Yeasted pancakes cook differently and have very different texture
Hi Folks!
No one has discussed the cooking and tasting of yeasted pancakes so I am posting to this info.
Got up at 4:30 A.M. today and decided to finally make yeasted pancakes. Followed a buttermilk active dry yeast recipe and let it rise for 45 minutes. I used unbleaced white flour (non self rising)
To my surprise, cooking with the yeasted glutenous batter was more challenging. Unlike usual baking power/soda batter, these yeasted pancakes ladle out thick. I tried tilting the pan but there was no movement. I found that the outer layer cooks rapidly (and forms a rougher surface) but this batter does not transfer heat to the insides. It takes much longer to cook fully through. I quickly learned to cook on a lower heat to allow pancakes to completly cook.
Upon eating the plump (also smaller diameter) pancakes, I found the texture to be quite different from the baking soda/powder "bread like" pancakes. The yeast imparted a more earthy taste. However, the texture presented a problem. These yeasted cakes have a very smooth, almost dense, thick pudding like texture (The batter had risen and was actually bubbling when I used it.) I actually did not care for the results at all.
Anyone have any suggestions for alternative methods, please?
Try Craig Claiborne's raised buckwheat pancakes from the New New York Times Cookbook--delicious! The recipe is online here: http://www.ochef.com/r415.htm
Bonnie
While I agree that Craig Claybornes pancakes are gluten free, I interpreted your post to raise the issue of yeasted pancakes exclusive of their suitability for gluten free diets.
From your description of the yeasted pancakes I'm left with the impression that there may not have been enough liquid in the formula. If you used dip/level/pour measure for your ingredients you could have easily overloaded it with flour. With respect to the way the pancakes cooked, it is possible that the type of pan used didn't distribute the heat as evenly as necessary to make your adventure a success. Self rising flour has a leavening agent (usually baking powder) already added to it. If your recipe called for self rising flour it may have been a factor.
My own experience with yeasted waffle/pancake batters is that the flavor is more "earthy" than baking powder/soda recipes but that's one of the reasons I like to make them once in a while. Kinda like gettig outside the box. The flavor improves if you mix the batter the night before and allow it to ferments overnight at a low temperature, then take it out and let it come to room temperature before grilling. If using other leavening agents in addition to the yeast, add the yeast the night before and stir in the other leaveners within about 30 minutes of grilling time.
the reason I ask is that buttermilk requires soda to work properly, and you made no mention of that. even in yeast batters you would need soda to make the acid in the milk react properly.
It does sound like its too thick, one reason I don't like sour dough pancakes is that they are thicker than regular batter ones, and I like mine thicker than crepes but thinner than what everyone else calls normal.
The recipe did not call for any soda or powder...only yeast. I used King Arthur all purpose unbleached flour (not self rising). I use a quality heavy All Clad 12" pan with gas flame. I just tasted some of the refrigerated extra pancakes I saved and I could not eat it. They taste very poor with that same unpleasant thick soft-thick like texture (yes, they are fully cooked). First time I experienced disappointment with simple pancakes. Thanks for any suggestions.
Note: I just remembered that the yeast packages were almost two years old. Could that be the cause? The batter did lift and bubbled.
This is the recipe I used:
the amount of water used seems a little short, and the lack of soda to react with the buttermilk is strange.
They seem to be a good recipe, I think they just don't have enough liquid, and a lot of buttermilk, most recipes I've seen use a combination of buttermilk and water, and as I'm not a fan of buttermilk would never use a recipe that called for that much. Generally I like a thin batter, and would have thinned it down to make a more pourable batter.
I am not a big fan of yeasted pancakes and can only remember eating them once, they were nice and tasty but a whole lot of work, I think I'd rather eat English muffins than pancakes if they are thick.
I dont' think your yeast is bad, the way to find out is add the packet to a bit of warm water and see if it gets bubbly after a bit, then add the whole lot to the recipe, a quarter cup of water wouldn't make that much difference in the recipe for pancakes.