Acorn Pancakes (or Waffles)

This is up there as one of my favorite ways to work with acorn flour in a baking/bread situation. You can take this same recipe and use it in a waffle iron to make waffles as well. As I've mentioned in my ACorn bread recipe, I really emphasize making acorns close to half of the dry ingredients, allowing them space as stars and not just side roles. Acorns are rich and buttery and take care and time to prepare, so it seems a shame to me to only add a dash of acorn flour to something. Especially in something so classic and awesome as a pancake or waffle. Like most of my bread recipes, grain ingredients soak and ferment at least 8 hrs to break down enzyme inhibitors, release & add nutrition, and for texture and superb flavor. Finally, I find it hard to believe many folks can resist a hot pancake dripping in butter, autumnberry jam, and maple syrup!

I should note: you may notice that after eating one or two pancakes or waffles (depending on size), you feel more satiated than you may when eating a straight flour, unfermented pancake or waffle. I generally reach a generous feeling of "stuffed" after three pancakes or waffles. The acorns are super nutritious and hearty, and I find myself wanting or being able to eat less. Plus, the energy from this food feels more sustained and nourishing, especially from the fermentation process.

Acorn Pancakes (or Waffles)

What You Need:

1 1/2 cups wheat (or your favorite grain) flour
1 1/2 cups acorn leached acorn flour
2  cups milk, preferably raw or organic/grass-fed.
2 eggs, separated
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
4-5 tbsp melted butter
pinch of salt

• The night before your pancake breakfast, mix your  flour and milk together in a bowl. It should have a loose consistency, similar to paint. Cover and set somewhere warm to ferment/soak.


• The following day, uncover your batter for observation. It should be slightly bubbly and much thicker.


• Preheat your griddle or waffle iron.


• Whip the egg whites to a soft peak in a glass bowl with a pinch of salt.


• Gently incorporate the whipped egg whites into the mixture.


• One at a time, add the acorn flour, egg yolks, melted butter, maple syrup, and another pinch of salt to the batter. Mix each in carefully and thoroughly (trying not to deflate the whipped eggwhite).


• Ladle the mixture onto your griddle or waffle iron and cook them until a crispy, light brown crust forms on the outside. I start with one to get a feel for how long I want to cook them—cooking it until I think its perfect, then breaking it open and trying a few bites.


• Once cooked, stack the pancakes or waffles on a big plate.


• Pull out the butter, maple syrup, an favorite sauce or jam. I pile thick knobs of butter, a few healthy spoonfuls of autumnberry or wild blueberry jam, and light drizzle of maple syrup and dig in!

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ACorn Bread

 

When I cook with acorns, I prefer ways that accentuate what the acorn has to offer, as opposed to just throwing them into any old dish just because. This ACorn bread not only accentuates the buttery, rich flavor of the acorns, it allows them to act as close to half of your dry ingredient list. I'm also a huge proponent of making grain dishes using traditional fermentation techniques that break down the nutrient inhibitors and enzymes present in the grain, and unlock not only their deeper flavor and nutrition, but offer texture and structure to the final product. This bread should come out moist and dense.

*If you aren't growing and grinding it yourself, look for true corn flour, not corn meal. It will make a world of difference.

ACorn Bread

What You Need:

1 3/4 cup corn flour—preferably freshly ground.*
1 cup acorn leached acorn flour
1 3/4 cup milk, preferably raw, hopefully organic/grass-fed.
1 egg, separated
3-4 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp baking powder
2 pinches of salt

• The night before baking, mix your corn flour and 1 3/4 cup of your milk together in a bowl. It should have a loose consistency, similar to paint. Cover and set somewhere warm to ferment/soak.


• The following day, uncover your corn flour and milk mixture for observation. It should be slightly bubbly and much thicker.


• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.


• Whip the egg white to a soft peak in a glass bowl with a pinch of salt.


• Gently incorporate the whipped egg whites into the mixture.


• One at a time, add the last 3/4 cup of milk, acorn flour, egg yolks, melted butter, maple syrup, and another pinch of salt to the batter. Mix each in carefully and thoroughly (trying not to deflate the whipped eggwhite).


• Pour this mixture into a buttered 8-9inch cast iron pan (or 9 inch square baking pan, or equivalent—I've found cast iron is the best for corn breads). Place in the preheated oven an bake for 35 minutes.


• After 35 minutes, insert a toothpick into the bread. If it comes out clean, remove the bread from the oven, remove from the pan, and let rest on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes.


• Slice, apply thick slabs of butter, (some honey if you like) and indulge!

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Autumnberrykin

I'm a really big fan of closing loops. For that reason, I'm always thinking of how to most efficiently and frugally use all things, especially with food. I've always got my chickens to eat my scraps, the compost pile, or my pet red composting worms, but making more food/drink is always option one for me. In my cider pressing experiences I learned about a techniques used throughout all traditional apple/cider cultures called Ciderkin. It was a fermented preparation made by pouring water over the spent pomace from cider pressing (apple pulp that had its juiced pressed out) and left to ferment, the yeast eating up the remaining sugars. I was a big fan of this ciderkin after I made it—it's light, bubbly, and a mild apple flavor. After making a batch of Autumnberry fruit leather, I had a whole pile of autumnberry pulp and seed and thought to myself, "Why don't I make Autumberrykin?". So I did.

It's something you can ferment a lot or a little, and like ciderkin, extracts those last sugars left in the pulp, giving you a nice lightly autumnberry flavored sparkling drink.

Autumnberry Kin

What You Need:

A pile of Autumnberry pulp left over from your fruit leather making

• In a large jar—one that is large enough to accomodate the volume of pulp you have plus some water—pack in your autumnberry pulp. (you can use a Ball jar. an old pickle jar, or a big jar with one of those flip-top jars with a rubber seal, which is what I used)


• Cover the pulp with water until it is fully saturated.


• Cover the jar tightly and set it in a warm place.


• After a day or so, it will start to bubble as the wild yeast on the pulp start to increase their population. Release any pressure built up by the second day.


• If you want a sweet Autumnberrykin, ferment it only one-two days. For a drier or more lactic drink let it go three-four days, making sure to release the built up pressure once a day.


• After you've achieved your desired sweetness or dryness, strain out the pulp, and bottle it up into any airtight bottle you have. The best are flip-top bottles, but glass screw-top on bottles from sparkling water or even plastic 2 liters work great.


• Let the bottle sit for a day or two to build up carbonation. Once they're carbonated, chill them down and enjoy!

You will notice that the pulp fromt he autumnberries will come out of solution—simply shake the autumnberrykin before serving.

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