Spelt pancakes

We have been eating these with quite some frequency lately.  I have a Komo Mill for my bread courses (that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it), so these beauties have been made with freshly milled spelt grain. I think it makes a huge difference to the taste.

Anything I make with freshly milled grain tastes so much better than when made with flour that was milled goodness knows when*.  (I think every bag of flour should have a milling date stamped on it.) You don’t need to have a home mill to make these pancakes though. Buy the best flour you can afford, preferably organic, preferably stoneground and preferably wholemeal. I use spelt because I love its nutty taste but feel free to try other flours that you may have in the cupboard.

200g wholemeal spelt flour
20g light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
100g Greek yoghurt
50g milk ( you may need a little more)

Method
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon in a large bowl and give a stir to mix. Add the eggs, yoghurt and milk and whisk well together.  You may need slightly more milk as freshly milled flour doesn’t absorb as much liquid as flour that was milled a while ago. You want a thick batter.

Place a pan over a medium heat and add a small knob of butter. When the butter is foaming add spoonfuls of the batter to the pan.  Allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Small holes will begin to appear on the top of the pancake and when it is almost dry on top it is time to turn it over and cook for a further 30 seconds. Remove to a warm plate, and repeat to use up the rest of the batter. It will make about 12 pancakes. Serve with butter, jam, maple syrup, bacon, cheese, fruit compote… what ever suits you best.

*Freshly milled flour is also more nutritional.  The flour hasn’t had time to oxidise or for any of the vitamins and minerals to degrade. The essential oils are all still there and because you use the whole grain you get all of the benefit of the nutrients in the germ. (The germ is often separated in industrially processed wholemeal flour because it makes the flour go rancid fairly quickly.  The germ is where the majority of the nutrients reside, so that valuable bit of nutrition goes off for animal feed).