Fluffy Buckwheat Pancakes (GF + EASY)
Gluten-free and EASY to prepare, these are the perfect breakfast pancakes.
Hello, and welcome to May. The month of cooler days and slower starts, herbal teas and breakfast in bed.
Speaking of which, I’m sharing my gluten-free buckwheat pancake recipe with you this week. Buckwheat is a gluten-free, pseudo-cereal that makes a perfect pancake base (originating from the knotweed family, buckwheat resembles cereal grain with its high starch content, but is unrelated to grains or wheat).
In traditional European recipes, buckwheat was always fermented or pre-soaked over a period of time to make it easier to digest, and the nutrients more readily available. In this recipe, I pre-soak the flour in a sour-tasting, yoghurt, but you could also swap this for another acidic medium such as a live sourdough starter, lemon juice or wild vinegar.
Here’s a pic of the pancake base after three days of fermentation time. Notice the bubbles?
What do you serve with pancakes?
Personally, I love upping the carbs to cream ratio, so I’d be adding a dollop of no-churn chocolate olive oil ice-cream. Alternatively, the no-churn vanilla base from the lamington ice-cream cake is a real winner.
My kids are smitten by fresh berries right now, so a low-sugar chia jam recipe would work, as would fresh fruit, raw honey and creme fraiche. Whatever your do, make sure you request a creamy bullet-proof coffee on the side (honestly, your life will change with this one), or a sensible cup of thinker’s tea :)
(Note- some of the above links go to my instagram page, if you are not on instagram, but still want the recipe, send me a wave in the comments, and I’ll post it here:)
What I’m Loving This Week -
My kefir grains have TAKEN OFF (quite literally!) and they have been bubbling (albeit singing) on my kitchen benchtop.
If you are not familiar with kefir, I highly recommend you give it a red hot go. Kefir grains are loaded with beneficial probiotic bacteria strains and are very easy to make at home. You can buy various kefir strains online, but I’ve found, the most active cultures come through friends that have a healthy batch brewing at home (kefir grows with time, so people are often giving it away). I found mine through our local Buy Nothing group, and I’ve seen plenty of grass-root networks onling.
Tip - you can swap the yoghurt + milk combo found in the buckwheat pancakes recipe, for an equal quantity of bubbling kefir (see recipe note). This will most likely have a higher bacteria content than the store bought yoghurt.
EMF-proofing our home. Yes, really. I’ve had a building biologist visit this week, and I’ve also invested in EMF-proof clothing for myself and the kids when we sit at the computer for long periods of time. The EMF-proof clothing is made by a local Melbourne brand, and the fabric that they use blocks 99.99% of EMF rays. It’s been a game-changer in our home, as I’ve been thinking clearer and sleeping better. It’s also very useful in shopping centres and cinemas (where the EMF is often very high).
If you are interested, the brand is RadiaSmart, and it was founded by a local Melbourne parent. There’s a discount on offer if you enter WHOLEFOODS at checkout:)
RECIPE: Fluffy Buckwheat Pancakes
What You Will Need:
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
1 cup sour-tasting yoghurt
1 cup milk of choice
1/3 cup coconut or rapadura sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
pinch of vanilla
butter for frying
coconut oil for frying
Ingredient variations -
Traditional versions of the French buckwheat pancake used fresh raw milk. If you are reading this post in Europe or America, you can purchase fresh (unpasteurised) milk from your local supermarket, farmers market or health food store.
When I was recipe testing this week, I swapped my freshly brewed kefir for the milk + yoghurt combination (kefir has the texture of drinking yoghurt, so this was a good mix) and it worked really well.
What You Need To Do-
Combine the buckwheat flour with the milk and yoghurt. Mix well using electric beaters or whisk, and set aside. Leave the mixture for 2-3 hours or overnight at room temperature (choosing a cool, dark place). After this time, you can prepare the recipe, or set it aside for longer in the fridge.
To make the pancakes - add the remaining ingredients and mix well using electric beaters or a whisk.
Prepare a frypan on a medium heat and add a small knob of butter and coconut oil (aim for a 1:1 ratio of both fats).
Place spoonfuls of the mixture onto the fry pan, allow small bubbles to form, then flip to the other side.
Serve warm with ice-cream, jam or fresh berries.
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