The Whole Grain Series: Buckwheat

Jonell Galloway, who lives, travels, eats and writes in Europe, wrote the history of buckwheat in her book The French and What They Eat.

The returning Crusaders brought buckwheat back from the Holy Land. The original name for the buckwheat pancake was the crepe de sarrasin. (Saracen was the medieval European term for Muslims, the people whom the Crusaders were trying to evict from the Holy Land.)

Crusaders brought buckwheat from the east in the twelfth century. It proved to be hard to grow in France until they took it to Brittany, where there is plenty of rain, the climate is mild and the soil is acidic.

These were the right conditions for growing blé noir, meaning “black wheat,” or buckwheat. Buckwheat is often referred to as “poor people’s wheat,” since only the rich could afford wheat in those days. Buckwheat grows fast and is ready to eat in 100 days, so it helped feed Bretons for centuries.

The Pancake Brunch

The classic American buckwheat pancake is a delicious item for Sunday brunch. The recipe is for a sweet pancake, with maple syrup and fruit sauce served with a steamed egg. Cooking for Dysphagia follows the package directions for mixing the batter, using a polyunsaturated vegetable oil and Arrowhead Mills Buckwheat Pancake Mix for convenience. Make the batter according to package directions.

For convenience, use the Arrowhead Mills Buckwheat Pancake Mix and prepare according to package direction.

Once you make the batter, heat your griddle to 300 degrees. Brush with good oil. Take a ladle full of batter and test a drop. Make sure the batter spreads smoothly. Add enough batter for a four inch pancake, 2 to 3 tablespoons. Once the griddle is the right temperature, pour a ladle on the griddle for six pancakes. Turn them when they are just gold and bubbling at the edges. Turn.

Allow to cook 1 to 2 more minutes until pancake is cooked in the middle. You do not want overly browned edges as these may create particles in the puree that are difficult for the swallow.

You want an even texture with no sharp edges.

Remove to a plate and allow to cool. I recommend cooking the whole batch of batter. Extra pancakes may be frozen in a zip bag with the air removed for service at a second breakfast.

For the Puree:

Tear two pancakes into small bits and place in the bowl of the mini-processor or the bottom of a flat-bottomed blender.

Pulse until the pancake breaks up (about 10 pulses).

Add a half cup of fruit sauce and an optional teaspoon of melted butter and a teaspoon of maple syrup. Pulse a few times to incorporate and then puree until smooth.

Add the SOFTLY steamed egg (3 minutes) to ½ cup of the fruit sauce, and puree.

Test thickness level, then thicken and test to Level 4 IDDSI Pureed.

Add thickener to IDDSI level 4, Pureed

The pancakes will be moist and will not be sticky. Buckwheat is gluten-free because it is not a member of the wheat family. It is also great for diabetics because it slows the absorption of glucose.

Fill a non-stick piping bag, cut off the tip on an angle, and pipe onto a colorful plate as a circle of pancake.

Swirl Away!