Healthy Buckwheat Breakfast Pancake Recipe

There are times when you feel like having a real treat for breakfast but also want to start the day feeling fresh and healthy. I think it is probably fair to say that most really exciting breakfast are also naughty breakfasts, so I was keen to find something that feels naughty but really isn’t.

I present to you, my buckwheat pancake recipe.

UPDATE: I finally managed to make these without using any oil and they taste just as good, so I have updated the recipe accordingly.

This pancake recipe is gluten free, egg free, dairy free, oil free and doesn’t contain refined sugar, but yet it is far from being fun free. They are actually just as nice as normal breakfast pancakes (think white wheat flour, sugar, milk and egg) but with most of the bad stuff replaced with better stuff.

I’ve become a huge fan of buckwheat recently because it is a really nutritious grain that can make loads of really fun, healthy foods, and yet we hardly ever use it here in Britain. The plant itself is pretty cool too as it hates chemicals and so most buckwheat is grown organically (or close to it). I’ve been growing it in my garden as a green manure to help keep weeds out of spaces that I haven’t got around to doing anything with and the bees love it.

If you aren’t familiar with buckwheat, I urge you to try it, and this recipe is the perfect place to start. It requires minimal cooking skills and it is really delicious.

Treat your loved ones to something special in the morning.

This recipe makes about 18 pancakes, each about 8cm diameter.

125g wholemeal buckwheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 flax egg (see related post)
250ml non-dairy milk – I like Almond Milk or Koko coconut milk
Sliced fruit of your choice – oranges, berries, banana, apple etc

Preparation

Preheat a pancake pan or shallow frying pan to a medium temperature. You’ll have to play around with this a bit. If the pan is too hot they’ll burn and if it is not hot enough they’ll dry out slowly and crack like mud baked in the summer heat. You know it is hot enough if the mixture (or water) sizzles when it touches the pan.

You will probably need to use a non-stick pan but I haven’t tried it without a non-stick surface.

Mix the milk and lemon juice together and set aside for a couple of minutes.

Now mix the buckwheat flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl, then make a well in the centre. Add the flax egg and syrup, mixing it into a paste slowly. Then as the liquids start to get absorbed you can gradually stir in the milk/lemon juice until you have a smooth batter.

It should have the consistency of runny custard and be free of lumps. Then you’re ready to cook!

Cooking

Ladle the mixture onto the hot pan. One small ladle will make one pancake, so you can normally fit more than one on the pan at the same time.

Leave them on the pan until you see the top dry out, and then it should be ready to gently turn over with a spatula. Treat them with love as they can be a little delicate.

Leave them on the other side for a couple of minutes and when both sides are looking a little bit brown and golden they are ready to eat.

Keep going until you run out of mixture.

Like all pancakes, they are best eaten fresh so don’t wait to cook them all before you serve them out. Let your friends and family take them fresh from the pan and enjoy them at their best.

Serve with your favourite choice of fruits. My personal favourite is succulent chunks of orange, which are so moist and flavoursome that you don’t feel the need to add any more maple or agave syrup. Passion fruit also works really well. With drier fruits such as apple, banana or blueberries then you might want an extra drizzle of syrup.