Pear and Buckwheat Pancakes

First, I should start this post by saying that I'm usually a crepe lover. I grew up with crepes being a family weekend staple, usually enjoyed with just a a little granulated sugar and a generous squeeze of lemon. My mom, as I've mentioned before, doesn't cook very much, but what she makes, she makes amazingly well.

Let me tell you, even though I didn't grow up eating pancakes (when I first moved here I use to call them crepes, fatter and less popular cousin) these pancakes are absolutely amazing and didn't make me miss the crepes a single second! They are part of my new quest in the kitchen: baking with new types of flours. I've always had the feeling that flour was needed in baked goods but really didn't bring much in the flavor department. By using more flavorful, textured flours you end up needing to use a lot less sugar as well. Let's face it, if flour and sugar were in a battle they would be carrying pretty similar weapons. Sugar, besides pure, basic sweetness, holds very little subtleties in flavor. That's why I usually tend to use brown sugar instead of white as the addition of molasses makes the taste of the sugar more interesting. In the case of these little pancakes, the buckwheat flour mixed in with freshly grated pears makes them the best pancakes I've ever had.

Pear and Buckwheat Pancakes
Adapted From Good to the Grain

Dry Mix:
1 cup of buckwheat flour
1 cup of whole-grain pastry flour
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
2 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp of kosher salt

Wet Mix:
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 + 1/4 cup of whole milk
1 egg
2 medium ripe pears

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

In another bowl, whisk the melted butter, milk and egg until thoroughly combined.

Peel the pears. Using the large holes of a box grater, grate the whole, peeled pears into the milk mixture. The pear juice should fall into the milk along with the grated pears.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently combine using a rubber spatula.

Heat a cast iron pan or griddle over medium heat until water sizzles when splashed on the pan. Rub the pan generously with butter. Working quickly, dollop 1/4 cup mounds of batter onto the pan.

Once bubbles have begun to form, flip and cook until bottoms are golden brown. The pancakes should cook for about 5 minutes total.

Wipe the pan with a cloth before the next batch and rub the pan with butter again. Serve warm, with maple syrup and fresh fruit. Enjoy!