Fat Tuesday Pancakes

By Melissa Breyer, Senior Producer, Care2 Green Living

Did you know that Mardi Gras is also known as Fat Tuesday, as well as Shrove Tuesday and Pancake Tuesday?!! Pancake Tuesday is the way they top off carnival season in the United Kingdom and we think it's a glorious idea. And although, yes, the main motif of Mardi Gras is indulgence before fasting, we have decided we'll indulge in some healthy pancakes that taste no less decadent. Read on for our secret for light and sweet, whole grain pancakes.

 

If you love pancakes but don't love the idea of refined flour, let us introduce you to white whole wheat flour. White wheat is a naturally occurring albino variety of wheat, and when it is turned into whole wheat flour it doesn't have the heavy taste of the common whole wheat flour (made from red wheat) that we are accustomed to. White whole wheat flour has the same nutritional and fiber benefits of red whole wheat, but since it doesn't have the same tannins and phenolic acid found in the outer bran of red wheat, it is less bitter and tastes sweeter. Yay!

Many people love the taste of regular whole wheat, but sometimes, like for pancakes, a lighter alternative that doesn't lack in nutrients and fiber is a godsend.

You can buy white whole wheat flour at some health food stores or gourmet markets (like Whole Foods). You can also order it online from our favorite flour company, King Arthur Flour.

And now for the pancakes. You can try substituting some or all of the regular flour in your favorite pancake recipe with white whole wheat. Or follow our recipe, which, in the British Pancake Tuesday tradition, make pancakes that are thinner (more like crepes) than their fluffy American cousins. For a thicker pancake, use less buttermilk.

Ingredients:

1 cups white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup Sucanat (unrefined sugar with its molasses content retained)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 3/4 cups organic buttermilk
1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoons melted butter
butter for the pan

Instructions:

1. Stir all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, then add wet ingredients.
2. Lightly stir until just combined, leaving some lumps. Overbeating will result in tough pancakes.
3. Brush skillet with butter over medium heat until a droplet of water sizzles. Pour batter into pan and cook until small bubbles form in pancake. Flip, cook and remove to a warm plate.
4. Top with your favorite pancake toppings, and eat them like there's no Wednesday.