Homemade Spelt Pancakes from Scratch

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You will never go back to a boxed mix once you try these homemade Spelt pancakes.

If done right, pancakes can be healthy, nutrient dense, and nourishing. The key? Home milled flour from whole grains. If you are unfamiliar with home milling or what it means to make your own fresh flour, check out my post on why this is important and what you need to know to get started.

What Do I Need for Homemade Spelt Pancakes?

Only a few simple ingredients are needed for this delicious breakfast staple. (All ingredient measurements are listed in the recipe below.)

Spelt or Another Whole Grain

You need a whole grain that’s been freshly milled into flour. I always, always, choose Spelt. I prefer Spelt because it has a naturally sweet flavor profile with a buttery finish. I’m not kidding. This grain makes the most beautiful cobblers, crackers, and of course…pancakes.

You can find Spelt grains from a variety of sources online. Sometimes, a local health food store will have them in very small quantities. This isn’t the most economical option (it’s always better to buy grains in bulk), but it’s great to get you started.

I have a few places where I purchase grains and one of those is Azure Standard. There, you can find Spelt in bulk 5 lb or 25 lb bags.

Other grains you can try are soft white wheat, soft red wheat, Kamut, or einkorn. All of these make great pancakes but I’ve found the tastiest to be from Spelt grains.

Baking Powder and Salt

When baking with whole grains, you’ll need to add baking powder, salt, and sometimes baking soda. Self rising flour – or in this case, a popular pancake mix – already has these added to them. So when learning to bake with flour made from whole grains, remember to add your own. (Roughly 3/4 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt per cup of flour will be enough.)

Milk or Buttermilk

If I’m following a recipe that calls for milk, I typically reach for buttermilk. I’ve made these with milk and with buttermilk and surprisingly…I prefer milk. Buttermilk adds a tang and if you’re going for naturally sweet pancakes, it can be a bit much. Either way, the two are interchangeable.

Egg, Butter, Oil

Nothing glamorous about these three ingredients.

If you don’t have chickens, eggs are easy to source locally. And you should. Store bought eggs are months old (sometimes 6 months old!) and even if they’re labeled “organic,” “happy,” or “free range,” won’t contain the amount of nutrients fresh eggs do. Grab some farm fresh eggs from your local farmer and taste the difference.

Always choose grass-fed butter. I recommend unsalted so that you can control how much salt is in your recipe. And select real olive oil like this one.

Vanilla Bean Paste (or Extract)

I’ve already sung the praises of Vanilla Bean Paste and in this recipe I promise you, it makes all the difference. If you don’t have paste, pure vanilla extract is a close second.

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Moving on to the Homemade Spelt Pancakes Recipe

Start with the dry ingredients. Whisk together the Spelt flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this aside.

In a separate bowl (I use a large measuring cup because I’ll need to measure the milk and that’s less clean up), whisk the milk, egg, olive oil, vanilla paste or extract, and melted butter until it’s all combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir thoroughly.

Cook to Golden Perfection

In a medium or large pan, melt some unsalted butter – roughly 1-2 tablespoons on medium heat.

BUTTER IS KEY.

If you want to take these from “Oh man, these really are the best pancakes” to “Oh my goodness, I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without these in my life” – you MUST. COOK. IN. BUTTER.

Pour or ladle out roughly ¼ cup of pancake batter – per pancake – into the pan. You can make them bigger or smaller if you’d like. Allow them to cook until you see several bubbles form, then you can flip them.

Let them cook on the other side for an equal amount of time or until both sides are a lovely golden brown. Don’t be afraid to let them get a little crispy – let that pure grass-fed butter do its thing!

And always adjust the burner temperature if you need to. As the pan heats up more, I will bump the heat down slightly so they don’t cook too quickly.

Serve those hot and delicious pancakes topped with fruit compote or maple syrup. OR enjoy their nutty sweet flavor without any added sweetener (we do this often!).

You’ll be amazed that these pancakes – unlike a box mixture or restaurant style – will nourish your body and actually leave you satisfied longer. This is one of the many benefits of baking with fresh milled wheat.

Leave a comment below letting me know if you tried this recipe and what you thought! Also, share what your favorite pancake toppings are with all of us.

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