Whole Wheat Pancake Recipe with Freshly Milled Flour

Add some wholesome nutrients to your breakfast with this delicious Whole Wheat Pancakes recipe made with freshly milled flour. Use the nuttiness of whole wheat to not only elevate the nutrients of your breakfast but also to add flavor. Whether you are new to milling grains or are a seasoned miller you will surely want to add this to your weekly routine of breakfast or dinner! It is not just a good whole wheat recipe; it is also one of the best pancake recipes. 

Why Use Whole Grains?

​As someone who is a carb addict, I constantly crave bread and anything made with flour. However often times we hear carbs considered “empty calories”. This is really because most of the time we are referring to items made with white all-purpose flour. White Flour has been modified to not include the bran and germ that is originally in flour. The bran and germ are sifted out so that it can sit on the shelf for a long period and not go bad. This All-Purpose Flour revolutionized the way we could sell and buy flour. Gone were the days when each town had its local mill. Although this process made flour much more accessible, it also took out the parts that were the real sustenance for our bodies. Whole Grains are full of nutrients and leave you feeling full, instead of leaving you only wanting more. 

Ingredients 

Whole Grain: These are the berries I use, Hard White Wheat berries. They are the same berries I use in my weekly bread recipe, so it is just convenient to also use this kind for pancakes.

Milk: You can use any milk for this recipe. I use whole milk, but non-dairy milk still reacts with the apple cider vinegar. 

Apple Cider Vinegar: This causes a reaction with the milk that mimics buttermilk.

What I am doing here is really creating a buttermilk substitute. This works with regular milk, almond milk, and coconut. It starts to create a reaction in the milk that causes it to curdle into curds and whey.  This addition of acid activates the baking soda as a leavener. It also adds a nice flavor profile that enhances the flavor of whole wheat. 

You may be wondering, why not just use buttermilk? I personally never buy buttermilk, but I love to be able to whip these pancakes up whenever. This recipe just works for me. It is also a great alternative for anyone who follows a dairy-free diet and wants to use almond milk for a nondairy buttermilk. 

If you do not like the taste of buttermilk pancakes then you can use regular milk with just a tsp of lemon juice in your milk mixture so that you with still achieve a reaction from the baking soda. 

2 Tb Sugar: You can use sugar alternatives like maple syrup or honey; however, they can sometimes cause the batter to be too thin. You can always add a little more flour to thicken it up if the batter is too thin.

Baking Powder: We all want fluffy whole-wheat pancakes. Most pancake recipes rely on baking powder as their leavening agent because baking powders do not require an additional acid to react, producing “bubbles”. However, having both baking powder and baking soda is the key to having fluffy pancakes.

Baking Soda: The addition of baking soda gives these pancakes a great texture. We are able to use baking soda because we have apple cider vinegar in our recipe. When baking soda mixes with an acid and heat it creates the perfect amount of bubbles leaving your whole-grain pancakes fluffy and delicious.

Egg

Melted Butter: A great way to add fat and flavor to your recipe. I like to add my melted butter right after adding the wet ingredients to the dry ones. This prevents the warm butter from getting clumpy in the cold milk or potentially scrambling the eggs. 

Vanilla Extract: A touch of vanilla never hurts!

Chocolate Chips (Optional)

Equipment

Mill: There are two great options I have used for milling. The Komo mill and the Nutrimill.

Komo Mill: More expensive, but very pretty and straight forward to use.

Nutrimill: More industrial looking but for a lower price point. I actually own the Nutrimill Harvest series which is styled like the Komo, but was currently out of stock when I made this post.

Kitchen Scale: When using milled grains for whole-wheat flour, a scale is crucial in making the whole process simple. I used to add a random amount of grain to my mill and then measure my flour from that bowl of flour. However, I would often end up grinding more than I needed and wasting some of the flour. Then I realized that if I know the weight of the flour I need, I can just weigh my berries and mill them knowing I will have the correct amount. Matter cannot be created or destroyed! It is like melting an ice cube. (Science in baking is so much fun!)

Dutch whisk: This is a great tool that was created to optimize combining wet and dry ingredients. This allows you to mix your ingredients evenly without overmixing your batter. Remember, too much mixing in non-yeast doughs/batters can cause the end product to be too crumbly, or even tough. The Dutch whisk prevents this from happening by minimizing the development of gluten.

Mixing My Whole-Wheat Pancakes

Curdle Your Milk

I start by combining my milk and Apple Cider Vinegar and let it sit for about 5 min. This allows it to start to curdle and thicken. While waiting on my liquid mixture I add my dry ingredients to a separate bowl.

Mill Your Grains

I have written this recipe in grams because it will make your life easier! A cup of wheat berries is not equal to a cup of wheat flour; however, 125 grams of wheat berries is equal to 125 grams of flour. So, if your recipe calls for 5 oz of whole wheat flour, you can weigh out 5 oz of wheat berries. In a separate bowl, I weigh my wheat berries and then grind them. I then add in my other dry ingredients including the sugar. If you are using a sugar substitute like honey or maple syrup, add that in when you add the eggs and vanilla to the milk mixture. 

Mix Your Whole Wheat Pancake Batter

Once your milk is starting to curdle you can add in your eggs and vanilla extract. Next, you can add your wet ingredients in with your dry ingredients. Use a Dutch whisk and mix a couple of times. Then you can add in your melted butter. Mix ingredients until just incorporated. Whole wheat pancake batter can be thicker and have small lumps. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes.

Using my Cast Iron for Homemade Pancakes

I start by greasing my cast iron with butter and then turning to medium heat or medium-low heat. Let it get hot before you add a scoop of batter. Once hot you can pour 1/4 cup of batter on your cast iron. I always am discouraged by the way the first pancake turns out, but don’t worry it gets better! When you start to see small bubbles forming throughout your pancake and the edges seem to be cooking you know your cakes are ready to flip. After about 1 minute you can lift the side of your pancake to see if it is properly cooked. Once done,the pancakes are done, store in the oven on a cooling rack on the warm setting or 170 degrees. Before starting the next batch of pancakes, I butter the pan again. Plenty of butter is key in this whole wheat pancake recipe. 

You can also use a nonstick pan, large skillet, or electric griddle. I just really like to use my heavy cast iron skillet for everything. The best is when you make your sausage first then have a little sausage grease to fry your pancakes in.

Serve with pure maple syrup and enjoy.

Whole Wheat Pancake Recipe with Freshly Milled Flour

This a great recipe to add to your list of easy breakfasts that will fuel your family. It is really recipes like this that have made me fall in love with milling flour. Overly complicated recipes make the concept seem overwhelming, but it does not have to be. We hope you enjoy this recipe and check out more of our recipes that use freshly milled grains.