Turn stale bread into fluffy pancakes—no flour needed
It seems everyone loves pancakes. They're quick, simple, and can be made with almost anything. To whip them up, you only need a few ingredients and a pan. Recently, I've been swapping out classic flour for a surprising product that works perfectly in its place.
Pancakes are a dish almost everyone knows and loves. They remind me of childhood because they were my favorite dish that I always asked my mom to make. Want to make pancakes but find you're out of flour? Turns out, that's no problem at all. Just reach for something that usually ends up in the trash: stale bread. This is a brilliant ingredient that, combined with milk and eggs, creates flexible, delicate pancakes. Besides, it helps us avoid wasting food and allows us to cook in the spirit of zero waste. Just ensure the bread is stale but without any signs of mold or spoilage.
Stale bread instead of flour?
Although it might seem surprising, stale bread is nothing other than processed flour. Bread is made from flour, water, and yeast or sourdough, which are the same ingredients you find in typical pancake batter. When bread dries out, it loses moisture, but its structure—based on starch and gluten—remains.
Soaking the bread in milk makes it soft and pliable again. After blending and adding eggs, it creates a batter with a consistency very similar to classic pancake batter. Bread works as a ready, slightly "toasted" flour base—it binds well, holds its shape, and withstands frying excellently. This way, you can completely skip the flour without losing the texture or flavor of the pancakes.
Pancake recipe without flour
Pancakes are incredibly versatile. In the sweet version, they taste great with stewed apples, cottage cheese with honey, raspberry jam, or cinnamon. In the savory option, you can fill them with sautéed spinach with mushrooms, feta cheese, chickpea paste, or vegetable stew.
Ingredients:
- 3.5 oz stale bread (bread or rolls)
- 1.7 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- Fat for frying (oil, clarified butter, or vegetable oil)
Preparation:
- Cut or crumble the stale bread into smaller pieces. Pour milk over it and set it aside for about 10 minutes to soften.
- Blend the soaked bread into a smooth mass. Add eggs and blend again or mix thoroughly until you have a batter with the consistency of classic pancake batter.
- Heat the pan with a little fat. Pour thin portions of batter and fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown.
