Wild Yeast Buttermilk Pancakes with Sticky Maple Bananas

(Makes about 25 pancakes)

These simple pancakes (or griddle cakes) are perfect for breakfast or brunch. I love them with freshly squeezed orange juice mixed with a little juice from a ruby grapefruit, a bowl of strawberries (when in season) and a pot of coffee.

The batter is best made at least 2 hours before you plan to use it, and is in fact even better left to ferment for 5-8 hours At a cool room temperature (10-14C). In hotter weather (e.g. 28C) the batter will be ready quicker- probably within 5 hours. Alternatively you can make the batter the night before, leaving it at room temperature for 2 hours and then cover it and refrigerate overnight. If you choose this approach remember to bring the batter back to room temperature before using it.

If you are in a hurry, you can add 5g of Baking Powder and 5g of Bicarbonate of Soda when you mix the dry ingredients so that the batter will be ready to use immediately. You won’t get the benefits of a long slow fermentation of the flour but they are still very tasty pancakes!

When I make these in France I buy natural yoghurt from my local cheese maker Monsieur Berenguel. It’s wonderfully fresh and creamy and cuts through the sweetness of the bananas perfectly. If you can’t get really creamy natural yoghurt, creme fraiche will work just as well.

190g Plain Flour

20-30g Castear Sugar

3g Maldon Salt

150g Frisky Wild Yeast Culture (50:50 Hydration)

2 Large Eggs at room temperature

460g Buttermilk (or plain natural yoghurt at room temperature)

30g melted Butter

Mix the dry ingredients together thoroughly in a large bowl, I use a balloon whisk. In another bowl, whisk together the culture, the eggs, the buttermilk (or yoghurt) and the melted butter.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir them together briefly. Don’t over-stir- the mixture should still be a little lumpy and quite gloopy.

Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 2-8 hours, until it is a honeycomb of bubbles and has almost doubled in volume (see notes above re: timings and techniques).

Heat a large frying pan or flat griddle over a medium heat. Dollop tablespoons of the batter into the pan allowing enough space for each pancake to spread whilst it cooks. When the bubble show over the surface of the pancake and the underside is lightly brown, turn the pancakes over and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the other side is also lightly brown.

You can keep the pancakes warm in the oven for about 20 minutes- whilst you cook the rest of the pancakes.

I serve these pancakes with Sticky Maple Bananas and natural yoghurt or crime fraiche. You could add a serving of crispy bacon and additional maple syrup if you like.

Sticky Maple Bananas:

Melt a generous dollop of butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. Lay quartered banana strips (cut each banana in half in the middle and then each half cut in half lengthways) into the pan. Fry the bananas until they turn golden brown, then flip them over to brown the other side. Drizzle the bananas generously with maple syrup, shake the pan to coat the bananas and then tip them onto a warm plate. Continue to cook batches of banana strips until you have enough- I allow at least one banana per person. Cover the plate with tin foil and place in a warm oven until you are ready to serve.