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Buckwheat & Vanilla Pancakes

Hybrid crepes — not paper-thin, not thick American style. Buckwheat drinks a lot of liquid, which is why the batter rests and why you keep a hundred millilitres of milk in reserve.

serves 6 30 mins breakfast vegetarian
Buckwheat & Vanilla Pancakes

why it works

Buckwheat isn't wheat at all — it's a seed, it's gluten-free, and it keeps far more fibre and magnesium than white flour. Three eggs across twelve pancakes is a modest amount of fat for the structure it buys you, and there's no butter anywhere.

Ingredients

  • 300g buckwheat flour
  • 3 large eggs
  • 600–700ml skimmed milk
  • 1.5–2 tsp vanilla extract
  • a good pinch of salt
  • zest of 1 whole lemon

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, salt and lemon zest together in a large bowl.

  2. Make a well in the centre, crack in the three eggs and add the vanilla.

  3. Whisk while slowly pouring in 600ml of the milk, drawing the flour in from the edges, until you have a smooth batter about the texture of single cream.

  4. Walk away for 10–15 minutes and let the buckwheat absorb the liquid. If it looks like thick paint when you come back, splash in the extra 100ml to loosen it.

  5. Half a ladle per pancake, swirling the pan to get that rustic in-between thickness. Makes about twelve.

remix

  • Quick berry jam: heat a punnet of berries until they collapse, then stir in a splash of vanilla off the heat. No sugar, so it tastes bright and tart
  • Raspberries or a forest fruit mix give the best jam-like texture
  • Double the vanilla if you want the aroma to really carry
  • Half buckwheat, half plain flour if the flavour is too assertive for the kids
  • Save the lemon juice to squeeze over the cooked stack