Magical Whole-Grain Pancakes From Josey Baker

These pancakes are playing a trick. Yes, they're just as tender and cushy as your favorite buttermilk stack. But thanks to one little step—soaking the flour in milk overnight—they're 100% whole-grain and proud of it. The recipe is so simple that sourdough pro Josey Baker first shared it in an Instagram post. As Josey wrote on Instagram in May 2020, “my dear friend @jbattilana and I have been talking about throwing a pancake dinner at The Mill for years, but now who knows when the heck that is gonna be able to happen...??!? so in the mean time you should just make yourself and your family and your housemates some pancakes for dinner (or breakfast tomorrow) and cover them in too much maple syrup and settle right down. see below for our pancake recipe that @jbattilana wrote, enjoy my friends!” A few tips: Can you use this batter right away instead of soaking the flour overnight? Yes—the texture will be a little drier and more noticeably grainy, but butter and maple will make up for it. Can you make the whole batter overnight? Yes—it will be only negligibly less fluffy but worth it for the convenience. Can you swap in buttermilk? Yes—the batter will be thicker, so just nudge it into place. Every variation I’ve tested worked, with only slight differences in results, so do what works for you. Soaking at least the flour overnight will always yield a dramatic improvement in texture and flavor. Recipe adapted very slightly from @joseybakerbread’s Instagram post from May 2, 2020 and “What Bay Area chefs and bakers are cooking during the pandemic” from the San Francisco Chronicle by Jessica Battilana, April 29, 2020. Find more of Josey’s whole-grain recipes in his cookbook, Josey Baker Bread. This post contains products independently chosen (and loved) by our editors and writers. As an Amazon Associate, Food52 earns an affiliate commission on qualifying purchases of the products we link to.Hear about the process of developing this recipe, from Josey himself, on our podcast The Genius Recipe Tapes.