Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 180 g all-purpose flour
- 25 g granulated sugar
- 10 g baking powder
- 3 g baking soda
- 3 g fine sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 240 ml buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 eggs, large, room temperature
- 45 g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 5 ml vanilla extract
Add-ins and Cooking
- 150 g cooked wild rice, cooled
- 15 g unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 133 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 18 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Sodium
- 297 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 3 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 0 g
- Cholesterol
- 43 mg
- Potassium
- 72 mg
- Calcium
- 81 mg
- Iron
- 0.5 mg
- Magnesium
- 11 mg
- Phosphorus
- 80 mg
- Zinc
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 50 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.03 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.09 mg
- Niacin
- 0.4 mg
- Folate
- 12 mcg
- Water
- 36 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and fine sea salt.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk the room-temperature buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract until completely smooth and homogenous.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to gently mix until just combined. A few lumps should remain; do not overmix.
Add the cooked wild rice to the batter and fold it in gently with two or three strokes. Let the batter rest undisturbed for 10 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate and the leavening agents to activate.
Preheat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat to approximately 175 C or 350 F. Lightly grease the surface with a small amount of butter.
Pour 60ml portions of batter onto the hot skillet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the edges appear dry and bubbles form and burst on the surface without filling back in.
Flip each pancake carefully with a wide spatula and cook the other side for an additional 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.
Transfer the cooked pancakes to a warm plate and repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter. Serve immediately with warm maple syrup.
Chef's Notes
- Using cooked wild rice that has split open is crucial. If the grains are still completely closed, they will be unpleasantly hard when pan-fried in the batter.
- Resting pancake batter allows the starches in the flour to absorb the liquid, thickening the batter and resulting in taller, fluffier pancakes.
- Wipe out your skillet with a paper towel between batches and apply fresh butter. This prevents old butter solids from burning and transferring bitter flavors to the next batch.
- Leftover plain wild rice from dinner is perfect for this recipe. Just ensure it was not heavily seasoned with savory herbs or garlic.
- For extra nuttiness, try browning the 45g of melted butter in the wet ingredients before adding it to the buttermilk and egg mixture.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store in an airtight container separated by parchment paper.
Freezer: 2 months — Freeze flat on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer-safe bag.
Reheating: Toast from frozen in a standard toaster or warm in a 175 C oven for 10 minutes.
Troubleshooting
Pancakes are dense and heavy rather than fluffy
Cause: Overmixing the batter developed too much gluten and deflated the leavening agents
Fix: Cannot be fixed once mixed, but resting the batter for a full 10 minutes can marginally help relax the gluten.
Prevention: Mix wet and dry ingredients only until the dry flour streaks just disappear. Lumps are perfectly fine and desired.
Wild rice is too crunchy or hard in the finished pancake
Cause: The wild rice was undercooked before being added to the batter
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Boil wild rice in excess water until the grains split open and curl, revealing their tender interior, before cooling and adding to batter.
Pancakes are burning on the outside but raw in the middle
Cause: Skillet temperature is too high
Fix: Turn down the heat immediately and finish cooking the current batch in a 175 C oven for 3-5 minutes.
Prevention: Keep the skillet at medium or medium-low heat, adjusting as necessary between batches.
Cultural Context
Wild rice, or Manoomin, is a highly nutritious aquatic grass native to the Great Lakes region of North America. It holds deep cultural, spiritual, and historical significance for the Indigenous Anishinaabe peoples who have harvested it from canoes for centuries. Incorporating leftover cooked wild rice into morning pancakes became a beloved Midwestern tradition, particularly in states like Minnesota, blending local indigenous ingredients with classic American diner breakfasts.
