Making Whole Grain Pancake Mix with {King Arthur Flour}

It's August. I haven't made any progress towards my whole grain baking goals for the year. How sad is that? Well, it's sad no more because King Arthur Flour is going to help me meet my whole grain goals!

They graciously sent me their HUGE Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, a bag of White Whole Wheat Flour as well as a bag of regular Whole Wheat Flour. I was all set to go.....and then the temperatures in my area skyrocketed and it was too hot to cook anything in the house, least of all bread. So I (in)patiently waited. And waited. And waited some more.

And then it happened.

The temperature has dropped down to the low 80's for at least a week! The angels sang and the heavens smiled down on me. It's was time to bake!

I thought I had better start off with something simple to get myself in the whole grain groove, so I picked Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix. Jackpot! These were winners in a big way. Moist, tender, slightly chewy and fluffy all at once. You could tell that they were more substantial than your regular pancake, but there was nothing in the flavor that screamed "Whole Grain!" or "Healthy!". Not only were these very much kid approved, they were mom approved too. And not just for flavor, but for ease of preparation too.

I made these pancakes plain, with no added extras, so I could get a sense of how they taste and act. Now that I've made them once and have the mix all made, I see many many many different pancake add-ins in our future. Blackberries are ripe right now, how great would that taste??!!

Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix
recipe found in Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

3 1/2 cups (12 1/4 oz) old fashioned rolled oats
4 cups (1 lb) white whole wheat flour
1 cup (4 1/2 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
3 tablespoons (1 1/4 oz) sugar
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 cup (5 1/4 oz) vegetable oil

To make the mix: Grind the oats in a food processor until they are chopped fine but not a powder. Put the ground oats, flours and the remaining dry ingredients into the bowl of a mixer with a paddle. Mix on slow speed, and drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl slowly while the mixer is running. When all the oil has been added, stop the mixer and squeeze a clump of the mix in your hand. If it holds together, it's just right. If it won't hold together, stir in 1 tablespoon of oil at a time until the consistency is correct. Store in an airtight container indefinitely in the freezer.

To make the pancakes: Whisk together 1 cup of the mix, 1 cup buttermilk (or you can use 1/2 cup plain yogurt plus 1/2 cup milk), 1 tablespoon orange juice and 1 large egg. Don't worry if the batter seems thin at first: the whole grains will soak up the liquid, and the mixture will thicken as it stands. Let the batter sit for 15 minutes.
Heat a nonstick griddle or a heavy skillet. If your surface is not nonstick, brush it lightly with oil. When the surface is hot enough for a drop o water to sputter across, give the pan a quick wipe to remove excess oil. Spoon the batter onto the surface, 1/4 cup at a time, and let bake 3 or 4 minutes, or until the surface of the cake is no longer shiny and small bubbles are beginning to form around the edges. Flip the cake and cook on the other side until it's brown. Serve immediately, or keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you make the rest of the cakes.

My verdict: The perfect recipe to start my whole grain journey. It's made me excited to try the next recipe and see how wonderful it is. Now I just have to decide what the next recipe will be.....

Follow King Arthur Flour on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Read along with the Baking Banter Blog and see what KAF is cookin' up in their kitchens.