1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (do not use quick-cooking or steel-cut oats)
¼ cup amaranth
2 large eggs, at room temperature
11⁄3 cups milk (whole, 2%, 1%, or fat-free)
3 tablespoons toasted nut oil of any stripe (pecan, walnut, etc.), plus more for the griddle
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Whisk the whole wheat pastry flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl until the brown sugar is well mixed throughout the other ingredients. If the brown sugar is clumpy, crumble it into grains between your fingers.
2. Dump the oats and amaranth in a large blender and blend until the mixture has the consistency of a grainy but fine meal, a little finer than standard cornmeal, 2 or 3 minutes.
3. Plop the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla in the blender; whir until well combined. Don’t wimp out too soon. You want a thick, rich batter. About 2 minutes should do it.
4. Dump in the flour mixture; pulse a few times, just until combined, scraping down the inside of the canister to make sure there are no pockets of dry flour anywhere.
5. Lightly grease a large nonstick griddle or skillet with some nut oil dabbed on a paper towel, then set it over medium heat—or melt a bit of butter in the pan over medium heat. Pour about ¼ cup of the batter into the griddle or skillet; make 2 or 3 more similar pancakes without crowding. Cook until permanent bubbles form across the surface of the raw batter and the bottom has browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the cakes with a flat spatula, then cook another 2 minutes or so, until browned and set. Transfer these pancakes to plates and continue making more, regreasing or rebuttering the skillet as needed to prevent sticking.
SERVES 4 to 6, with 16 pancakes
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: Do steps 1 and 2 the night before.
CHEF IT UP!
TESTERS’ NOTES