Yeast-raised vs. quick-raised pancakes

Pancakes are one of the major food groups at our house.  I have got more ways to make ‘em than you can shake a stick at, but it boils down to two main types: quick-raised and yeast-raised.  Both can be prepped the night before for a quick breakfast or frozen in their prepped state.  You can freeze them fully-cooked, too, for feeding instant breakfast to ravenous toddler beasts (Little Mister eats them fully frozen...chacun à son goût). 

The basic quick-raised recipe is from Better Homes & Gardens.  

Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes 10 4” pancakes

1 cup flour (white, whole wheat or half and half)

¼ cup buttermilk powder

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup water

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients in one bowl (or freezer bag) and whisk wet ingredients in another bowl (or freezer bag).  Cover bowls and put in fridge for next-day use, freeze bags for later use, or mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients for immediate use.  Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto hot greased or non-stick griddle.  Cook on a griddle over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side.

Yeast-raised pancakes (aka Flannel Cakes)
Makes 10 4" pancakes

1 egg
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tsp yeast
1 2/3 cup flour
pinch of salt

Whisk egg and milk together the night before you want to make pancakes.  Stir in yeast, flour and salt to form a thick batter.  (For prep-ahead freezing, put dry ingredients in one container and wet ingredients in another to freeze.  Thaw and mix together the night before cooking.)  Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand overnight.  You can hurry up the process by putting the bowl on a heating pad for a couple of hours, but the longer the batter stands, the more flavorful the pancakes will be. 

In the morning, stir down the batter.  The batter will be very thick and spoonable but not pourable.  Use a 1/4 cup measure to spoon out pancakes onto preheated greased or non-stick griddle.  Cook on medium heat 2-3 minutes per side.

Sweet Variations

Almond: add ½ tsp almond extract

Strawberry: add 1 tsp strawberry extract and 1 cup fresh or frozen sliced strawbs

Blueberry: add 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries and ½ tsp cardamom

Citrus: add 1 tsp grated citrus zest

Cinnamon: add 1 tsp cinnamon

Honey: use 1 tbsp honey instead of sugar (or add to yeast-raised batter)


Maple: use 1 tbsp maple syrup instead of sugar (or add to yeast-raised batter)

Banana: mash 1 ripe banana and add to wet ingredients, add ½ tsp nutmeg

Chocolate (quick-raised): Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder, increase vanilla to 1 tbsp, increase sugar to 3 tbsp, increase oil to 3 tbsp

Peanut butter: Add 1/2 cup peanut butter to wet ingredients

Apple: add 1 cup chopped apple and 1 tsp apple pie spice

Pumpkin: add 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Heart-healthy: use whole wheat flour, add 1/4 cup ground flaxseed and 1/4 cup oatmeal

Grape (quick-raised): omit buttermilk powder, increase baking powder to 2 tsp and use 1 cup grape juice instead of water, optionally add a drop of red and blue food coloring

Cranberry: plump 1 cup dried cranberries in a few tablespoons of orange juice or orange liqueur (zap it for 10 seconds in the microwave to speed things up) and add to batter, add 1/4 tsp almond extract

Savory Variations

Parmesan-pepper: omit sugar and vanilla for quick-raised, add 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and 1 tsp black pepper

Savory herb: omit sugar and vanilla for quick-raised, add 2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs

Saffron: omit sugar and vanilla for quick-raised, crumble a pinch of saffron into the liquid in the recipe and let stand for 5 minutes before adding to the mix

Cheddar-bacon: omit sugar and vanilla for quick-raised, use 2 tbsp melted bacon fat or sausage drippings instead of oil, add 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Tomato-basil: omit vanilla for quick-raised, reduce water to 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp (or reduce milk to 1 cup + 1 tbsp for yeast-raised), add 1/4 cup tomato sauce and 2 tbsp minced basil 

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