Buckwheat Pancakes

Meet my new favorite pancakes, buckwheat pancakes. I’ll admit they aren’t the sexiest pancakes around, but they make up for their humble appearance with wonderful flavor and texture. Buckwheat, a gluten-free relative of rhubarb, has a delicate, almost nutty flavor all its own.

Thanks to the buckwheat flour, these pancakes possess a light and airy consistency that quietly surrenders to the pressure of a fork and soaks up maple syrup like a sponge. The pancakes pair well with roasted strawberries, as shown here, or with a healthy swipe of peanut butter or almond butter.

This recipe was adapted from a fun new cookbook called Pancakes, by fellow food blogger Adrianna Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen. I visit Adrianna’s blog any time I need some creative recipe inspiration or a laugh, which is often.

Adrianna’s new (and first!) cookbook is bursting with 72 brilliant pancake recipes, half sweet (honey and oat, ginger pear, cinnamon-sugar popovers) and half savory (jalapeño corn cakes, goat cheese quinoa cakes, sour cream and chive latkes). If sky-high, fluffy pancakes are your jam, she offers a ton of options based on her buttermilk pancakes recipe. This book would be the perfect gift for the pancake/latke lover in your life. Congrats, Adrianna!

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Pancakes

Author: Cookie and Kate
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 8 Pancakes 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: By hand
Cuisine: Gluten free

★★★★★

4.7 from 131 reviews

Buckwheat gives these pancakes incredible flavor. This buckwheat pancake recipe yields deliciously light and thin pancakes. For pancakes that are even lighter in texture and flavor, use half all purpose (Adrianna’s suggestion) or whole wheat pastry flour (my default). Recipe yields 8 pancakes (plenty for 2 people).

Scale

Ingredients

Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour (or ½ buckwheat and ½ flour of choice)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk, shaken*
1 large egg
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Butter, for the skillet

Roasted Strawberries

1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced into bite-sized quarters or halves
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey

Instructions

Roast the strawberries: preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, gently toss berries with the sugar and maple syrup/honey. Arrange the strawberries in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring halfway, or long enough for the berry juices to thicken but not burn (watch the edges in particular).
Make the pancakes: in a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flour(s), sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a liquid measuring cup, measure out the buttermilk. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract.
All at once, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter should have some small to medium lumps.
Preheat your skillet over medium-low heat and brush with 1 ½ teaspoons of butter. Give the batter a light swirl with a spoon in case the buckwheat is starting to separate from the liquid. Using a ¼-cup measure, scoop the batter onto the warm skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes (you’ll know it’s ready to flip when about 1 inch of the perimeter is matte instead of glossy), and flip. Cook on the opposite sides for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown.
Transfer the cooked pancakes to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200 degree Fahrenheit oven to keep warm. Repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter when needed. Serve immediately.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Pancakes by Adrianna Adarme of A Cozy Kitchen.
*Make your own buttermilk with dairy-free option: combine 1 ¼ cups low fat milk (any variety of low fat milk should do—almond, soy, rice, low fat coconut) with 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
If you love these pancakes: you’ll also enjoy my buckwheat crepes recipe and my other pancake recipes!
A note on fluffiness: I tried forcing some extra height into these pancakes by using half whole wheat pastry flour and even folded in whipped egg whites, but neither made a significant difference. Then I took another bite and wondered why I was trying to make these marvelous pancakes something they’re not. They’re perfect just the way they are.

▸ Nutrition Information

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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