Whole wheat pancakes (etc)

[Aubrey]

I've tried replacing the white flour w/ WW, but they're tough. I've been doing 1/2 & 1/2, & that's ok, but I'm wondering if there's a better recipe or method or something. Is 1/2 & 1/2 the best I can do if I want them light & fluffy?

[milovany]

Maybe I'm just used to them, but our pancakes seem light and fluffy. (Whole wheat). What kind of whole wheat flour do you use? Something made with pastry flour (aka soft white wheat) would work best.

[Aubrey]

Maybe I'm just used to them, but our pancakes seem light and fluffy. (Whole wheat). What kind of whole wheat flour do you use? Something made with pastry flour (aka soft white wheat) would work best.

 

It's just Kroger brand. I've never heard of whole wheat pastry flour. I'm not sure I've heard of pastry flour, lol.

[Belacqua]

Maybe I'm just used to them, but our pancakes seem light and fluffy. (Whole wheat). What kind of whole wheat flour do you use? Something made with pastry flour (aka soft white wheat) would work best.

 

I agree that whole wheat pastry flour would work well. I use that for pancakes, mixing 3 parts whole wheat flour with 1 part farina (cream of wheat). Works pretty well.

[woolybear]

Do you add baking soda? That helps. Also, you can separate the eggs and whip the whites and then fold them in. That is generally way more effort than I want to put into anything before noon ;) but I thought I'd pass it on.

[Mabeline]

Maybe it is your recipe. We love this one from Alton Brown. I use the whole wheat flour from Bob's Red Mill and they come out great, fluffy but filling. Yum! HTH

[Sheila in OK]

Yes, if it is just regular (aka "hard") wheat they are going to be too tough. I grind my own wheat and use soft white for pancakes/cookies/etc. and hard white for bread. Sometimes (often) I am lazy and use a combo of 1/2 and 1/2 for everything and that works out too. If you want to keep using the flour you have, try 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat.

 

HTH!

[Wendi]

I prefer white whole wheat; it's real whole wheat, just lighter and milder. It's good for things like cookies and pancakes; I use it in recipes that call for whole wheat flour. You could also try recipes that call for whole wheat pastry flour.

 

Wendi

[Aubrey]

I agree that whole wheat pastry flour would work well. I use that for pancakes, mixing 3 parts whole wheat flour with 1 part farina (cream of wheat). Works pretty well.

 

Fascinating--I have never heard of using Cr of Wh for anything but Cr of Wh.

 

Is wh wh pastry flour as healthy as wh wh flour? Just curious.

[Aubrey]

I prefer white whole wheat; it's real whole wheat, just lighter and milder. It's good for things like cookies and pancakes; I use it in recipes that call for whole wheat flour. You could also try recipes that call for whole wheat pastry flour.

 

Wendi

 

This is good to know. I also made biscuits w/ wh wh flour a while back (& froze extras), but none of them turned out great. Wasn't sure if it was the freezing or the wh wh, but...bleh.

[abbeyej]

I find oat flour makes a *fabulous* whole grain substitute in pancake batter. Just run regular rolled oats through the blender until they reach the texture you want. (They will absorb more liquid than wheat flour, so don't use quite as much oatflour.)

[milovany]

 

Is wh wh pastry flour as healthy as wh wh flour? Just curious.

 

Yes, in the sense that it's *whole* wheat. I don't know about a nutrient-level difference between soft white and hard read wheat, but I doubt it's much different. In all my years of grinding my own flour and being big on "whole wheat" I've never heard anything about a difference.

Edited April 24, 2011 by milovaný

[Matryoshka]

I use a mix of whole grains - whole wheat pastry flour, oat flour, barley flour and buckwheat flour. I also separate the eggs and beat then fold in the whites.

 

I also usually mix in mashed bananas, but I'm not sure if that would make them lighter or heavier - I just like them. :)

 

I love whole grain pancakes. They aren't as fluffy as the white ones, but honestly, after getting used to whole grains, the white ones taste like glue and make me feel like I ate a sponge. :ack2: I actually can't even stand eating "regular" pancakes anymore.

 

To cut down on time, I make my own "mix" ahead of time which lasts a few weeks (I make pancakes on one weekend morning in the summers). It also has buttermilk powder, baking powder, and salt.

[Pegasus]

I love whole grain pancakes. They aren't as fluffy as the white ones, but honestly, after getting used to whole grains, the white ones taste like glue and make me feel like I ate a sponge. :ack2: I actually can't even stand eating "regular" pancakes anymore.

 

T

 

I think this is key. If you are used to white flour pancakes, the whole wheat ones are going to taste/feel heavy and tough. Once you are used to whole wheat (or other grains), the white flour pancakes will taste/feel pasty, mushy, etc.

 

If you are trying to go whole grain, I suggest changing over slowly. Use 75% white and 25% whole wheat a few times and then slowly increase the amount of whole wheat.

 

I actually think it is the "feel" or texture more than the taste. After I butter and syrup, who can taste the pancake?!?

 

Pegasus

[plansrme]

I agree that whole wheat pastry flour would work well. I use that for pancakes, mixing 3 parts whole wheat flour with 1 part farina (cream of wheat). Works pretty well.

 

I use a recipe that does this as well. I found it after coming across a fabulous pancake mix made by a restaurant in Chattanooga. This was the only unusual item in the ingredient list, so I googled until I found a recipe that included cream of wheat. The one I use, I believe, was supposed to be the IHOP recipe, so you may be able to find it that way. I usually use white whole wheat flour these days, and the pancakes are yummy.

 

Your grocery store probably has King Arthur white whole wheat flour. It is right next to the regular whole wheat. I've used it in biscuits also, and it's pretty good. It is not as white as all-purpose, but it is lighter and whiter than regular whole wheat.

 

But back to WW pancakes. I mix all of the dry ingredients up for about 10 batches, and add just the buttermilk, oil and egg when I make the pancakes. Makes pancake-making waaaaay faster in the morning.

 

ETA: Through trial and error, I've found that I like using instant (plain, of course) cream of wheat best. The stuff that has to cook longer makes the pancakes too grainy.

 

Terri

[Aubrey]

I love whole grain pancakes. They aren't as fluffy as the white ones, but honestly, after getting used to whole grains, the white ones taste like glue and make me feel like I ate a sponge. :ack2: I actually can't even stand eating "regular" pancakes anymore.

 

I used to use Bisquick, but it started tasting awful & gluey, lol. So I started making them from scratch. I can't stand going to that smidge of extra trouble & *not* adding wh wh.

 

But *all* wh wh...it's not the heaviness, but the *toughness* that's been bothering me, so I've been mixing--50-75% wh wh, 25-50% AP. But I started wondering if it was the recipe that was the problem.

 

Dh made pancakes for dd's bday earlier this week & made all wh wh for the 1st time in a while. Wow. They weren't so good. But...dh's forte has never been pancakes. ;)

[tammyw]

I don't like normal pancakes, but I really, really love the sour cream pancakes on The Pioneer Woman's site. I just replace the white flour with wheat flour, no problem. I always double the recipe - they are just soooo yummy!

[Farrar]

I find oat flour makes a *fabulous* whole grain substitute in pancake batter. Just run regular rolled oats through the blender until they reach the texture you want. (They will absorb more liquid than wheat flour, so don't use quite as much oatflour.)

:iagree: I was just going to say the same thing. Sometimes I use a mix of grains. I do this for a number of baked goods - cookies and quick breads, mostly. I also sometimes use the Trader Joe's whole grain pancake mix and it uses a lot of oat flour.

[abreakfromlife]

Separare the eggs!!!! Whip the whites until they are very thick and frothy...make the rest of your pancake recipe, and then as the last step, fold in the egg whites. This works on wheat pancakes, buckwheat pancakes...it's not the recipe; you just have to add volume.

[FO4UR]

Soft white whole wheat (whole wheat pastry flour):iagree:

[SonshineLearner]

I'm really big on freshly ground whole wheat, but.... beer in the batter really helps ;) They are the favorite ones that my mom has made, and they were much lighter ;)