A Home-Reared Chef!
Cook by Instinct, Recipe #13!
Pancakes are not only for breakfast or brunch, but dinner also! And these, my pancakes, aren’t your everyday run-of-the-mill thick, “fluffy pancakes.” No sir-ree … These pancakes are more crepe-like: creamy and rich, yet light on the tongue, and melt-in-your-mouth.
My children would tell you that the best dinners they can remember having, when they were growing up at home, were pancakes and bacon, or French toast and sausage. I often liked making dinner fun for my family … playing-it-up a bit. And though my children were taught to eat their vegetables (and to eat everything on their plate), I made sure to know what vegetables they did like and then prepared them in a palatable and delicious way. From experience and memories of my own childhood, I know that most children do not like just plain steamed veggies. So I made sure to cook them with flavor: in a little chicken broth, tossed with some butter, or lightly fried in a little rendered bacon fat. Cooked in this manner, my children never complained. They ate.
Since the very beginning of our marriage, Bob and I religiously watched all the Saturday cooking shows, on the local PBS stations: Julia Child, Graham Kerr, Yan Can Cook, The Frugal Gourmet, and Wine What Pleasure. We became Home Chefs (Foodies!); cooking became a hobby for us; an obsession. And we became the kind of parents that wanted our children to taste a wide variety of foods. But important, too, at least for us (and we were heavily criticized for this), was that they would enjoy what they were eating. “Food should be beautiful, fun, and delicious,” was our motto!
Since the kids were very wee-little, they sampled (and very much liked) caviar, pâté, duck, goose, and what we now fondly refer to as stinky cheeses. For many years, we would head to Neiman Marcus just before New Year’s Eve to purchase our caviar and pate, foie gras; and the kids loved to tag along. This was a major event for our little family. Ah … the memories!
We were strict parents—believe it or not—but the kind of parents who didn’t force their children to eat chicken soup when sick, or eat and swallow what was distasteful to the point of gagging. They were indulged with ice cream when they were sick; and just because it made them feel good.
I created this Brown-Sugar sourdough starter in honor of my kids. It has its root in an old Amish recipe (originally this was done using white granulated sugar). I am sure most everyone will remember the Amish Friendship Bread starter? I have radically changed it, as you will see, and adapted to pancakes. My family and guests rave about them. These are not for the fearful of calories.
Brown-Sugar Sourdough Pancakes
(Caution: Rather difficult to flip over!)
Sourdough Prep Time is a ten-day cycle (recipe follows below)
Makes about twelve 9-inch pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup heavy-cream
1/2 cup sour-cream
2 cups sweet, sourdough starter (recipe follows below)
1/4 golden-brown sugar (packed)
3 extra-large eggs (I prefer to use jumbos)
1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 (generous) cups buttermilk pancake mix (I use Bisquick)
1/4 cup Cultured Buttermilk Blend for Baking and Cooking
1/3 cup Orange Juice concentrate (defrosted), undiluted
Directions:
1. In a suitable size bowl, add the heavy-cream, sour-cream, starter, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat on low till everything is well blended.
2. To the starter mixture add the pancake mix and cultured buttermilk powder. Beat till just blended. Do not overbeat.
3. Stir in undiluted orange juice. Blend well.
4. Let sit for about ten minutes before cooking.
5. On a hot griddle over medium heat, place about 1/2 tablespoon butter to melt, when sizzling add about 1/2 cup of pancake batter. Turn when edges seem to start firming and browning and bubbles start to form throughout pancake (though you will NOT see as many bubbles as in a regular pancake batter).
NOTE: In flipping the pancake; use a deliberate, swift motion to slide a wide spatula under the pancake. This is difficult because the pancake is so tender that it can very easily break.
Brown-Sugar Sourdough Starter
Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup white sugar
2 cups golden-brown sugar (packed), divided
1 cup milk
2 cups buttermilk
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a two-quart glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day one of the ten- day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.
2. On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon.
3. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown-sugar and 1 cup buttermilk.
4. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.
5. Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown-sugar and 1 cup buttermilk. Starter is now ready for use in recipe.
6. Store the remaining starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the ten-day process over again (beginning with step two).
FOOTNOTES: Once you have made the starter, you will consider it Day One, and thus ignore step one in this recipe and proceed with step two. You can also freeze this starter in 1-cup measures for later use. Frozen starter will take at least three hours at room temperature to thaw before using.