Buckwheat Pancakes with Poached Pears
Hearty, country style buckwheat pancakes get elevated with soft, sweet poached pears. These pancakes are the perfect sponge for the sweet juices that come along with the pears.
Buckwheat is an interesting grain. In fact, it is not wheat, and not technically a grain. It falls under the same pseudo grain category with quinoa and amaranth. Buckwheat is naturally gluten free and has a deep earthy and nutty flavor. If you are looking for a way to add more fiber into your diet, buckwheat is a great place to start!
I will give you fair warning: buckwheat is an acquired taste, and it is probably best to ease your way into it. When used as the main flour in baked goods and pancakes, it can get a little dry. I have always been a big fan of European style pastries which lean on the dryer and less sweet side.
This recipe gives the option to split the buckwheat flour with all purpose flour (if you’re not gluten free) or gluten free all purpose flour. In fact, this recipe is incredibly versatile. It is easily made vegan, gluten free, dairy free, or all of the above. It is the perfect example of my philosophy: recipes are guidelines and you can change things to suit your personal preferences.
Why should you make these buckwheat pancakes?
Now that I’ve gotten the warnings out of the way, we can go over why these pancakes are so delicious!
These buckwheat pancakes are loaded with good fiber and can keep you full all morning. Even David, my husband who is hungry 30 minutes after eating most meals, agrees that these pancakes leave you full for hours.
What won’t happen when you eat these pancakes? Food coma. We all know that feeling after eating a sweet breakfast at our favorite brunch spot. The heavy eye lids. That feeling that maybe you had one bite too many. This will be a thing of the past!
The poached pears bring it all together with their fork tender softness reminiscent of canned pears (in a good way). Think of them as the ultimate canned pear. The poaching liquid is immediately absorbed into the pancake infusing them with the blend of warm spices. It is not to be missed!
Let’s Talk Ingredients
Buckwheat Flour: you can find this in most grocery stores these days. It is usually with the gluten free flours. I prefer Bob’s Red Mill, but you can use any brand you like.
All Purpose Flour: due to my wheat allergy I don’t use this option, but it is great for those who are new to buckwheat. If you are looking for a good gluten free all purpose flour, I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour or Cup for Cup (although it is quite pricey).
Plant Based Milk: you can use any plant based milk that you have on hand: almond, soy, oat, coconut. It all works well here. I do prefer oat milk, but it’s not necessary. We mimic the slightly sourness of buttermilk in this recipe, and if you are not vegan or dairy free, by all means, use buttermilk here. It will be delicious!
Eggs: these are the binder of the pancakes, but applesauce is a great replacement for eggs here and will complement the pears. This will make the pancakes slightly denser.
Syrup: I use date syrup to sweeten the pancake batter. You can use any liquid sweetener of your choosing. I suggest molasses if you’re not avoiding cane sugar. Honey, agave syrup, or pure maple syrup all work well.
Pears: you will want to use a firmer pear for this such as Bosc or Anjou. You can use Bartlett pears, but they are softer and would require less poaching time. Once poached, these pears can stay in the refrigerator for 3 days. If you have leftovers, they are great with oatmeal, yogurt, or even ice cream.
Spices: this is where you can get as creative as you want. For this recipe I decided to keep it classic with star anise, cinnamon, and ginger. However, the sky is the limit on what spices you can use. Cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, black pepper. Any and all of these would be lovely.
If you’re looking to up your Sunday brunch skills: look no further than these hearty buckwheat pancakes with poached pears!
Buckwheat Pancakes with Poached Pears
Ingredients
Poached Pears
- 2 ea firm pears peeled, cored, and quartered
- 2 cup water
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 3 inch strip of lemon peel
- 2 ea star anise
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Buckwheat Pancakes
- 1 cup buckwheat flour (can replace 1/2 c with all purpose flour if preferred)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 ea egg
- 2 tbsp date syrup or molasses
- 1 cup plant milk oat, almond, coconut, etc
- 1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
Instructions
Poached Pears
- In a small sauce pot combine the water, honey or maple syrup, star anise, lemon peel, ginger, and cinnamon.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer, and add the pears.
- Lightly poach the pears for 20-25 minutes or until fork tender.
- If desired, you can remove the pears once they are cooked, and reduce the poaching liquid for 15 additional minutes.
Buckwheat Pancakes
- While the pears are poaching, add the 1 tsp of lemon juice to the plant milk. Set aside to "curdle" for 5 minutes. This will give you a buttermilk type flavor.
- Place the buckwheat flour (and all purpose flour if using), salt, and baking powder into a medium sized bowl. Whisk everything together.
- In another bowl whisk together the egg, date syrup or molasses, plant milk, and oil.
- Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry and stir gently. There should be no lumps. Make sure not to over stir if using all purpose flour.
- Grease and heat a non stick pan over medium heat.
- Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the heated pan. When the edges look dry and there are bubbles on the pancake, flip it.
- Cook for 1-3 minutes more.
- Place the pancake on a plate and keep warm with a tea towel or piece of foil over it.
- Continue to cook the pancakes until all the batter is gone. You should get about 9 pancakes.
To Serve
- Place 3 pancakes on the plate. Top with butter if desired.
- Top the pancakes with 2-3 quarters of warm pears and spoon plenty of the poaching liquid on top.