My Green Mouth: I WANT PANCAKES!

I'm sitting ... waiting ... morning church bells ringing, computer chair sticky, husband asleep.

Oh, how I want pancakes, I want to eat them right now!

But, you see, I'm waiting for my pancakes to rise. "Rise"? Yes, rise. These are wicked cool pancakes. Made with yeast. My husband and I will be dining on pancakes for Sunday supper.

This recipe is part of the Taste & Create food blog recipe exchange, and I got to try out a nifty recipe from Dragon Musings, a blog I'd been checking out and admire. And I decided to try her pancake recipe. I mean, how could I resist? "Sultanas"--what the hell are those? But they sound sultry. Pancakes made with yeast, not quick rising like your usual pancake recipe. I don't know if it's more common to make pancakes with yeast in Australia, but I think it's nifty.

So, right now I'm waiting ... for my pancake batter to rise in the frig.

Overnight Pancakes
Dragon Musings recipe was awesome. "Sultanas," as it turns out, are a type of raisin. Which I thought I had in my pantry. But found I did not, a bit too late. So, instead of the sultanas/raisins, I added in some of my favorite pancake ingredients, to see how they'll meld with the yeast-based dough. It turned out awesome. After tasting these cakes, I can tell you, I plan to use this recipe again, and with raisins next time! Yum.

1 and 1/2 cups unbleached organic wheat flour
1/2 cup organic spelt flour (or other non-wheat)
1/2 cup bran flakes
1/4 cup oats
2 T. raw sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 package dried yeast
1 tsp. (or more) grated organic orange rind
1 T. molasses
1/4 melted butter
1 organic, free-range egg
1 and 1/2 cups warm organic milk

1) In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, bran flakes, oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and yeast.
2) Then, add the moist ingredients: orange rind, molasses, butter, egg, and milk. Stir gently until well blended.
3) Cover and store in the frig overnight, or for about 12 hours.
4) When you are ready, cook the batter in a buttered skillet, as you would with normal pancakes. (NOTE: My batter was a tad too thick once I took it out of the frig, so I added about a half cup of water to the batter. Turned out perfect, light pancakes that held their form through cooking and flipping.)

Now that I've tried this recipe once, I can't wait until next time. Somehow thinking of pancakes with yeast completely alters my perception of pancakes. How about rose water and pistachio pancakes? Or Chai and raisin pancakes? I believe I'll be trying Dragon Musing's pancake recipe again soon!

Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* Whenever I'm making something fairly sturdy, like pancakes, I try to blend the types of flour I use. I'd like to avoid using only wheat. Other types of flours bring more to the table and my gut: spelt has got protein, bran flakes have fiber, and the combination will help create a more complex carbohydrate. So, my body will register the pancake not as sugar, but as a longer lasting energy.
* For a portion of the sweetener, I used a wee bit o' molasses. Molasses has got that deep color, deep flavor, and iron!
* It's hot here in Brooklyn. Hot and humid. (Bluck!) So, doing a recipe that requires such little cooking and use of a heat source is a perfect way to conserve energy and keep from frying in our little apartment.

Here are more pictures from the process.

Those alluring orange rinds peeking out from the dry ingredients...