Delicious Kefir Flax Pancakes: A Sunday Breakfast Tradition
Sunday, March 3, 2013 
Sunday morning is pancake time in our house. The kids get up do their thing, watching television or playing games, waiting patiently (or sometimes not so patiently) as I make coffee and then get the batter ready. I've long been a fan of Eshun Mott and Emma Waverman's book Whining and Dining (you can read my review here). My kids say "are you making something from the broccoli book?" because there is a picture of a girl eating a piece of broccoli on the cover.
One of the well worn pages in the book is Eshun's Buttermilk Pancakes recipe. This is my go-to pancake recipe. I've tried others, and the kids certainly eat it (they've never turned down a pancake), but they don't like the other ones as much as this one. That said, while I use Eshun's recipe as a guide, I've made several modifications over time and turned it into my own.
Annie's Kefir Flax Pancakes
This is the basic recipe for my kefir flax pancakes, but you can add things to it like blueberries, shredded apple, or dark chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup of butter (plus more for cooking)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups plain Kefir (note: Kefir often comes in just slightly less than 2 cup containers, e.g. 454ml. In that case, top up the last 50ml or so with milk or water).
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
Instructions
- Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
- Combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix until well blended.
- Make a well in the flour mixture and crack in the eggs. Pour the kefir and melted butter onto the eggs and use a whisk to mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Mix in the flax seed.
- Melt a small pad of butter in a cast iron pan or griddle. Using a ladle or measuring cup, pour batter into the pan making pancakes of your desired size (from dollar pancakes up to fill the whole pan pancakes -- I usually do a mix of sizes).
- When bubbles start to appear, flip the pancakes and continue cooking until they are brown on both sides and cooked through.
We serve the pancakes with a side of bacon or breakfast sausages and a plate of fruit. Of course, pure Canadian maple syrup is a must-have.
Does your family have a Sunday morning breakfast tradition? (Warning: If it is eggs benedict, I may be inviting myself over).
Reader Comments (7)
Do you use unflavored kefir - the plain, unsweetened version? I wonder if plain drinkable yogurt would work as well.
Sundays are not our relaxed days for breakfast around here - we do Saturdays. Pancakes or waffles - my daughter loves to help stir and watch as we make them.
Yes, we use plain. I have used plain yoghurt too and that works as well. So does milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice in it.
My parents recently moved to New Zealand to live with me and my partner and our baby boy. They have a Sunday tradition of making a big breakfast; we have a tradition of eating Sunday brunch at a cafe. So we are going to alternate between these two. We eat and then do "house meeting", dealing with any business that comes up when five people are co-habitating. I find these kind of discussions always go down better after a shared meal.
Our mealtime traditions are in transition: my youngest children still living at home are grown up and have jobs now so we have to adapt to working schedules and such. Mealtimes are still an important time to connect, regardless of when or what day it happens. It's different every week!
I love the idea of using Kefir in pancakes. I'll definitely have to try that. Also, my husband makes a killer eggs benny with homemade hollandaise and everything. You're welcome at our brunch table anytime!
We always think of eating delicious foods all the time rather thinking of eating healthy food. Generally Sunday is the best week day in which we would be relaxing and enjoying. So it is better to have a nutritious and delicious meal. The above recipe is just amazing and provides good nutritional benefits to us. I would definitely try this at home.