Vegan buckwheat pancakes, light and fluffy

Buckwheat pancakes have a deeper, nuttier flavor than ordinary pancakes and a soft, slightly earthy crumb that takes maple syrup well. Made with buckwheat flour alone and no eggs or dairy, they can easily turn out dense or gummy, because there is no gluten and no egg to hold the air in. This version fixes that with three things working together: soy milk curdled with vinegar, a double dose of leavening, and ground flaxseed that turns the batter thick enough to trap the bubbles during a 10-minute rest.

Buckwheat is a seed, not a wheat

The name misleads a lot of people. Harvard Health Publishing puts it plainly: “Despite its name, buckwheat is not a type of wheat. Officially, it’s not even a grain but rather a seed that’s harvested from a flowering plant related to rhubarb.” The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) includes buckwheat in its list of flours made from gluten-free foods that people with celiac disease can eat.

That makes these pancakes made with gluten-free ingredients; check labels for cross-contact. The NIDDK notes that cross-contact with gluten “can occur at any time, including when foods are grown, processed, stored, prepared, or served.” Buckwheat flour can be milled or packed on equipment shared with wheat, and baking powder contains a starch, so anyone with celiac disease should buy a buckwheat flour and a baking powder labeled gluten-free.

Buckwheat flour ranges from light to dark, and the darker it is, the stronger it tastes. If you find it too strong, the recipe also works with half buckwheat flour and half all-purpose flour (the batter may need a splash less milk), but the pancakes then contain wheat.

How the batter rises without eggs

Eggs give ordinary pancakes both structure and some of their lift. Here those jobs are split up:

• Curdled soy milk. Vinegar thickens the soy milk slightly and makes it acidic, much like buttermilk. The acid reacts with the baking soda the moment the wet and dry ingredients meet, which is the first burst of bubbles.
• Double-acting baking powder. It releases some gas when it gets wet and the rest when it meets the heat of the pan, so the pancakes keep rising as they cook.
• Ground flaxseed. Ground flax forms a thick gel in liquid. That gel binds the batter in place of an egg and gives it enough body to hold the bubbles instead of letting them escape. For other ways to replace eggs and what each one does, see egg substitutes for vegan cooking.

Whole flaxseeds will not work: they stay whole in the batter and form almost no gel. Buy flaxseed already ground, or grind whole seeds in a spice grinder.

Why the batter rests for 10 minutes

Straight after mixing, the batter looks thin and runny, and it is tempting to add more flour. Don’t. Buckwheat flour absorbs liquid slowly, and the flax gel takes a few minutes to form. Over the 10-minute rest the batter thickens to the right consistency on its own, and you can see small bubbles rising to the surface.

The right texture is thick but pourable: a spoonful should slowly level itself out rather than holding a peak. If it stays stiff after resting, the flour was probably packed into the cup; stir in a tablespoon or two of soy milk. Mix gently after the rest, because hard stirring knocks out the bubbles you just waited for.

The rest should not run much longer than that. The baking soda has already started reacting with the vinegar, and batter left for an hour cooks up flatter.

Heat, bubbles and the flip

Medium heat is the setting that matters most. Buckwheat browns quickly, and on a pan that is too hot the outside darkens before the middle sets, which leaves a gummy center. Preheat the skillet for about 3 minutes; when a drop of water sizzles and evaporates almost at once, it is ready.

Watch the top of the pancake, not the clock:

Flip once, with a thin, wide spatula slid fully under the pancake. Never press it flat afterward: that squeezes out the air and gives you a heavy, rubbery pancake. The first one is often paler or uneven while the pan settles; adjust the heat for the next batch.

A banana instead of flax

If you have no flaxseed, a ripe banana does the same binding job. Mash 1 medium banana until smooth, whisk it into the curdled soy milk in place of the ground flaxseed, and leave out the tablespoon of maple syrup in the batter, since the banana sweetens it. The pancakes come out somewhat denser, moister and sweeter, with a clear banana flavor. Banana sugars brown faster, so turn the heat down a notch. The nutrition on the card is for the flax version.

Swaps that work and ones that do not

• Plant milk. Oat milk and almond milk both work. They curdle less than soy milk, so the batter is a little thinner; hold back 2 tablespoons of milk and add it only if needed. If you need the pancakes free of gluten, choose an oat milk labeled gluten-free.
• Oil. Any neutral oil works, as does melted coconut oil, which may firm up into small flecks if the milk is cold. Melted vegan butter (a plant-based stick) adds a richer flavor.
• Sweetener. Maple syrup can be replaced with the same amount of agave syrup or another liquid sweetener; natural sweeteners compared explains how they differ.
• Vinegar. Lemon juice curdles the milk in the same way.
• Almond version. Use unsweetened almond milk (holding back 2 tablespoons as above), add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract with the vanilla, and scatter toasted sliced almonds over the stack. The pancakes then contain tree nuts.
• Flour. Almond flour or coconut flour cannot replace buckwheat flour one for one: they behave completely differently with liquid and the pancakes fall apart. For a wheat-based pancake made with all-purpose flour, use the batter in classic vegan pancakes, which is balanced for it.

Blueberry, pumpkin and other variations

Each of these changes only one or two things in the card’s batter:

Two things that look similar are really different recipes. French buckwheat crepes (galettes) are a thin, unleavened batter cooked very thin, so thinning this batter will not make them; the baking powder makes them puff. And whole buckwheat groats cannot replace the flour: groat pancakes are made by soaking the groats and blending them into a batter, which needs its own amounts.

A half batch and a make-ahead dry mix

Half batch (about 6 pancakes, enough for two): 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 3/4 cup buckwheat flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/8 teaspoon each of baking soda and salt. The method and rest are the same.

Dry mix: for each batch, put 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour, 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon each of baking soda and salt in a jar, and keep it airtight in the refrigerator, because ground flax goes stale at room temperature. To cook, whisk 1 3/4 cups soy milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar and let it stand for 5 minutes, whisk in the maple syrup, oil and vanilla, add the jar’s contents, stir until just combined and rest the batter 10 minutes. This is the safe way to prepare ahead, since fully mixed batter loses its lift overnight.

Keeping, freezing and reheating

Buckwheat pancakes freeze well, so a full batch is worth cooking even for two people. Let the extras cool in a single layer on a rack, then refrigerate or freeze them within 2 hours of cooking, the limit the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) sets for leftovers. In the refrigerator at 40°F or below they keep 3 to 4 days.

To freeze, lay them flat on a tray until firm, then stack them in a freezer bag with a square of parchment between layers so they come apart easily. FSIS notes that frozen leftovers are safe indefinitely but lose moisture and flavor over time and gives 3 to 4 months for frozen leftovers. Reheat straight from frozen in a toaster or microwave until hot all the way through; FSIS advises that reheated leftovers reach 165°F.

Mistakes that ruin buckwheat pancakes

• Adding flour to the thin batter before it rests. The batter turns into paste after resting. Wait the 10 minutes first, then adjust.
• Cooking on high heat. The outside burns and the inside stays wet. Medium heat, and patience.
• Flipping too early. A pancake flipped before the bubbles cover the surface tears and collapses. Wait for dry, matte edges.
• Pressing with the spatula. It flattens the pancake and makes it gummy.
• Measuring flour by scooping. Scooping packs the flour and makes a stiff batter. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it.

Allergy notes

As written, the recipe contains soy (in the soy milk). Use oat milk or a coconut-based milk for a soy-free version, or almond milk if tree nuts are not a concern. It contains no wheat ingredients, no peanuts and no tree nuts unless you make the almond version.

For a breakfast you can make the night before with no stove at all, chia pudding uses the same plant milk and maple syrup, and a spoonful of maple almond granola on top of the pancakes adds crunch.