American Pancakes

My husband calls these “American pancakes” because to him (a born and raised Norwegian) pancakes are flat and thin (like crêpes). However American pancakes are fluffy and light. These are truly fluffy pancakes. As long as you don't over-mix them. For goodness sake don’t over mix them!

You can mix up the dry ingredients ahead of time and they fit conveniently into a pint-sized mason jar. I like to make up a couple jars and keep them in the cupboard. That way whenever we want pancakes I just pull one out and add the wet ingredients. They keep for about 6 months.

This pancake recipe is adapted from Alton Brown’s cookbook “Good Eats The Early Years”.

Makes: 8-10 pancakes

Preparation time: 20m
Cooking time: 20m
Total time: 50m

Ingredients:

  • 9.3 ounces all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 0.3 ounces granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon wheat germ
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup Greek yogurt (you can use fat-free or full-fat)
  • 1 cup milk or unsweetened milk substitute (I like to use almond milk)
  • 2 large organic eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons butter (melted and cooled slightly)

Equipment: kitchen scale, 2 large bowls

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, wheat germ and flax seed.
  2. In a separate bowl mix the Greek yogurt, milk, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Then slowly drizzle in the butter while whisking to temper the batter so the eggs don’t cook prematurely.
  3. Dump the dry mixture onto the wet mixture and with a fork, wooden spoon or pancake whisk, stir about 30 times. Then stop. There will be lumps. It’s ok. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes to swell. It should be nice and thick.
  4. Heat a griddle or non-stick pan. If using a griddle, grease it with a little butter.
  5. Ladle one pancake at a time. Cooking time will depend on how large you make them. Once you can see little bubbles forming around the edges and in the center you can use a pancake turner to check the bottom. Once they are golden brown flip them over and cook a couple of minutes on the other side until cooked all the way through and golden brown on the outside.
  6. Serve warm with fresh fruit, plain yogurt, strawberry jam, pear butter, and toasted almonds and coconut.