medium bowl until soft peaks form (when the peaks are just starting to hold and firm up). This can be done
in a mixer, though I tend to whip them by hand to because it’s less mess to clean
up; it only takes a minute or two with a whisk.
Mix ½ of the whipped egg whites into the pancake batter by
gently folding them in with a rubber spatula and then do the same with the
remaining whites. (You will have
little pockets of egg whites that do not get fully incorporated and that’s
okay, you don’t want to overmix here.)
Heat a pan or griddle on medium heat and grease well with
butter. Pour a scant ¼ cup batter
for each pancake into the pan or griddle, allowing for enough room to flip
them. They are ready to turn when
they start to bubble and appear golden brown when you gently lift their bottoms
up. When the pancakes are cooked
through on the other side, remove them and repeat
until all batter has been used.
Yields about 15 pancakes
Notes:
-The Clinton Street Baking Company & Restaurant is a brunch spot in NYC. They've created quite a following for their pancakes. They also have a cookbook. It made The New York Time's Year's Best Cookbooks in 2010. No biggie.
-The original recipe doesn't include buckwheat. But I've been on a bit of a buckwheat kick, so half of the all purpose allotment went to my new favorite flour. (They are also extremely good with just all purpose flour.) I also halved the recipe and made smaller pancakes; they're a bit bigger than silver dollar size, but not by much.
-I also cut the butter in half. They were so buttery the first time I made them that I had a hard time justifying additional butter. I like to use a decent amount of butter when griddling. And then I also like to add more butter with the syrup. So I figured enough was enough was enough. The original also calls for milk instead of buttermilk.
-Once again, friends, this is a perfect food to freeze.
Hmm... I've never even bought buckwheat flour. Now I'm going to have to. :)
ReplyDeleteLike Megan, I've never tried using buckwheat flour. These look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the warning, but not even the threat of scandal could keep me away from pancakes (these or any other).
ReplyDeleteAnd I love Clinton Street; I was there once a few years ago and their muffins were nothing short of amazing.
Pancakes so delicious they're worth the all caps? I'M IN!
ReplyDeleteI have to say we usually make buckwheat waffles instead of pancakes...but I bet this recipe would work out great in the waffle iron too. (And I used to live just a few blocks from Clinton St., but never ate there for some reason! So sad!) :)
ReplyDeletei've definitely noticed that pancakes are especially difficult to photograph. i think the trick is that you have to have a stack to sacrifice, and that's very hard to this gal to do. :)
ReplyDelete