Get Some More Fiber Into Your Breakfast With This Easy Pancake Ingredient Swap

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We're always looking for ways to amp up pancakes, and this goes double for improving their nutritional content. Standard pancakes are a delicious breakfast staple, but they're also exceedingly versatile, lending themselves well to variations and additions. These include changes that help boost certain macros in order to contribute to a healthier diet. Take, for example, fiber. We're pretty into fiber-loading, since most adults don't get enough of it in their diets, and fiber is so very essential for numerous body systems running smoothly, the most important of which is your gut.

There's a whole list of common mistakes you're probably making with pancakes, and we'd argue that not subbing buckwheat flour for some of the wheat flour in your flapjacks is one of them. While 100 grams of all-purpose white flour contains 2.7 grams of fiber, the same amount of buckwheat flour contains 4 grams ... a very big deal when every gram matters! Buckwheat is sort of fascinating because it's not actually wheat at all, despite the name. It's actually a pseudocereal (quinoa is another example) and isn't actually a grain, but technically a seed. Because of that fact, it's also naturally gluten-free and high in certain vitamins and minerals that traditional grains don't always have. 

Buckwheat pancakes are browner than their wheat-based brethren, are possessed of a pleasant nuttiness, and are very good for you. In addition to fiber, buckwheat is also rich in iron, vitamin K, and phosphorus. You can swap about ⅓ of your normal flour for buckwheat flour in your favorite pancake recipe and change up the nutritional profile without otherwise affecting your Sunday morning breakfast plans.

There's a reason pancakes usually taste better at restaurants — commercial eateries have more practice turning and (not) burning stacks upon stacks of griddle cakes. With a few essential tips, you can master buckwheat pancakes so that your breakfast is as social media-ready and delicious as it is pretty. First of all, use caution when approaching any recipes that claim you can use 100% buckwheat flour in your batter. It's technically true, but the lack of gluten in buckwheat flour means that there will be no rise to the batter, and you may end up disappointed with the texture. The Anthony's brand makes a highly-rated organic buckwheat flour that could be perfect for beginners dipping their toes into the world of buckwheat pancakes.

Buttermilk is a frequent ingredient in buckwheat pancakes, and with good reason. In any pancake recipe, buttermilk adds tang and fluffiness to the batter. This is especially important when it comes to buckwheat pancake batter, which is missing some of that essential lift supported by gluten's protein network. 

You'll also want to use a high-quality vanilla extract to help achieve the flavor of "normal" pancakes, since the rich flavor of buckwheat might otherwise change up what your family (especially little ones) are expecting. Just as is the case with any pancakes, take caution not to overwork the batter so that your pancakes don't end up flat. As the chef's kiss finishing touch, drizzle your piping-hot, buttered cakes with some real maple syrup.