Pancakes Over an Open Fire

I saw a link to make homemade "shake and pour" pancakes on Pinterest, and thought the idea would be good for our camping trip.  Of course the concept is really quite simple, so I figured I might as well adapt our own loved pancake recipe to take instead of one we haven't tried before.

I traded cococunt oil in instead of butter so that the mix would all be more shelf-stable.  Our eggs from the backyard are shelf-stable as well, and buttermilk could last out overnight even--it just might set up a bit more.  But we had a cooler along--so eggs and buttermilk are fine in that.  I adjusted the recipe to use buttermilk too, since I had some, and who doesn't like buttermilk pancakes?!

I was very (understatement) excited to break out the new cast-iron griddle on this camping trip.  We've tried it out over the gas burners at home, but this was the real deal. 

I was surprised at how easily our cast iron skillet released pancakes at home and cast iron is such a healthy surface to cook on, but we really like using the non-stick electric griddle some friends gave us because we can make more pancakes at one time.  (Did I mention we can now see very clearly the day in our future when we will have four teenage boys under our roof--and around our table--at one time?!) Making more at a time is really great.  Plus, sometimes I have delusions about being a hardcore prepper, and having a way to make pancakes "off-grid" after TEOTWAWKI* is pretty awesome. 

(*TEOTWAWKI: acronym for "the end of the world as we know it" used among preppers.  Like "glamping" I repeat this word simply because it is impossible to do so with a straight face)

The pancakes were a great success.  We're still learning the nuance of working with live coals, but the results of our first attempts with the cast-iron griddle were definitely delicious!

Camping Pancake Mix Recipe

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg

In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Pour in the coconut oil, and stir with a fork or use a pastry blender, to mix until the oil is mixed evenly throughout.  Store in an airtight container about twice the size of the amount of mix.  (If not using right away, I would store it in the fridge.)

Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and egg.  Shake until smooth, using a fork to break up any remaining large clumps if neccessary.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Flip when bubbles begin to pop around the edges and start to look dry. Cook until browned on second side. Serve hot.

Makes 12 pancakes.