Thanks for the tip. I’ve always found the best stuff to be whatever’s on special at Coles though. Fancy imported gourmet stuff or wholegrain hippie food is going to be way too rich for my blood. 
So it’s Kraft, cause that’s on half-price and I try to avoid Sanitarium products where possible.
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Without derailing too far, Sanitarium as a company have some religious beliefs that don’t sit well with me. So I’ll avoid their products when I can. Not calling for a boycott, or saying they’re evil or shit, just a personal choice.
Oh, I just wondered if it was one of those Aussie vs Kiwi things. Oz is the stronghold of the Vegemite clan, and never shall NZ Marmite cross their lips.
Ahh. I’ll eat Vegemite, if I have to. NZ Marmite is a foul imposter, but I’ll not hold it against anyone that eats it.
But I shall surrender my yellow-lidded ovoid jar only when you pry it from my overly-salted, black, sticky fingers.
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As a fellow member of Team Marmite:
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ActionAbe’s Descent Into Batter Madness
Days 2 and 3
Progress!
One important step on my way to 1st degree battery was moving the goalposts a bit. I realized I really didn’t care so much if the batter was wet out of the fridge. The magic words “Just add water” are now my new goal. That still gets me to my ultimate goal of a twenty minute breakfast prep.
On Day 2 I tried using real butter in my recipe as well as Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend powder. This was part of a gradual transition to an all powder mix. I found that as expected, butter gave a lighter fluffier texture, and the tang of the buttermilk powder came through in the flavor. Definitely less meh than Day 1. It also helped that I made smaller pancakes. Guinea pigs were satisfied with this attempt.
I made a run to the grocery store and begin reverse engineering the various instant batter recipes. I took pictures and notes. What I walked home with was this:
I can’t say exactly what made me pick Krusteaz brand. Maybe it was the 1950’s allure of the playful name, maybe it was the magic words “light and fluffy on the box,” or maybe it was the lack of a logo with a racist past. Who knows?!
Ignoring the stabilizers and enrichments, I noticed a common theme among all brands: Soy Flour. I was expecting powdered eggs, but soy flour is where you get the protein for instant batters. Soy flour is easy to find these days thanks to our brave new gluten-free, low-carb, hypoallergenic, food fad world. I already had some in the fridge. What? You don’t keep your soy flour in the fridge? It can go rancid, y’know.
Another member of the usual suspects: Sodium stearoyl lactylate
An emulsifier. This is how they cram all the fat you need into a powdery package and have it mix with water. In regular pancakes, eggs have emulsifiers, but you lose those by replacing the eggs with soy flour. Incidentally, these emulsifiers, whether they come from eggs or other sources, are really just edible soaps. They basically act like detergents, allowing water to surround fat droplets.
I realized that these two ingredients would be a critical thing to get right in any instabatter recipe.
Another thing to consider is that soy flour naturally contains trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors. These are digestive juices produced by the stomach, and inhibition can lead to digestion issues. A quick search of scientific literature (PDF) turned up the fact that irreversible denaturation (destruction) of these troublemakers occurs at 194 degrees Fahrenheit. I was concerned that might mean what we in the business call: One burnt-ass pancake. But the dose is in the poison, and using soy flour as a binder means that it’s not contributing much to the bulk of the pancake. I’ve never noticed any gastric discomfort eating commercial pancake mix, but I rarely do in general.
On Day 3, I mixed up a small batch of soy semi-instabatter. I limited my liquids to water and margarine. I used soy flour instead of egg. I got a runny batter that indicated my proportions were off, but I did get serviceable, if slightly salty and chewy, pancakes.
The Krusteaz mix is in the top bowl, and my homebrew batter is in the bottom one. The yellow color comes mostly from the buttermilk powder. Note the presence of a blueberry buckle on the right. It’s not relevant to anything, it was just tasty and I thought I’d tell you that.
They look okay. I get a little spatula happy occasionally and tend to want to flip them too early, but the real issues with these pancakes aren’t visible from the outside. Incidentally I temped them and they maybe get up to above 187 in the center. So there’s a good possibility that the trypsin inhibitors are substantially destroyed in cooking.
Tomorrow I’ll try again with adjusted proportions. I know I threw in too much salt, but there was too much water as well, and probably too little soy flour because the cakes didn’t take well to bending. A sure sign of a protein deficiency. Guinea pigs were not pleased.
I also made a batch of the Krusteaz. Several things I noticed right away were that the directions really wanted me to wait two minutes after mixing. They really want you to get something out of that first rise (there’s a double acting aluminum based baking powder). The other thing was paleness. Look at them:
I admit I sin by flipping early sometimes, but in this case I was really letting the pancakes sit for a good long while, but they never really wanted to brown all that much. Browning is a consequence of the Maillard reactions, where amino acids from protein react with reducing sugars. Something is inhibiting this process in the Krusteaz mix. I’m not quite sure what it is. There’s plenty of protein and plenty of starch. I have a suspicion that the emulsifier is protecting the batter somehow, but I might be wrong and I’m sort of basing it on the structure of the emulsifier I have in my head. At any rate, you can’t have delicious pancakes unless they are preceded by the phrase “golden brown.”
(Incidentally, if a representative from the Continental Mills company that manufactures this fine product is looking for a bright, hopeful dreamer to improve their product line, I happen to be available for paid internships. Just saying.)
I spoke with the dietitian of the house and she turned me on to an old bread recipe from a long time ago designed by Cornell nutrition scientists called Golden Triple-Rich bread. It was supposed to be a high protein bread that was created during the sixties when Americans might have actually been in danger of getting too little protein (nowadays we get plenty). It employed soy flour and its name comes from the high protein content giving a boost to the Maillard reaction which leads to a rich color. My semi-instabatter pancakes did brown well, though, and I think I used too little soy flour, so there’s something in the Krusteaz that is affecting the browning process that isn’t a lack of protein.
Conclusion: Homemade instabatter pancake mix is possible. Delicious GBD homemade pancakes from an instabatter… is another story. Further investigation is warranted.
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Now this is the level of nerdiness I expect from a BB cooking thread. Well done, sir! (Your post, I mean. I know you’re still workin’ on the flapjacks.)
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Day 4
Okay… maybe that’s a little harsh, but I had issues today.
I was sure I could knock out at least some decent pancakes from my recipe. I woke up that morning with my game face on. I had X Gon’ Give it To Ya playing. I was in a good mood and above all, confident. Unfortunately in the brutal world of baking, confidence is meaningless.
My “egg powder” was soy flour. I used a neutral fry oil instead of butter or margarine and added a little extra to make up for the fat I was losing from the eggs. I brought the batter together and got something that looked decent and lumpy, just like a good batter should. The vast majority of pancatastrophes are brought on by Jesus seeing that you’ve overmixed the batter.
They seemed to cook well, brown well, and were flexible, indicating at least decent protein content. But when you took a bite into them, the inside was dense. They were cooked through, but the middle collapsed on itself. Not enough protein. Somehow. Again. I thought I had used plenty of soy flour, but when I measured it out, I was using significantly less protein than I’d get from two eggs. I wasn’t measuring carefully enough.
I did some reading on egg substitutes and was reminded of ground flax. I’d used it before in a pinch, and it worked out really well. It’s main problem is that it’s got a texture to it. It would give the pancakes a slightly “whole wheat” tinge. Still… I’ve often thought “flapjacks” were just beefier versions of pancakes. In the US they’re synonyms, but I can’t shake the sense that people who wear skinny jeans might eat pancakes, but I’m fairly certain Paul Bunyan ate flapjacks. Ground flax would make for flapjacks, not mere pancakes. Could be tasty.
So I’ve prepped my egg substitute for tomorrow ahead of time. It consists of 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed, and 2 tablespoons of soy flour mixed with one tablespoon of canola oil. I’m also going to add a half teaspoon of baking powder to give a little more lift and encourage fluffiness.
As for the lack of browning on the Krusteaz, I’m going to try adding a little baking powder to that mix. I realized the Maillard reactions are inhibited by acidic conditions. If the leavening is proportioned well, it might be neutralizing itself and the buttermilk in the batter might be acidifying the mix a little.
Two big tests tomorrow morning.
Also: Poll time
What say you to this ongoing series of pancake posts?
- This is useful.
- This is pointless.
- This is at least moderately relevant to my interests.
- Needs more cowbell.
- Your obsession is both disturbing and delicious.
- Nope. Pretty much just disturbing.
0 voters
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Bear in mind: just because soy flour is a common ingredient in most ‘just-add-water’ mixes doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best ingredient. Soy flour is far cheaper than egg white powder, even though the latter is a superior binder.
Ground flaxseed is a good runner-up, though. I used a lot of it when I was vegan. Not quite as effective as egg whites but definitely superior to soy flour.
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Well, after rounding the stores in my area, I realized that egg powders seem to be an online-only option. The selection of soy flour has a lot more to do with availability. I want to try and make this work just because I know it can work, if that makes sense.
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Even though I’m more of a waffle aficionado, I enjoy your adventures in pancakery. I’ve been using Kodiak Cakes “Power Cakes” mix lately, and it’s surprisingly decent for a “just add water” mix. I add an egg and some vanilla to mine, then I waffle a big batch and freeze 'em.
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I hate to slice through the Gordian Knot here, but have you considered MAKING pancakes in a large batch and then freezing them in a Ziploc bag or other container, perhaps separated with wax or parchment paper, to be gently reheated (covered with a wet paper towel and microwaved would be the standard U.S. method) as needed?
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At @ActionAbe’s suggestion, posting my schwarma, chummus, and falafel recipes here. 
Schwarma
2 tablespoons cumin (ground)
1 tablespoon coriander (ground)
1 tablespoon garlic powder or finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder or finely minced onion
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Mix spices together. Then use 1 tablespoon of the spice mix per pound of meat (beef, chicken or lamb, cubed or cut into strips).
Add spice mix, juice of 1 lemon and 1/2 cup olive oil (plus additional lemon’s worth of juice and half cup of olive oil for each pound past the third) and marinate for at least one day, refrigerated.
Roast in a closed roasting pan at 350 degrees for 2 hours (broiler bags are useful for this), then open the pan (or open the bag) and roast at 450 for 1 hour. Alternatively, cook in a crock pot on high for 4 hours and then broil in the oven for 30 minutes.
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Mmmmm… that looks great, but I have a question.
Are the cumin and coriander whole or ground?
This recipe is gonna be handy when we all have to open up schwarma carts on every corner, to compete with the taco trucks.
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Falafel
Ingredients
2 cups dried chickpeas
1 small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
Zest of one large lemon
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
oil for frying
coarse kosher salt
*NOTE: Only if necessary, 2-4 tablespoons chickpea flour and ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
Place chickpeas in a large bowl and fill with water to cover them to a depth of 3 inches. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave on counter for 16 hours. The chickpeas will triple in size and absorb quite a bit of the water so check a few times during soaking to see if you need to add more water.
Once the beans have soaked, drain and rinse well.Place the chickpeas, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, lemon zest, cayenne, cumin, coriander, salt, and black pepper into the bowl of a food processor and alternate between pulsing and blending, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally until the chickpea mixture is uniform in size and still slightly grainy in texture not smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. **If your food processor seems like it is straining you can add water or lemon juice to loosen up the mixture, no more than a tablespoon at a time though. Try to avoid adding any liquid if at all possible.
Roll a small amount of the mixture into a walnut sized ball or a small patty with your hands. The mixture should hold together nicely and not fall apart. *If it seems too wet sprinkle with a small amount of the chickpea flour, no more than a tablespoon at a time. Once texture is correct sprinkle the baking soda over the falafel and stir the mixture until combined.
Continue rolling the rest of the batter into uniform size balls or patties so that they will cook in the same amount of time.
Pour oil in a Dutch oven or a large, high-sided skillet to a depth of 3 inches, enough to cover falafel. Place a thermometer into the oil and heat over med-high heat until the temperature reaches 275° - 300° F.
When the oil is to temp fry a test falafel. The oil should bubble up and sizzle all around it. The falafel itself should stay together in one piece and not break apart at all. It should take 1 ½ - 2 minutes to fry to a beautiful golden brown. If your falafel is not completely submerged flip and cook the other side until it’s nice and browned all over. Remove the cooked falafel from the oil and drain. Sprinkle with coarse salt while the falafel is still hot. Fry the remaining falafel in batches, being careful to not over-crowd the pan and drop the temp of the oil.
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Edited for clarity
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Israeli Salad
2 tomatoes, diced
3-4 bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 medium cucumber, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Optional; choose any or all of the following:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Avocado, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 scallions, chopped
Parsley, to taste
Mint, to taste
Dill, to taste
Mix all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly. Serve.
If salad is going to be used in a pita with falafel, add less olive oil, or risk dripping.
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You’re going to lose #ImWithTacoTrucks
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