The Best Buttermilk Pancakes, Made with Fresh Flour

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These hearty buttermilk pancakes are always a hit, even with friends + family that haven’t converted to using fresh ground, whole grains yet.

Our favorite type of flour to use in this recipe is spelt. If you’re unfamiliar with this sweet ancient grain, you can learn more about it here. I’ve also made these pancakes using freshly milled soft white wheat and they were still super delicious.

We like to serve these with scrambled eggs and homemade bacon.

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What You’ll Need

In order to use freshly milled, whole grain flour at home, you’re going to need a grain mill. I prefer this electric stone mill, the Nutrimill Harvest, but there are other options out there. Common impact mills are the Wondermill and the Nutrimill Classic. Some people use a vitamix or coffee grinder, but I don’t recommend those options.

Just get the mill, you won’t regret it.

The next step is to gather your ingredients.

When it comes to feeding my family, I have very high nutritional standards. I want to serve them wholesome, nutrient dense meals made from pure ingredients. I do not want any of the unnecessary bullshit that tends to plague processed foods. So I cook and bake almost everything from scratch.

It might sound overwhelming, but with proper planning and a well-stocked pantry, anyone can do this.

Cleaner pantry staples that I buy in bulk and use in this buttermilk pancake recipe are:

• Organic wheat berries
• Baking powder, no added aluminum
• Sea salt
• Avocado oil
• Raw organic cane sugar

Avocado oil and organic sugar I buy at Costco. It tends to be the best price there and the quality is good.

I use Redmonds Real Salt in just about everything. Bone broths, baking, roasted chicken, one pot meals, adrenal cocktails. Sometimes I buy this at a local health food store, but Kroger also carries it.

I like to avoid heavy metals in our diet so I opt for an aluminum free baking powder.

Instead of buying nutrient void flour from the grocery store, I mill my own from organic wheat berries using my Nutrimill Harvest. But you already knew that. That’s why you’re here!

In this recipe, we’re using spelt. So grab your spelt berries and your mill and let’s get started.

What You’ll Do

If you’re using a stone mill, adjust your stones to where they will grind the flour finely. I like to do this by adjusting the stones to where they are almost touching. If you’re using an impact mill, simply choose the finest setting you have available.

Once your flour is milled, you’re going to add the remaining dry ingredients.

At this point your bowl should contain flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.

Add in the third cup of avocado oil and all 4 eggs. Mix.

It’s time to pour in the buttermilk.

There are two reasons I prefer using a whole quart (4 cups) of buttermilk in this recipe.

1. I often buy buttermilk by the quart, so measuring it for this recipe is even faster that way.
2. I prefer the consistency this amount gives the batter. Using less than 4 cups tends to leave me with pancakes that are too thick–which translates to burnt on the outside, raw on the inside.

Drop in two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Or measure with your heart.

Mix well.

Let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes.

While the batter rests, I like to clean up a little and then preheat the griddle. Honestly, on an ideal weekend, once the batter is resting it’s out of my hands. My husband fires up the Blackstone and cooks the pancakes outside. It’s the fastest way to do it, because you can fit so many pancakes on the griddle. When I cook them inside on my cast iron skillet, I can only do 1 or 2 at a time.

Once the batter has rested, it’s time to fry these up. You can either fold in any toppings like blueberries or chocolate chips now or you can add them to each individual pancake before flipping. Your call.

From here, everything is pretty simple. You just cook the pancakes.

When they’re really bubbly on top and golden underneath, they’re ready to flip. Only flip once for the fluffiest, most tender pancake.

These whole grain buttermilk pancakes are a star all on their own but a little grass-fed butter and maple syrup or homemade jam takes them to another level.

Leftovers can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. They never last too long here though!

Toss leftover pancakes in the toaster to reheat + revive them. Enjoy.