What flour to use for pancakes?
What flour to use for pancakes? From Brest to Marseille, crepes are devoured with as much happiness. But what flour should be used to prepare them? Discover the different possibilities and the role of this ingredient in the preparation of pancake and pancake batters.
What flour to use for pancakes?
Popular with children and adults alike, pancakes are a staple at tea parties , birthdays, and of course Candlemas. The sweet versions of this emblematic recipe from our culinary heritage can be made with various flours. To quickly concoct normal pancakes for a snack , use, for example, the wheat flour present in your cupboard. In order to obtain a very smooth, homogeneous and airy dough, favor type 45 or type 55 flours .
However, a multitude of flours can be used to make pancake batter . In Brittany, sweet pancakes are mainly made with wheat flour, a generic name including soft wheat, durum wheat or spelled flour, all rich in gluten.
Why not try spelled flour or chestnut flour? The first – spelled is an old variety of wheat with brown grains – is healthy and rich in minerals. The second, gluten-free, is generally combined with other flours (wheat, rice, etc.), is widely used, particularly in Corsican cuisine, and naturally flavors your pancakes with a typical, sweet flavor.
Which flour to use for the Breton pancakes?
If you want to make Breton galettes according to the traditional recipe, a specific flour must be used . These pancakes, darker in color than sweet pancakes, are intended for savory recipes.
While it is not forbidden to make a savory pancake with wheat flour, for an authentic recipe rooted in Breton gastronomic tradition, use buckwheat flour!
Also called buckwheat flour, it is rich in protein and has a rustic flavor with hints of hazelnut. The savory pancake batter, which is a little thicker than that made with wheat flour, is just as easy to work with. Use quality buckwheat flour to make Breton pancakes in a jiffy and very easily to enjoy with sausage, eggs, mushrooms, cheese, roasted vegetables….
Can you make pancakes without flour?
Classic wheat flour pancakes contain gluten and cannot be eaten by those with gluten intolerance . If this is your case, know that there are alternatives for making flourless pancakes to enjoy in both sweet and savory versions.
To replace wheat flour, use flours that do not contain gluten such as rice flour, chestnut flour, corn flour, quinoa flour, chickpea flour… To make your gluten-free pancake batter , mix several of these flours together.
To prepare super light pancakes, an alternative to flour exists, and is surely in your cupboard. Very easily make pancakes with cornstarch (better known under the trade name Maïzena)! In addition to being gluten-free, this recipe only requires 4 ingredients : cornstarch, eggs, semi-skimmed milk and salt. This last ingredient can be replaced by vanilla sugar for more indulgence .
Vary the flours, try the starch, flavor your pancakes – herbs, spices, alcohol, orange blossom… –, test a thousand toppings and enjoy pancakes… all year round!
