Sundays are made for extravagant breakfasts. Having successfully made plantain crepes, I tried making plantain pancakes. I used the Barry Farms recipe I had found while researching plantain flour. I halved the recipe, since I was only making pancakes for two. I also substituted melted butter for the cooking oil, since, I do love the butter.Ingredients
1 cup plantain flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
dash salt
1 ½ tbs sugar
1 egg
1 ½ tbs melted butter
½ cup milk
The batter is ashen in color, somewhat less appetizing than the creamy yellow color of a regular wheat flour batter. The recipe gives an incredibly thick batter. I ended up adding a few tablespoons more of milk just to thin the batter out. The pancakes turn out quite nicely, though, the ashen color turning golden brown in the pan. There is no perceptible difference in cooking time, and the edges crisp nicely in the butter. The texture is smooth, and dense, resembling bread. There are slight differences between the plantain pancakes and wheat flour pancakes, but I think the satisfaction is about the same.
My favorite type of pancakes are those made with buttermilk. I'm thinking about trying the recipe again, but replacing the milk with buttermilk. From the information I've found, plantain flour seems to rise less easily than wheat flour. I think the buttermilk might help to make the pancake fluffier, less bread-like. I just have to figure out how to make buttermilk, a product unknown in France, and certainly unknown in Guadeloupe.
Very interesting experimentation! And you can easily make buttermilk (which I have done several times in a pinch when no buttermilk was available, such as in France): I'm sure by now you've discovered, through googling, that you can make it through curdling fresh milk with lemon juice or vinegar, whichever you have available. I can't wait to read about the result for your next batch of pancakes!
ReplyDeleteI read you can make a quick "buttermilk" by adding some vinegar or lemon juice to milk (dairy or not) but I haven't tried it myself.
ReplyDeleteI usually diluted yogurt with water.
Thank you for your recipes and information! I am new to wheat allergies and my kids are begging for pancakes and crepes. I'm in Spain and found plantain flour, I never thought of using it for such things, but rather some rare indiginous recipes from Ecuador, yet to be discovered. Thank you! I'm interested in ANY recipes you make with this! Ps. I often make my own buttermilk, like above, or thin down yogurt, or use Kefir. Storebought buttermilk makes a lighter fluffier pancake, but these all work find enough.
ReplyDelete