Updated 02/25/2019: Made some adjustments to the recipe. After looking back at it, the measurements were mixed up.
Lately, I have been trying to eat a little healthier. I have been cutting out a lot of the white flour items and replacing them with whole wheat flours. Essentially, I am cutting back on the carbohydrates (carbs) a little. The thing is that our bodies need carbs in order to properly function, so we cannot just completely cut them out.
As it just so happens, I love bread. Period. I love bread. On a recent visit to the doctor, I was told to cut back on the carbs a little and my response was like, “Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!” Many people fear a lot of things, but one of my biggest fears was for the doctor to tell me to chill on the bread. However, I took on the challenge and just started taking things in moderation with the encouragement of Deidra. With that being said, I started to get creative, especially with breakfast on the weekends.
The Oats
My family love pancakes and the first thing I needed to do was figure out how to make them a little bit healthier. I already had a buttermilk pancake recipe, so now I just needed to substitute the white flour. At the same time, I realized that I had this huge bag of organic rolled oats and started to wonder what I could do with it. As it turns out, you can turn oats into a flour and use it just as you would with white or whole wheat flour! There are a couple of things to keep in mind though:
- You have to substitute 1.5 cups of oat flour to 1 cup of regular flour, simply because it is not as thick (at first) when adding liquid.
- Oat flour is gluten free. So, when baking breads where you are expecting lots of rise, you’ll have to add more leavening (yeast, baking powder, etc.) than normal to compensate.
To get oat flour, simply whip out the food processor with the chopper blade (or “S” blade as it’s sometimes called) and toss in your rolled oats. (If you don’t have a food processor and are in need of one, check out the one we use. We have dubbed it, The Whirly Gig!) Below are some photos of what they look like before and after:
The Bananas
I also had a couple of overripe bananas that I did not want to waste. The cool thing is that ripe bananas are really great in baked goods because they are sweeter. As such, I originally was going to substitute the substituted two bananas for the in the place of two eggs, but I know the wife does not like foods that are too “banana-y” (Deidra now doesn’t mind them being “banana-y”). So, you will notice in the recipe that I only used one banana.
The Batter
The rest is pretty easy. Once you have your oat flour and you mash up your bananas, grab your favorite blender and mix all the ingredients.
The only thing that I would caution you about is that the longer the batter sits, the thicker your batter and pancakes will become. So, if you like thin pancakes, cook them quickly. If you want a good mix of both, just take your time. However, if you want thick pancakes wait a few minutes before you start to cook. The oat flour will soak up the fluids in the batter and start to swell a little.
With that being said and without further ado, I give you our Banana Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes!
Recipe
Add rolled oats into your food processor and using the chopping blade (or "S" blade"), blend until it looks like a finely ground flour.
Combine the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar (if you are using sugar) in a large bowl. Use a fork or whisk to mix all the ingredients well.
Note: Depending on how ripe the banana, you may or may not want to use sugar at all. The darker the banana the sweeter it will be. Also, the sweetness from the syrup used may be sweet enough.
Mash up the bananas in the same bowl as the dry ingredients.
Note: If you do not want yours to be "banana-y", then you can substitute an egg for one of the bananas.
Now would probably be a good time to start heating up your pan on medium heat, using a thin layer of your favorite oil.
Add the buttermilk to the bowl and use a blender to mix the ingredients well.
Add the vanilla extract, and finish blending into the batter.
If you want to make your pancakes a little interesting, here is where you would fold in your nuts, blueberries, or your favorite "extras" to the batter.
Using a ladle, you'll want to scoop the batter into the pan and cook until bubbles come through, and then flip the pancake over to finish cooking on the other side. Do this for all of your pancakes until you are done!
Note: Because you are working with ground oats, the longer it sits as a batter, the thicker it will become. So, your later pancakes may be a little thicker than your first ones.
Ingredients
Directions
Add rolled oats into your food processor and using the chopping blade (or "S" blade"), blend until it looks like a finely ground flour.
Combine the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar (if you are using sugar) in a large bowl. Use a fork or whisk to mix all the ingredients well.
Note: Depending on how ripe the banana, you may or may not want to use sugar at all. The darker the banana the sweeter it will be. Also, the sweetness from the syrup used may be sweet enough.
Mash up the bananas in the same bowl as the dry ingredients.
Note: If you do not want yours to be "banana-y", then you can substitute an egg for one of the bananas.
Now would probably be a good time to start heating up your pan on medium heat, using a thin layer of your favorite oil.
Add the buttermilk to the bowl and use a blender to mix the ingredients well.
Add the vanilla extract, and finish blending into the batter.
If you want to make your pancakes a little interesting, here is where you would fold in your nuts, blueberries, or your favorite "extras" to the batter.
Using a ladle, you'll want to scoop the batter into the pan and cook until bubbles come through, and then flip the pancake over to finish cooking on the other side. Do this for all of your pancakes until you are done!
Note: Because you are working with ground oats, the longer it sits as a batter, the thicker it will become. So, your later pancakes may be a little thicker than your first ones.