OAT, APPLE AND BUCKWHEAT PIKELETS
When I was down in Augusta recently, I was reminded of the power of the pancake – or really, as I like to make them, a pikelet (a fatter and smaller version of the said pancake). Brendan made the most spectacular, enormous light and fluffy pancakes I’ve ever seen and served them on the deck (amidst the pink jasmine blossom) with a delicious cinnamon apple sauce, toasted nuts and seeds, honey or maple syrup, home made peach jam and yoghurt. This is a set Sunday breakfast at 8am. I want to be there every Sunday at 8am !!! And it reminded me just what a great breakfast (and indeed snack) a good pikelet can be, especially at this time of the year as the weather warms. Porridge can become a bit heavy and boring, and really a good wholegrain pikelet is just a porridge in another, albeit lighter, form.
I’m a big fan of soaking grains for porridge (lot’s of recipes for these in my books) as this makes them more digestible. Phytic Acid is broken down (ensuring that you do indeed absorb all those wonderful minerals in whole grains), as are enzyme inhibitors and in the gluten grains, gluten. Soaking a grain really makes it so much more digestible and most people notice an enormous difference in how they digest it. You can take this concept of soaking on to include all wholegrain flours – now when it comes to cakes and cookies, I’m not much of a fan. I’m not a purist and it will often result in heavy end results. But, when it comes to pikelets or pancakes, it’s truly such a easy and wonderful thing to do. You’ll notice a little salt in the soaking recipe – I use this when soaking a flour – with so much endosperm (and thus starch and thus, sugar) available, salt just helps to slow it all down, a little control factor. I really prefer to add something lacto – fermented like
whey, yoghurt or kefir – it really helps to bump up the said lacto – fermentation.
I prefer to cook these babies in coconut oil – a great oil for heating, and it makes the edges so deliciously crispy, but you also use ghee or butter, or a combination. A word about cooking – make sure your pan is hot, but never so hot that the coconut oil is rippling or smoking. The batter should sizzle as it hits the oil, and should take 3 or so minutes until it is ready to turn. The pikelets will most likely have absorbed the oil (this is fine), and you can see in picture below, the the edges have ‘dried’ out so to speak, and there are lots of little holes. Now is the time to turn them. If the pan is too hot, they will cook on the outside, before the inside is cooked. If you’d like to add a little more oil (1 teaspoon at the most) after you’ve turned them you can, otherwise don’t worry.
As we are only just coming into spring (thus very little fresh fruit around), I used apples for the fruit and to make a simple apple sauce I just peeled and chopped 3 apples into my favourite Reiss enamel pan, with 1 tablespoon rapadura sugar, a touch of cinnamon and 1/4 cup water. Cover and let cook very slowly for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring often and breaking down the apples. When cooked, I grated in a little lemon zest. But now that strawberries are on their way (how exciting is this !!), I’d most likely make a simple poached strawberry number (in both Coming Home to Eat, and Wholefood for Children) and use a banana to mash into the pancake instead of the apple.
Yoghurt, Cultured Cream (Wholefood for Children) and Cream Fraiche, all are wonderful options for serving as they add more good bugs to help with the digestion. The Cultured Dried Apricot and Fig Puree from Wholefood for Children is another excellent lacto -fermented option and dairy free.
Don’t worry too much if you see an oily residue on the plate where they’ve been – this is the coconut oil. They won’t taste too oily, only delicious with crunchy edges – just take care not to let your oil smoke when you are cooking them. And leftovers? Brilliant heated up for breakfast the next day, or for a lunchbox snack. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I’ll see you at your place around 8am Sunday?
OAT AND APPLE PIKLETS OR PANCAKES
Wheat Free, Low Gluten. Can be dairy free.
Makes 10 medium – large pikelets
In Australia, Four Leaf makes a great Oat Meal. If you cannot find oatmeal, grind up some rolled oats into a meal, and then measure the amount from this – you may need to add a little extra milk (1 tablespoon is plenty) to the batter the next morning as the rolled oats absorb a bit more liquid.
If you’d like to make these a little softer for rolling (like a pancake) add a little more milk or egg. They can also be topped with berries or other fruits as desired.
½ cup oat meal
½ cup buckwheat flour
tiny pinch sea salt
1 cup milk or ½ cup coconut milk and ½ cup rice milk
2 teaspoons whey, yoghurt or kefir
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon rapadura sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter, ghee or coconut oil
1 – 2 small apples 170gm approx/ peeled and grated
¾ teaspoon baking powder
ghee, butter or coconut oil for frying
SOAKED:
Add the oat meal, buckwheat flour, salt, milks and whey to a small bowl – stir together well. Cover and leave on the bench (or in the fridge) to stand overnight.
The next morning add the cinnamon, sugar, melted fat of choice, and grated apple. Sift in the baking powder and gently stir together.
Gently heat enough ghee, butter or coconut oil to coat the base of a frypan. Add 1 tablespoon (or more as desired) of the mixture to the pan. Cook well on one side for 2 – 3 minutes and is golden – you should also see small bubbles appearing in the batter – before turning it over. Cook on the other side for 1minute approx.
UNSOAKED – OMIT THE SALT
Combine the flours, cinnamon, sugar and sifted baking powder in a bowl – whisk through to mix. Add the grated apple, milk and fat of choice, mix together well before cooking.
This Post Has 12 Comments
Thank you for posting this, I adore your banana pikelets and make them at every opportunity. My 2 girls love them too (and the husband!). So I look forward to trying the apple version. Although I will have to omit the sugar as I’m on a strict no-sugar diet, doctors orders so wheat free is also much appreciated. I’m sure they still taste great. Could you also use this batter to make waffles? With the coconut oil can you really get this without the smell? As I’ve tried looking with no success. I don’t really like the overpowering smell. And the other thing is that I struggle to cook the pikelets in cast-iron. I have tried lowering the heat but it still sticks. Any advice?
Hi Dawn,
Yes, you can absolutely leave the sugar out, the fruit in them will give good flavour. I think this batter would make a fine waffle – just make sure it’s not too runny ( but then again, it shouldn’t be). Yes, you can get a ‘refined’ coconut oil (Melrose call it refined, Sprial call it Virgin – both Australian brands), but using a full flavoured/unrefined coconut oil doesn’t leave as much taste as you think. But, ghee is a great option also for frying them.
You are lucky to have a cast iron pan – these are the best for frying – the trick is to have it hot, but not so hot that the fat ripples or smokes. If it’s sticking, it’s not hot enough and you probably are being a bit stingy with the fat. Frying is tricky – you always need to be adjusting the heat, and also have an appropriate size jet underneath. If it’s a large pan, on a small jet/element, only the centre will cook properly. Just remember, you need a heat so the batter gently sizzles. Also DON’T TURN THEM until they look in the picture above – they will stick otherwise. Best of luck… Jude
Thanks Jude!
Jude – I soaked my batter overnight and made these this morning – I wish I had doubled the amount as they were eaten so fast I only got one :( they were SO GOOD! And I have coconut oil in the pantry but have never used it for frying – it was fantastic! :) Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
gosh, so pleased you loved them – doesn’t the coconut oil give a great, crispy edged end result!! :)
Your post is so informative. My son is allergic to gluten, dairy and egg so I do something similar. Never tried the soaking, don’t know if I can with a gluten free flour mix…any thoughts on that? You may check out my post on gluten free pancakes on my blog and let me know your thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Edwina, I will….
Hi Edwina,
I wouldn’t suggest using a commercial gluten free flour – usually nasty, with a large amount of starches (and often gums, and often soy flour). If it is a high starch GF flour, pointless to soak it, but more pointless still to eat it. If using the rice flour (and Besan) as you suggest, I would use brown rice flour and soaking will DEFINITELY improve the digestibility and bio availability of nutrients.
Where can I find the recipe for your banana pikelets? I am just soaking the flour and oats for this recipe ready for tomorrow’s breakfast for my 7 month old. I have your wholefood for children book- it is fantastic! Thanks, Michelle
The pikelets were great! Mine looked so much darker than those in your photo. Are yours from the same recipe? I have frozen some for a quick breakfast for my baby. Thanks very much! Still keen on the banana pikelet recipe… Michelle
Hi Michelle…
The Banana Pikelets I think are the ones in Wholefood – Buckwheat and Brown Rice ….. is that correct Dawn? So glad you are enjoying the Wholefood for Children. Yours looked darker – yes mine above are the exact recipe from Wholefood for Children… you could have cooked them a little more, the flours could be slightly different (bit more bran and germ) where you live – remember different brands and in different countries vary enormously – this can’t be underestimated…. In Australia I love the Four Leaf Oatmeal, and the Kialla Buckwheat – but often just pop some buckwheat groats in the Thermomix and make a flour too – it’s a bit heavier than the Kialla…. Hope that all helps Michelle….
I made these this morning only I only had coconut cream so I just used that and water. They turned out wonderfully! The whole family was complaining that they wanted more! I was surprised because I whizzed the oats into meal so they weren’t too floury and so they had a bit of substance and texture and I didn’t bother peeling the apples (I just blitzed them in the Thermomix) and neither my fussy number 2 or his fussy friend were bothered at all! In fact they were probably the keenest of them all! (Although number 2’s little friend preferred to stick to maple syrup instead of the Greek yoghurt, strawberries and blueberries that the rest of us had with them.) Thankfully I had made a double batch. Unfortunately, as I only found the recipe this morning I didn’t soak. It didn’t make them any less enjoyable but next time I will prepare a triple batch the night before to make sure we get the most out of them! Thanks for sharing!