Never Buy Bisquick Again - DIY Pancake Mix Recipe

By the time I was 9 or 10 years old, I couldn't do much in the kitchen - but one thing I could do was make a batch of pancakes. This was the 1980s, and my mother (like most moms of the era) didn't make anything without a box. So in order to whip up a batch a pancakes, all I had to do was measure out some Bisquick and stir in some eggs and milk. Easy!

Today, my 10 year old daughter can't do much in the kitchen, either. Because she's petite, she has a hard time lifting filled pans and seems to have a special talent for burning herself on anything hot. She has a desire to learn to cook, though - and I have dreams of one day being able to say, "This morning, why don't you cook breakfast?" Besides, cooking is an important life skill for all children.

The trouble is, my daughter is still not very accurate at measuring. And because we avoid processed food, we make pancakes from scratch. That means I can't let her make pancakes without supervision...or does it?

The fact is, it's easy to make your own pancake mix - free of preservatives and hard to pronounce ingredients, but still very handy for a quick meal. In fact, while it's really not hard to whip together from scratch pancakes, having a mix on hand does seem to make breakfast come together a bit more quickly. Besides, a mix means the kids can handle pancake making.

To make your own Bisquick, all you need to do is take your favorite pancake recipe, mix up several batches, and pour it into a container. (More details on how to do that below.) Don't have a from scratch pancake recipe? Then steal mine!

DIY Pancake Mix Recipe
This is the from scratch recipe I use; my family prefers pancakes made with some wheat flour. We find them more flavorful, more filling, and more nutritious. However, if you prefer, you can replace the whole wheat flour in this recipe with white unbleached flour.

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups white unbleached flour
3 - 9 tablespoons cane sugar (optional; I typically don't add any sugar)
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Blend together and pour into an airtight container. I use an empty (and well washed with white vinegar) coffee container, but a gallon sized canning jar works well, too. 


To the container, tape the rest of the recipe:

Measure out 3 1/4 cups of the pancake mix. Then add:

1 1/2 cups milk or buttermilk
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted coconut oil (optional)
1 large egg
1 egg white (only needed if using whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional if using all purpose flour only, but necessary if using whole wheat flour)

Mix well. If batter seems too thick, add a little extra milk.

HINT #1: Have a reluctant cook or a child who needs a little extra help making pancakes? Make the job even easier by measuring out single batches of pancake mix into Ziplock bags!

HINT #2: I often make more than one batch of pancakes at a time, then pop them in the freezer. Any time I need a speedy breakfast, I reheat the desired amount in the microwave or on a low setting in the oven. Learn how to freeze pancakes (and waffles) here.

How to Make Pancake Mix From Your Own Recipe

If you already have a from scratch pancake recipe you love, it's very simple to turn it into a mix. Just triple or quadruple the dry ingredients. An easy peasy way to do that is to use this online recipe calculator, which allows you to decrease and increase recipes.

To find out how much of the mix you'll need for a single batch of pancakes, measure out all the dry ingredients in their single batch measurements, and place them in a bowl. Now remove the mixture from the bowl using measuring cups (start with the 1 cup size) and place them in another container, making note of how many cups the batch contains.

Finally, remember to print out this measurement - plus the rest of the recipe - and tape it onto your pancake mix storage container.



* Title image courtesy of  ポトフ



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