i've heard about buckwheat pancakes but never had the desire to make them in the past. i didn't really like its dull color, i also did not want to stock up too many varieties of flours that i think i would only be using once or twice. on the contrary, ever since i started to eat healthy, i began taking an interest on the different types to substitute for wheat flour. so far i've bought buckwheat, chickpea, quinoa and cornmeal flours and i'm very eager to start experimenting. so, heres buckwheat pancakes for a start!


i looked up a few recipes and realized that most of them use buttermilk and/or a combination of buckwheat and all purpose flour. i didn't have buttermilk on hand neither did i wanna use white flour so i was glad to come across this japanese recipe. it was similar to my first successful pancake attempt so i was confident about it. taste wise, all i can say is - buckwheat is an acquired taste. contrary to its name, buckwheat is not wheat neither is it a grain. its actually a seed related to the rhubarb family. pretty much sums up why it tastes a little like black sesame. texture wise, rather grainy and dry. so now i know why buttermilk and 1/2 all purpose flour are normally used for buckwheat pancakes. BUT, its acceptable to me and i find that adding lots of blueberries (or bananas) in there actually make them alot moister. else for the less health conscious folks, pairing them with lots of butter and syrup would do the trick too.

for this recipe, i substituted milk, sugar, and cake flour with unsweetened soy milk, coconut palm sugar and cornstarch. tasted great still. and for a month of cutting out refined sugar and carbs, i lost about 5kg (11 pounds). my skin has also gotten better and i'm more energetic. i look forward to losing the next 5!

recipe source : asajikan.jp