Sheet Pan Pancakes with Pepper Bacon

Out of all the breakfast carbs, we make pancakes the least at home.  But Jim loves ordering them when we go out, and so do I.

So what gives?  Honestly, it is only because of the work.  Which is weird, because making crepes is really no less work.  But somehow I find making crepes far more satisfying, and rather therapeutic. But this gap in my weekend carb loading has now changed for good.  Thanks to the sheet pan!  It took me a while to create the recipe that Jim would enjoy.  Neither of us like dry cakey pancakes.  And yet that is what a lot of the recipes I tried ended up being.  So this here is a combo of the best of all the recipes I tried.  And Jim loves it, he highly recommends these!

Why Are Sheet Pan Pancakes so Great?

Because there is just no standing over a stove, flipping a few pancakes at a time.  Doing this means that we either have to keep them all warm until the last pancake has been flipped, or the cook gets to eat last.  Instead, the batter gets poured into a well buttered baking sheet, and popped into a pretty hot oven.  The heat should be high enough to mimic the heat of the skillet or griddle when the pancake batter is poured onto it.  In no time the entire sheet is baked up, and all you have to do is slice it up and serve. While the uber pancake is baking, you can move on to making coffee, squeezing juice, chopping up fruit etc.  No more bent shoulders over the stove!  And way less clean up! ‘Cuz you know the stove top doesn’t stay clean during pancake making sessions!

Key Ingredients to These Pancakes

We are pretty well starting off with a classic pancake mix: flour, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, leaveners and melted butter.  What I am sharing with you today is a small batch recipe, it will fit into a 9×13 inch sheet pan.  It will make enough to feed three comfortably (or two hungry guys!)  Jim doesn’t have a huge appetite when it comes to sweet carbs in one sitting, so this will feed us with a couple of leftovers. 

Flour: You can use all purpose or a cup for cup gluten free blend.  I usually have Thomas Keller’s Cup4Cup or Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 blend in the kitchen.  Or you can also use a combination of sorghum and sweet rice flours, for nutty flavour and the required sticky ability. This combo will give a more ‘whole wheat’ hue to the batter, just so you know.

Liquid: I use kefir, but you can use buttermilk, or yogurt thinned out with some milk.

Sugar: Brown sugar and icing sugar give this batter some flavour.

Measuring Eggs when Adjusting a Recipe

This recipe uses 1 1/2 large eggs.  I know, this is weird.  I just found one not enough, and two too much.  But this is a great time to explain how to halve ingredients for adjusting recipes.  Let’s say a recipe calls for 3 eggs (which this recipe would if it were being baked in a 13×18 inch baking pan.  But you want to reduce the recipe.  How do you get the correct amount of eggs?  Don’t just assume that you can use one whole egg plus say an egg yolk or egg white.  Both are probably needed for the recipe (the yolk is a binder, and the white is a leavener) What you will do is this: Whisk all three eggs in a measuring cup.  You will find when they are well blended that they probably make about 2/3 of a cup of eggs.  Now you know, just pour 1/3 into the bowl for your recipe, and the remaining 1/3 is for scrambled eggs the next day!

You will use an electric mixer to blend the eggs with the sugars.  Blend long enough to create a foamy thick consistency, about 2 minutes.  This creates a similar sensation to whisking your egg whites separately and folding them in at the end.  Then the kefir gets blended in, and the dry ingredients are folded in till just blended through, customary lumps included (if you blend too well and are using AP flour, you will over-work the gluten, and the final pancake will be on the dense side)

Blueberry Syrup

We love these with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, even chocolate chips! If adding frozen thawed berries, scatter them on top of the pancake half way through baking.  I need to try blackberries one day soon! And in the autumn with apples and walnuts. And if you just want to leave the pancake plain, why not add a berry syrup instead?  Just combine 1 cup of maple syrup, 1 cup of blueberries and 1 tbsp of lemon juice in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of fresh berries and stir through.  Let it come to room temperature and serve with the pancakes.  Extra can be stored in the fridge.  If you find that you won’t use it all, throw it in a smoothie or over oatmeal!

Playing with Your Pancakes

Yes, you can cut the baking sheet pancake into even squares.  But why not pull out your large biscuit cutters, english muffin rings or large cookie cutters and make fun shapes?!  Or cut them into pancake soldiers, because you can’t take pancakes seriously when they’re small enough to hold in your hand!  And don’t worry about the leftover scraps.  Cut them into bite sized pieces, store in the fridge till the next morning.  Then heat some milk and pour it over them and have pancake cereal!!

Pepper Bacon on the Side, Please

For us, bacon is just the perfect side to pancakes, waffles, crepes etc.  And this recipe will take breakfast to the next level.  Spread out your bacon on a cooling rack over a sheet pan lined with foil.  If you don’t have a cooling rack, use parchment paper. You will lay out your bacon strips.  Or why not twist it into a coils?  This works great with thick, but not too thick bacon.  I usually use a wooden skewer to help keep the bacon from unfurling in the oven.  Pop the baking sheet in a 375F oven for 5 minutes. Then remove and sprinkle coarse ground pepper over the strips.  Back into the oven till just crispy!  If you use a cooling rack you won’t even have to turn them over half way through baking.

Final Thoughts

Making a sheet pan of tender, light and fluffy pancakes just made life a little sweeter.  Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and re-warmed in a skillet, or toaster oven.  Or they can even be frozen. I don’t even mind them cold. Prep the dry ingredients the night before, and line the baking sheet with parchment before you go to bed.  In the morning all you will need to do is whisk the eggs with the sugar and milk.  Mix together and bake. Ta-da!! Breakfast is served.

For other great breakfast options check out my Gluten Free Liege Waffles,  Classic Crepes,  Maple Walnut Bostock,  Espresso Maple Bourbon Bacon

Love Jen

ps: yes I know these pancakes are yellow! It’s the great eggs I use!

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Sheet Pan Pancakes with Pepper Bacon

The ease of baking all your pancakes at once is here with this fluffy, light sheet pan pancake. And the best pepper bacon for the perfect side with all the maple syrup!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine North American

Keyword bacon, pancakes, sheet pan

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 3

Ingredients

Pancakes, enough for three people, using a 9x13 inch sheet pan

• 2 tbsp melted butter divided, (plus 1 tbsp if needed, see below)
• 188 grams all purpose flour or 1 1/4 cups (if using gluten free flour, it will be 1 cup 3 tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 eggs see blog post for how to achieve this
• 2 tbsp light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp kefir or buttermilk can also use yogurt thinned with milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 300 grams berries divided (or 1 cup)

Pepper Bacon

• 2 rashers of thick cut bacon per person at room temperature (not overly thick though)
• coarsely ground or cracked black pepper

Instructions

Pancakes

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. If you have a convection setting preheat it to 425F. Convection will help in browning the top of the pancake. If you don't have a convection setting I will explain what to do instead below.
2. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom of a 9x13 inch sheet pan with sides.
3. Melt the butter and cool it slightly. When cooled, brush 1 tbsp all over the parchment paper and the sides of the sheet pan.

4. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl with a whisk. Set aside.

5. In a large bowl combine the eggs with the brown sugar and icing sugar. Use a hand mixer to blend them to foamy, about 2 minutes. Gently stir through the kefir and vanilla.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid and fold through with a silicone spatula till JUST blended, you want some lumps left throughout. Fold in half of the berries.
7. Pour and spread the pancake batter in the sheet pan. Smooth the top. Scatter the remaining berries evenly over the batter.
8. Bake in the oven till golden and puffed up, about 12 minutes or so. If you don't have a convection setting, after the pancake is baked through but it isn't golden enough to your liking, brush with one more tbsp of melted butter and turn on the broiler. Watch it and as soon as the gold appears, remove!
9. Let it sit for a minute before slicing. If you want, use a biscuit cutter or english muffin ring to create round shapes. Or slice the pancakes into fun 'toast soldiers'. Even heart or star shaped pancakes would be fun!
10. Serve with maple syrup and pepper bacon.

11. See the blog post for additional ideas.

Pepper Bacon

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F and lay foil in a sheet pan. Place a cooling rack over the sheet pan. This is optional if you don't have a cooling rack that will fit over a sheet pan. Then instead lay parchment onto the baking sheet.
2. Take one rasher of bacon and twist it into a tight coil. If you find that the coil unravels, try skewering the ends and catching some of the meat along the coil with a wooden skewer. Lay these onto the cooling rack. The coils create bacon that is crispy in parts, and chewy in other parts, a great sensation.
3. Of course, you don't need to coil the bacon at all, it will still bake up fine.
4. Spread out the bacon on the cooling rack.
5. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove and sprinkle a good amount of coarse cracked black pepper over the bacon. The fat will have just started to melt and the pepper will cling to it. If you sprinkle it on before placing the bacon in the oven, it may fall off.
6. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes or so, depending on your oven and how thick the bacon is. You'll know when it is cooked through!
7. If you are not using a cooling rack, feel free to flip the bacon half way through the baking time. Place on a paper towel lined plate. Then you can warm it in the oven with the pancake for the last minute or so of the pancake being in the oven.

Recipe Notes

Don't worry about the flours not having all the same measurements or weight.  Each type of flour has a different weight.

If you want to use separate gluten free flours, use 95 g (3/4 cup) of sorghum flour, and 80 g (1/2 cup) sweet rice flour

The convection oven circulates the air evenly over and around the pancake, giving it the browning it needs to not look naked. If you don't have this setting on your oven, just brush with melted butter and turn the broiler on for just a moment or so. Totally optional of course.
Re-heat leftovers in an oiled skillet or toaster oven. Or even the toaster, but the berries might scorch.
You can also freeze leftovers for up to three months.
This recipe can be doubled easily and will fit into a 13x18 sheet pan. This will feed up to 6 people.
Of course, you can use more bacon than listed in the recipe.