Back to School Breakfast {Recipe: Pancake Mix}
Photos and article by Kristen Doyle
I am one of those moms who likes to hold on to summer as long as possible. I love it when my kids are home and dread sending them out of the nest each fall for another year of school. Don’t get me wrong… I appreciate their education, but I also love the slower pace, more relaxed days that come with school being out.
With four kids, school mornings are hectic. Getting everyone up and dressed, hair and teeth brushed, backpacks packed, and everyone well fed takes some planning on my part. We set clothes out the night before, have backpacks ready and sitting by the door before bedtime and hope that advance planning will help with a smooth school morning. It works sometimes, but not always. There’s always one who is resistant to getting a move on in the morning and pokes around, causing stress on the rest of us.
Photo by Kristen Doyle
What’s one way I get my kids up and at ’em each school day? With the promise of pancakes for breakfast! Although it’s tempting to turn to a boxed mix to save time on busy mornings, we skip the box and just make a batch recipe of pancake mix up to have on hand when we need it. Stirring in a few simple ingredients to the mix and you have fresh pancake batter ready to turn into scrumptious pancakes. Once your kids smell these on the griddle, they’ll hustle out of bed and get ready for school in a jiffy!
Photo by Kristen Doyle
Homemade Pancake Mix in a Jar
Ingredients
- 6 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon coarse Kosher salt
- 1/3 cup sugar
Instructions
- Sift together all of the dry ingredients. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months, until read to use.
- This recipe yields large batches of pancake batter. To make 1 batch of pancake batter: Mix 2 eggs, 2 cups buttermilk, 4 tablespoons melted butter and 1 Tablespoon vanilla together. Slowly add 2 cups prepared pancake mix and stir until well blended and few lumps appear.
Nutrition
What’s your go to breakfast on school mornings?
I love the idea of this, but we only use whole wheat flour- would it work as a substitute for the all-purpose, or would the amounts of the other ingredients have to be adjusted?
It should work! I’ve tried half and half with no issues 🙂
I’ve used all white whole wheat (Trader Joe’s or King Arthur Flour) and they turn out so yummy! Not dense at all.
Where did you get those beautiful measuring spoons?? Love~
I love them too! They are from a wonderful online store called Crosby & Taylor. These spoons will be in my family for generations to come.
pancakes are AWESOME! i substitute yogurt for part of the milk/buttermilk (up to half) and the pancakes come out fluffier! something i picked up living overseas.
I can’t wait to try that!
So, you mean Alton Brown’s renowned recipe for pancake mix? http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/instant-pancake-mix-recipe/index.html
Aimee here, I checked with Kristen, who is widely reputed for recipe development, and she has assured me this was a formula she’s been using for a very long time, and was not aware of Alton Brown’s recipe.
It is not so hard to believe that one basic white pancake mix could be similar to another. Thanks.
Thanks for pointing this out. I actually reversed a freezer recipe I use for this recipe. Not sure if the dry portion originated there or some place else (a quick search on the Internet showed several recipes with similar ratios & ingredients and varying sources)
Really this can be done with any favorite pancake recipe, simply by adjusting the ingredients according to the amount you want to make for storage. Thanks!
I totally love this, I haven’t bought box pancake mix since I saw the episode of Alton Brown’s Good Eats. I was hooked. I need to try this recipe too as I have used the same one for years! I have buttermilk, so this is perfect.
Just a tip… Did you know if you run out of buttermilk you can add 1 Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk, let it sit for 10 minutes and it will start to curdle. That’s an easy substitute for buttermilk when you need it in a pinch! Just thought I’d share 🙂
I do the same sort of thing — whenever I make pancakes on the weekend, I line up 3 or 4 plastic bags or containers along with my mixing bowl… and just repeat the recipe (dry ingredients) into each container. If I use a container — I have the top labeled with the wet ingredients to add — if a plastic bag I just write it on the outside. That way I don’t have to remember or search out the directions on a “foggy” busy morning. !! I do this for my waffle mix, too. Great when you have overnight guests – don’t have to spend much prep time to get something yummy on the table.
Oops, forgot to add — then I put the containers in the freezer for storage.
Thanks for this tip. I never have buttermilk on hand. Would reg milk work??
We always use 1 Tbls lemon juice and 1 C regular milk – let it sit 5-10 minutes and you have a buttermilk substitute. Happy pancaking!
How many pancakes does each batch make? And how big lol? There is just me and a toddler so I want to be able to make enough to just have breakfast for us with maybe a few leftovers to freeze….
LOVE this blog and the whole Simple Media family by the way 🙂
We use a very similar recipe. If it’s just the 2 kids and I, we half the portions when we make the mix:
1 egg/1C buttermilk/1C mix
(If my husband is home, then we do the standard 2/2/2.
We LOVE the pre-made pancake mix recipe. I make ours with 1/2 AP and 1/2 Whole Wheat flour. In the last batch, I even added 1/4 C ground flaxseed for an extra boost. I haven’t tried mine with mixing in the vanilla – sounds wonderful. We have come to expand our pancake toppings beyond syrup and berries to include:
Applesauce
Peanut Butter
Yogurt
Honestly, pancakes are one of my “go to” easy dinners – I know everyone will eat them!
Oh my goodness, applesauce on pancakes sounds amazing…I don’t know why I have never thought of that before!
Wonderful, I just posted a pancake recipe the other day! Beautiful photos!!
Love having the measurements to make this in bulk. I often use our homemade yogurt instead of buttermilk for pancakes. We just can’t use it up fast enough and I hate to waste it.
just curious, can you make it with almond milk or some other non-dairy milk instead? would you use the same proportions? thanks! great idea!
I have already had breakfast this morning but now I feel like pancakes!!!!! 🙂
I don’t even bother going to the effort of frying pancakes on busy mornings. Instead, I fry all the pancakes on the day I mix up the batter and then stick any uneaten ones in a large freezer bag inside the fridge. Then, on a busy morning, we simply stick our pancakes in the toaster. They come out slightly crispy and nice and hot! We’ve found that cooked pancakes last several days in the fridge.
Just made these this morning and they were so good! We’ve purchased Krustez brand in the huge package at Costco for years, but now there’s no going back. Very easy to prepare! Thanks.
Could you use this recipe for waffles too?
Excellent pancakes every time!