Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix

I could eat breakfast for dinner every single night, it’s the best! It’s a tough sell in my house, though; Shane thinks breakfast foods should only be eaten in the morning. One of the nice things about working from home is that I can make myself breakfast for lunch from time to time instead. I guess technically that would make it brunch, but it feels weird to call it that during the week. Brunch is a weekend thing, right? Or is it? I guess I don’t really know…

Whatever it’s called, my go-to item when making breakfast outside of normal breakfast hours is pancakes. I’m kind of a pancake addict – no joke there are about 15 different recipes in the archives and a handful more that I’ve yet to blog. A big stack of carbs drenched in butter and sweet maple syrup – what’s not to like?

Growing up my grandfather always made us pancakes for dinner, and he relied on a store-bought mix as a shortcut. You guys know how much I love to make homemade versions of store-bought items, so it was only a matter of time before I added pancake mix to the list. This summer I tested several recipes and this whole grain mix from King Arthur Flour was easily my favorite. You guys are going to love it too I think!

Making pancakes from scratch isn’t terribly difficult or time consuming, but this mix simplifies things even more for you! To prepare the mix you basically combine your dry ingredients – flour, oats, sugar, leaveners, and salt – then drizzle in oil until the mixture is crumbly. That’s all there is to it! You can store this mix in your fridge or freezer almost indefinitely and then when a pancake craving strikes it’s as easy as whisking some of the mix with buttermilk and an egg to make the batter. These pancakes are a little on the thin side but still have a fluffy texture as well as fantastic flavor thanks to the oats, whole wheat flour, and buttermilk. I keep a jar of the mix in my fridge at all times, it’s perfect for a lazy weekend breakfast!

Homemade Whole Grain Pancake Mix
from King Arthur Flour

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup canola oil

To make the mix: Add the oats to the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until the oats are finely chopped, but not completely ground into a powder. Add the oats, white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to combine. With the mixer still on low speed, gradually drizzle in the oil and mix until the mixture becomes crumbly.

Store the pancake mix in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. It will keep indefinitely.

To make pancakes: Whisk 1 cup of the pancake mix with 1 cup of buttermilk and 1 large egg until combined – the mixture will be thin. Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes (you really do need to let it rest to give the batter time to thicken).

Set a large nonstick skillet set over medium heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. When the pan is hot, use a 1/4 cup measure to portion the batter into the pan. Cook on the first side until the edges are set and bubbles form on the surface, about 2-3 minutes. Use a spatula to flip the pancakes and cook for 1-2 minutes on the second side, or until golden brown and cooked through. Repeat with remaining batter. {Note: 1 cup of pancake mix yields about eight pancakes.}