Yeast-Raised Pancakes

After trying these out, I'm a bit interested in making some yeast-raised waffles. These pancakes are not too sweet and so need generous amounts of maple syrup for a sweeter breakfast.

Yeast-Raised Pancakes
(from Pancakes: From Morning Till Midnight by Dorie Greenspan)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 packet active dry yeast or instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter
2 large eggs, beaten


1. Whisk together the flours and salt in a medium bowl. Proof (if necessary) your yeast and sugar in the 1/2 cup warm water. Warm the milk and butter together either on the stove or in the microwave to about 105F. Combine the yeast mixture in with the milk/butter mixture and then pour into the flour mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and either let it rise overnight in the refrigerator or for an hour or two at room temperature. If you had done the former, let it rest for 20 minutes at room temperature before adding the eggs.
2. Stir down the batter and add in the beaten eggs. Your batter will be smooth and not your typical lumpy pancake batter.
3. Ladle onto a medium-hot skillet and fry until the surface is bubbly and golden on the bottom. Flip over and cook for another minute or two until golden brown.
4. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

Sorry for the lack of good quality in the picture. I need to get a tripod for my camera so I can take better pictures.

So I decided to scrap the whole panna cotta thing since I didn't feel like getting more buttermilk. A poster at the Nigella board told me that it was probably because I did not melt the gelatin all the way which I think is entirely possible. I was reading a Cooks Illustrated recipe that said you needed to stir the gelatin and milk mixture for at least 10 minutes before chilling it. Gale's recipe just said to stir it in and then pour them into the ramekins so poopies on her (and me for not knowing I guess :P).

After the all-savory breakfasts last weekend, my boyfriend finally said he might like something sweet for breakfast so I made these pumpkin pie pancakes since he loves pumpkin pie so much. They actually do taste like pumpkin pie... at least just the custard part of the pumpkin pie and not the crust, mind you. :P They are very soft and fluffy (kind of a melt in your mouth type of pancake) but it was a big pain to flip them so I suggest making smaller versions of these.. not more than 4 inches wide (Personally I like my pancakes bigger than 4 inches but its hard to get away with that with this recipe.)

Note: This recipe is actually served with Spiced Pumpkin Ice Cream and has the recipe included. I don't have an ice cream maker (boo!) so I'm not going to post the recipe (scrooge, I am!). It tastes lovely with whipped cream and maple syrup though. :)

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes
(from Pancakes: From Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan)

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp (packed) brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp dark rum (optional)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

To fold in:
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin


Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another bowl. Make sure everything is at room temperature, otherwise your melted butter might scramble your eggs.

Combine your wet and dry ingredients together. Do not overmix! Lumpiness is good! Next, fold in your pumpkin.

Preheat your griddle or skillet to about 350F. I don't have an electric skillet so I just set my electric stove to medium heat. You can also lightly oil or butter your skillet but I've always found that to get in the way of a nice-evenly browned pancake. Only oil if you are using nonstick (IMO). Have your oven slightly warmed so that you can keep your pancakes warm while you are cooking the rest of the batch.

Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle for each pancake and allow space for spreading. When the bottoms are golden brown and bubbles are coming up to the top, flip over carefully.

Serve immediately with warmed maple syrup, fluffy whipped cream, and nice cup of joe. :)

German Apple Pancake

Of course, this website would not do its name duty by not having at least one pancake recipe, right?? Well today, since I hadn't anywhere to go in the morning and I had some leftover Granny Smiths from the Thanksgiving apple pie, I decided upon German Apple Pancake or Apfel Pfannekuchen (I make pancakes all the time, by the way, just hadn't since I started this website.) I've made dutch babies before and they are quite fun watching them puff up in the oven. I used a Cook's Illustrated recipe for this one and I must say they fail to disappoint, as usual. It was full of tart, apple-ly cinnamon flavor in a soft, pudding-light bread of a pancake... which I could literally not stop eating. I have dishes to do but I dare not enter the kitchen lest I eat the rest of this heavenly dish!

I did think that the granny smiths were a bit too tart. I'd try using the Braeburn apples next time for a much sweeter pancake.

Note: I highly recommend you pick up Cook's Illustrated's Holiday Baking issue which is out in stores now. Lots of great recipes!

German Apple Pancake

For the batter: 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp table salt 2 large eggs 2/3 cups half-and-half 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Apple filling: 1 1/4 lbs Granny Smith or Braeburn apples (3-4 large apples), peeled, quarted, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices 1/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp juice from 1 lemon Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Prep:
Set rack on upper-middle position and preheat oven to 500F.

Make the batter:
Whisk dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Then combine and beat until smooth.

Make the filling:
Heat the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skill over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon and cook for about 10 minutes or until the apples are a golden brown. Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice.

Assemble:
Pour batter around and over apples (make sure the batter is more on the sides than in the middle as the puffing can push the apples overboard onto your oven floor!). Put the skillet in your 500F oven but then quickly turn the temperature down to 425F and bake the pancake until it is golden and puffy -- around 18 minutes. Mine actually got a little charred on one side so I would watch it and move your pan around if it gets too brown on one side.

Eat!:
Remove pan from the oven and loosen sides with a rubber spatula. Invert onto a plate and dust with the confectioners' sugar. Serves about 4 but serves 1 if you can't control yourself. :)