No bread is an island

...entire of itself. (With apologies to John Donne!)
I live and breathe breadmaking. I’m an evangelist who would like everyone to make his or her own bread. I want to demystify breadmaking and show it as the easy everyday craft that it is. To this end I endeavour to make my recipes as simple and as foolproof as I possibly can.

I call my blog 'No bread is an island' because every bread is connected to another bread. So a spicy fruit bun with a cross on top is a hot cross bun. This fruit dough will also make a fruit loaf - or Chelsea buns or a Swedish tea ring...
I'm also a vegan, so I have lots of vegan recipes on here - and I'm adding more all the time.
Showing posts with label pancakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pancakes. Show all posts

Friday, 13 October 2017

WHY EGGS should be off the menu

10 medical reasons not to consume eggs. (Joel Kahn, MD)

Eggs vs Cigarettes in Atherosclerosis (Michael Greger, MD)


"...the head of USDA’s Poultry Research and Promotion program... “you can’t couch eggs [or] egg products as being ‘healthy’ or ‘nutritious.'”
(Who says eggs aren't healthy or safe? - Michael Greger, MD)

Smashing the myth that eggs are a health food (Jesse J. Jacoby, Plant Based News)

What's Wrong With Eggs? The Truth About The Egg Industry - (Erin Janus)


Free range is a con. There is no such thing as an ethical egg. (Chas Newkey-Burden - The Guardian)

So, to sum up: Eggs are unhealthy; egg production is inherently cruel; and is the cause of enormous pollution.

Egg replacement.
There are several alternatives for eggs - a quick online search brings up the main ones. But eggs are often unnecessary in recipes - for instance I never use eggs in my cake or bread recipes. And very good pancakes can be made without eggs or milk.

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

5:2 DIET - PANCAKES USING JUST FLOUR AND WATER (vegan)


There are several things you can make with just self raising flour and water - here are some of them.

14/04/14
Yesterday I made several crepes Suzette for an after-dinner treat, using these pancakes. I had some batter leftover, so for lunch today I made a large pancake, spread half of it with hummus, with some slices of tomato, added a sprinkle of nooch and some black pepper, and folded it over. Voila! A hummus and tomato omelette! Simply gorgeous!

03/03/2013
Pancake day tomorrow - but you don't need eggs and milk, just s/raising flour and water will suffice - and you won't be able to tell the difference! This recipe will save you a packet. Flour and water pancakes - just about as simple as it gets!

It's hard to believe, but these are just as good as those made with traditional ingredients.








And here it is - can you tell the difference?
Ingredients:
200g self raising flour (you can also make these with gluten-free flour)
600ml water


Or:
1 mug self-raising flour
2 mugs water

Method:
Whisk together, to get rid of the lumps, and pour enough into a medium hot, oiled, frying pan to cover the base. Flip over to cook the other side when the bottom is browned to your liking - then serve with the topping of your choice.

(There's also a case to be made for putting some flour in a jug and adding enough water to make it into a fairly runny batter.)

I'm very fond of the usual sugar and lemon juice - but I also like them spread with homemade marmalade. I'm told chocolate spread is also very tasty on pancakes - I'll have to try it!

So, the benefits:
Cost – a batch of these pancakes will cost around 10p for 10 or more – about  a penny each. As against up to around 90p for a traditional batch.
Ease of making - you don't have to plan for these except by having a packet of self-raising flour in the cupboard. Really, there's no need to measure anything - just tip some flour in a bowl or jug and add water - stirring all the time - until it reaches the consistency you want.
Health – if you’re trying to cut down on dairy or eggs, these are for you. The young sister-in-law of one of my students (Nadine) is allergic to eggs, so Nadine was delighted to learn you don’t need them.*
Animal welfare. No animals will be harmed in the making of these pancakes.


Calories - This makes, say 10 pancakes. Self raising flour has 350 calories per 100g, so the combined total of the batch is 700g. Divided by 10 pancakes that makes 70 cals per pancake. Adding lemon juice and a teaspoon of sugar (5g) is 20 cals, so a good-sized pancake can be made for around 90 calories.

Nadine, one of my students told me about her young sister-in-law. She loves cooking and has been helping her mum make pancakes  (even flipping them) - and then had to watch her family eat them, for years. Yet she's never been able to taste one, until now. Nadine took the recipe round and they made pancakes straight away - and the youngster tucked into one with absolute delight. "That's pancake day sorted from now on!" was Nadine's comment!

Here's how I got to where I am with these.

Sunday, 13 April 2014

CREPE SUZETTE - SIMPLIFIED AND VEGAN

Needing something sweet, I made my version of a crepe suzette  after dinner tonight. 15 minutes after having the idea, I was tucking in. 

I used this recipe as a base - except that I didn't measure anything. [This is also gorgeous using chick-pea (gram) flour]

At 8.30pm I put the frying pan on a medium heat with a little oil and grabbed a jug and a bag of self-raising flour. Poured about a handful of flour into the jug and added some water - whisked with a spoon, then with a fork. The batter was a little on the thick side, so I added more water and whisked for another minute.

4 minutes later I poured about half of the batter into the frying pan, tilted it so that it covered the base of the pan and adjusted the heat.

After another 4 minutes I turned the pancake over - using a spatula since my cast iron frying pan is just too heavy to flip.

Whilst it was cooking I placed a good dessertspoonful of my home-made ginger marmalade into a dish, added a little water, and stuck it in the microwave for 45-50 seconds.

At 8.42, I turned the pancake over again to give the first side another couple of minutes.

8.44  - slid out the pancake onto a plate, poured the marmalade sauce over the middle of the pancake and drizzled Benedictine over the sauce. Folded the pancake over the filling and poured soya cream over the top.

8.45 tucked in to the Crepe Suzette - sublime!

Saturday, 5 October 2013

WHAT CAN I MAKE WITH FLOUR AND WATER - AND ONE OTHER INGREDIENT?

The other day, looking for something sweet to have after dinner, I made some flour and water pancakes. For my wife I included some sultanas - but my daughter doesn't like dried fruit, so I thought I'd try sweetening the batter with a little sugar.


4 dessertspoons self raising flour
2 dessertspoons sugar
About 8 dessertspoons of water.

Mix into a creamy batter, then add spoonfuls to a medium hot frying pan with a little oil.

[pics to come]

Result! My daughter thought they were fantastic, so I had to make more.