Did Someone Say Breakfast?

I love pancakes. I guess to be more correct, I love breakfast food. I love oatmeal with fruit, yogurt with granola, toast with a fried egg, herbs and cheese, bacon, omelets, any and all breakfast food.

I love having weekend mornings with Kyle because while he sleeps in (he gets home late from work), I get to play in the kitchen! It works out pretty darn well for everyone, I'd say. I made two batches of scones yesterday in the search for the perfect texture (I think I got it!) and I made pancakes this morning. I have cupboards full of different flours that I got for different recipes in the past, so I decided I would make Grainy Pancakes to help use some of it up. Before I get into this post, I have to let you know that I don't have any pictures of my pancakes. In all honesty, I didn't think they would turn out as well as it did. I love wheaty and grainy breads, but they tend to get heavy, dense, and almost bitter with tons of wheat. These surpassed my expectations and were a delicious start to my day.

One of the flours that I have fallen in love with is a 7-grain blend in the bulk section in the Food Co-op. It is a blend of wheat, barley, buckwheat, oat, rye, and 2 more that I can't remember right now...It has an awesome texture with some larger milled grains speckled through, great flavor (the blend makes it sweeter without being really wheaty tasting) and has worked really well in everything I have tried it in.

Grainy Pancakes

Don't let the name discourage you from trying them! Try your own flour mixes too! Use what you have!

1c 7-Grain Flour

1/4c Oat Flour

1/4c Barley Flour

3/4c All-Purpose Flour

1/4c Brown Sugar

1 3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 1/2c Milk

2 TB Butter, melted, plus more for cooking

2 Eggs

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well. Stir until just combined. Heat a skillet with a small pad of butter on medium heat. Pour a scant 1/2c batter onto pan and cook until brown, about 1-1 1/2 min each side.

I topped my pancakes two ways. One with a tart apple butter that I made in the fall (there is apple cider vinegar in it so it is nice and tart and far from overly sweet; awesome on pancakes) and the other with maple syrup (naturally). Great additions to the batter would be berries, bananas, chocolate chips, sauteed apples with cinnamon and ginger, or granola. Served with crispy bacon and a cup of coffee, this is a comfort breakfast to the max. 

Enjoy your Sunday and remember to eat your breakfast. Or just pass it to me and I will eat it for you.

Cheers!