Basic Whole Grain Pancakes (Soaked)

by KimiHarris on November 20, 2008


I was really missing our sourdough pancakes (I haven’t been making them because we are in between starters right now), so I thought I would try my hand at making a diary free soaked pancake recipe.

These pancakes are really delicious. Soaking them for 12-24 hours makes them more digestible and light in texture. I thought about adding this or that to them , but really, when it came down to it, I just wanted a basic pancake with a wonderful flavor and a good texture. And that’s what I got! I used coconut milk with vinegar to soak the flour, which makes these dairy free pancakes taste similar to buttermilk pancakes. Buttermilk can, of course, be substituted for you dairy people. Nut milk might be another diary free option instead of the coconut milk.

I actually made this recipe several times already this week (Elena and I eat leftovers for snacks, cold from the fridge. We think they are yummy that way). Elena has been getting a funny rash around her mouth that seems to be related to food intolerances (any of you other parents dealt with this before?), and it seems that eggs may be one of the culprits. So we have found that this recipe works great without eggs or an egg replacement. It does change the texture a bit, but they were still good. Another option for those with allergies.

Enjoy your pancakes with lot of butter (or coconut oil!), and real maple syrup or a berry sauce. We usually enjoy these for breakfast, but they also make a frugal dinner when combined with eggs and/or sausage on the side!

Basic Whole Grain Pancakes

You can easily half this recipe, if desired.

3 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup of coconut milk tonic (I used the one with just water added)
1 cup of water (or another cup of coconut milk tonic for a richer result)
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar

Gently combine the above ingredients and cover. Leave out on the counter top overnight, up to 24 hours.

When ready to make, add to the batter:

4 eggs, lightly beaten
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda (you may want to sift the baking soda and baking powder if lumpy)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of coconut oil, gently melted in the pan you plan to use to make your pancakes in.

Stir until well combined, adding water to thin down the batter, if needed.

Over med-high heat, melt some coconut oil in a large saucepan. When a few sprinkles of water in the pan sputter, your pan is ready. Using a small ladle, or a measuring cup, pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. If your pan is large enough, do three separate pancakes at the same time. Cook until the bottom is lightly browned and the top is full of bubbles, and turn over. Cook the other side until browned, and the pancake is cooked all the way through. You may need to adjust the heat as you continue to make your pancakes. Remove your pancakes and keep in the oven at 200 degrees on a cookie sheet while you make the rest of the pancakes.

Enjoy!

This post is part of the Un-Processed Food Carnival.





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{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }

Anonymous November 21, 2008 at 12:46 pm

WOW….Thank you so much for recipe…I look forward to making them…I was going to look in your recipes to see if you had a sprouted pancake coconut recipe….b/c we really needed one….we made pancakes last night with the coconut milk tonic but they were not sprouted & a little runny…. :( …so I am excited to have your sprouted recipe to try….

Thanks again for this recipe…
Jessica O.

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Sarah November 21, 2008 at 1:23 pm

Yum! I have a homemade whole wheat “mix” that I use for pancakes a bunch with the baking soda and all that stuff already mixed in, I just add the milk in the evening before and then the egg and butter the next day and we’re good to go! Yours look fantastic for those with dairy intolerances.

The rash that you mentioned (especially having it right around the mouth) is one that we have encountered frequently in my family – but it is normally due to eating too much things with acid in them (specifically, citrus or tomatoes). I can eat one citrus fruit a day or so, but if I eat more than one, or have citrus plus pineapple, or a LOT of fresh tomatoes (say in a fresh tomato spaghetti sauce – this is especially prevalent with roma’s rather than sweeter varieties like grape) for example, I get a sore mouth and often a little rash or at least “itchy” skin. Especially on delicate areas like the inside of your wrist or elbow. Just another food to consider since this time of year we tend to eat more citrus . . . it might be due to that!

Thanks again for the recipe!

Best,
Sarah

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Kimi Harris November 21, 2008 at 1:32 pm

Hi Sarah,

Thanks for the heads up. I think that Elena’s is due to nuts and eggs because it seems to appear after she has eaten those foods. We actually haven’t been eating any oranges yet, but that’s makes sense (acid food causing rashes).

Thanks for the comment! We will sometimes have tomatoes, so i will watch that, and see if it makes any difference. :-)

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Tara November 22, 2008 at 3:59 pm

The rash you mentioned is one we have seen come and go on our five year old. I’ve found a link to eggs as well. Also, when I notice the rash, I increase her probiotic intake and that takes care of it.

I’d be interested to hear if you notice anything if you remove the eggs.

Tara

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Anita @ Whole Food Cookin' November 23, 2008 at 5:14 pm

Could she be fighting a cold or virus?

Kimi, I am learning about soaking my grains and nuts. I’m not sure about how to soak nuts. Do you have any resources or links that could be helpful. Or could you share how you soak nuts if you do that yourself.

Thanks so much.

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belinda November 24, 2008 at 12:34 am

Hi Kimi,

DH is currently on a really restrictive diet for the next 3 months or so and can’t have anything with added sugars or fermented.

Do you think it would adversely affect the recipe to use lemon rather than Apple Cider Vinegar as my acid in the soaker?

Kind Regards
Belinda

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Sarah November 24, 2008 at 6:28 am

Oh. My. Word. These are excellent pancakes!! Being all whole wheat I thought they might be pretty heavy, but surprisingly, they were very light. Lighter than when I use white flour even. My kids loved them and they were really filling!!

As for the rash. I actually have a daughter who has some food sensitivities. If she has the problem right after she’s eaten something then you are right, it probably is that food. To test the theory you could give her just scrambled eggs and watch. My dd face gets red and splotchy around the mouth while she’s eating and then gets the rash. If it is the case take eggs out completely. My dd was off eggs completely for a year and grew out of the intolerance. Now she can eat them just fine. The sooner you take the offending food out and keep it out for a year or so the more likely she will grow out of the sensitivity. My dd was allergic to eggs, milk, beef, nuts, and sesame. After only 18 months she only has the nut and sesame allergy. AND we have been going to a allergist. I didn’t want to do that but it was necessary in our case. So, in a nut shell, I’d take out the foods and see if her skin clears up, if so keep her off for awhile and give it to her again in a year to see how it is.

Thanks again for the recipes. I’m going to make the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. Just a question, do you have a soaked pie crust recipe?

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Momma Bear November 24, 2008 at 7:08 am

these are really good. i tried them plain and wasn’t as fond of them. but i think im used to sweeter pancakes. with butter and syrup these are awesome! thx for sharing.

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Kimi Harris November 24, 2008 at 8:32 am

Tara,

I should start giving her probiotics again and see if that helps. Thanks for the tip! That is very helpful to know.

Hi Anita,

I wish it was just a cold, but it’s been something that has bothered her for a while now!
This post talks about soaking nuts.
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/07/soaking-nuts.html

Belinda,

Yes, I am sure lemon juice would work great!

Sarah,

Yeah! I am so glad that you liked them. I really do find that soaking batters can make things so LIGHT! Very nice when you are working with whole wheat.

Thanks for sharing about your experience with your children. I hope that it is the same with mine (that she just grows out of it). How did you know that she had grown out of it, by the way?

As far as a soaked pie crust recipe, I have done different things. Sprouted, and ground flour probably is the easiest to use. But I have wondered if one of the cracker recipes on this site would work for a pie crust?

These last few times I’ve truthfully just used white flour! (Which is a rare day in this kitchen!)

Hi Momma Bear,

It is true that they aren’t very sweet by themselves. I should have mentioned that you can add a few tablespoons to a1/4 cup of sweetener to the pancake batter to fix that. :-) But I’m glad you liked them in the end!

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Sarah November 24, 2008 at 2:30 pm

The easiest way to test to see if she’s out grown the allergy is to take it out for awhile (6mo-12mo.) The give it to her again and see if she develops the rash. For example, with an egg allergy, I take the egg out of her diet now. If the rash continues then there is something else bothering her. If it goes away then that’s probably it. Wait 6mo-12mo. Then give her either a scrambled egg, that would be the most direct way or give her say pancakes that you know she can eat without the egg but use eggs instead. When we started reintroducing eggs it seemed easier to digest and lessen the likelihood of reaction if it was in something like pancakes. If that works continue that way for a little bit and try a little scrambled eggs at some point and see what happens. I hope that helps. Feel free to email me if you want.

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Kimi Harris November 25, 2008 at 1:28 pm

Sarah,

Thanks, that’s helpful. :-) That’s along the lines of what I was thinking of doing. It does seem like allergies when they are little, can be grown out of.

But after you posted, I thought maybe you were having them tested to see if they were over it. So I am glad to know that the simple, test it yourself method worked for you!

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Chiot's Run January 15, 2009 at 7:39 am

I just made these for breakfast this morning and they were fantastic. I topped them with some cream cheese and some blackberry syrup we made from foraged berries we picked this summer. YUM YUM!

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Emily February 6, 2009 at 12:45 pm

I made these yesterday for dinner and my husband and I absolutely loved them! Very very good and easy. I just set the flour to soak before going to work and finished them up when I got home. I did substitute yogurt for the coconut milk (what I had on hand) and added a little vanilla to the batter and a little drizzle of raw honey. Delicious!!!

If anyone is looking for a substitute for sugar-laden pancake syrups, try this!
mix 1 Tbsp of melted butter, 2-3 Tbsp of all-fruit spread (i.e., Simply Fruit), and 1-2 tsp of raw honey. yum :-)

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Trish February 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Thanks for sharing this recipe. Do you think it would work with using regular milk? If so, I assume I would just allow it to soak in the fridge?

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KimiHarris February 23, 2009 at 2:01 pm

Trish,

Use buttermilk to replace the coconut milk and vinegar, and then let it soak on the counter. :-)

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Trish February 25, 2009 at 4:54 pm

Thanks Kimi! I am looking forward to trying this recipe.

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Jen March 31, 2009 at 7:43 am

Works good in a waffle maker too!

If I don’t have buttermilk, can I use regular milk and still leave on the counter? I know I have “faked” buttermilk before in cooking by adding a little vinegar to the milk for a few minutes, with the vinegar already in there will it make it like buttermilk?

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Alana Flynn May 3, 2009 at 11:48 am

I tried the soaking with Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pancake mix. I used coconut milk and AC Vinegar to soak overnight. Then I added two eggs (that’s what the bag of mix calls for), a teaspoon of baking powder and baking soda (the mix already has baking powder). The pancakes were delicious. No aftertaste due to the rice flour. They were a little on the soggy side, delicious regardless. How do I make it less soggy? More eggs?

Alana

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Kara June 24, 2009 at 8:04 am

Thanks for this recipe! I’ve tried a half dozen of your recipes thus far and they’ve all turned out great. When trying to convince my husband of the benefits of soaking/sprouting our grains, it’s much easier being able to use recipes that taste delicious too.

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ann June 29, 2009 at 4:59 pm

I tried these last weekend and the flavor was great, but they were super thin. The batter was so runny they wouldn’t hold their shape, just ran all over the skillet. Any idea what could have gone wrong?

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Danielle July 26, 2009 at 6:33 am

I just made these yummy pancakes. I followed the recipe to a tee (soaked overnight 12 hours), except added 2 tsp of vanilla and 1 cup of blueberries. They were fluffy and perfect. Thanks!

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Musings of a Housewife August 28, 2009 at 8:55 am

I’d love to hear if anyone tried these with buttermilk and if the exchange is the same. :-)

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Rachel September 5, 2009 at 5:15 am

I recently found your site and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I tried these pancakes this morning after soaking them last night. They are hands down the BEST pancakes I have ever had. Very fluffy and tasty! We ate them with maple syrup and pluots and nectarines. My kids loved them too and said this is the kind they want from now on!

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Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship October 26, 2009 at 8:24 pm

These are our family’s FAVorite pancakes! :)

Thank you so much for joining the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods! This week is the last week, and the theme is Healthy Fats. See you then!
Katie

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Elizabeth December 24, 2009 at 3:57 pm

Just a heads up, my youngest daughter would sometimes get a funny red ring around her mouth, almost like an infection streak, and we finally discovered she was “sensitive” to cinnamon. She did outgrow it, which is a really good thing as we eat a lot of cinnamon!

Merry Christmas to you!

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kmillecam December 26, 2009 at 9:46 pm

I know this is an old post, but I am wondering Kimi, if you would tell me how you make your easy berry sauce? I just mixed these up and would love to serve them with a berry sauce tomorrow if you have time to comment. We are also going to try out the pan fried apples, YUM!

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kari January 22, 2010 at 4:59 pm

These are amazing! They make not only great pancakes, but great waffles, too! The first time I made them 1/2 wheat and 1/2 all purpose unbleached (because hubby likes it that way). Tonight, however, I made waffles, and they were 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 buckwheat flour! I didn’t tell, and they didn’t know! They were a big hit again! This is now my “go to” recipe for pancakes/waffles! Thanks again! You’re amazing! :)

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Anne Marie February 6, 2010 at 10:07 am

For future reference (since based on the posts baby is now 3ish), typically if people are allergic to eggs, it is the egg white. When starting babies out on eggs, it’s best to start with egg yolks. They are high in essential fatty-acids. However if egg is the culprit you can always substitute applesauce or mashed banana (1 eggs = 1/3 cup fruit puree) or more oil/liquid/milk (about 2 tablespoons) in baked goods to compensate. Sometimes a little more leavening (e.g. baking powder or yeast mixed with water to form 1/4 cup) is needed. :0)

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Sarah Austin February 20, 2010 at 12:41 pm

I have now made these twice this week! They are super :) My husband even loves them and he is really picky about pancakes and he is not always fond of the healthier food I put in front of him. I did use a mix of grains instead of all whole wheat and I used whatever acidic base I had on hand that day – one day it was fresh buttermilk, one day it was 1/2 kefir, 1/2 raw goats milk. Thank you for a great recipe.

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