Pancakes, Part 2: Bread Crumb Griddle Cakes

The second pancake recipe we tried was described as fluffy and old-fashioned. If they were considered old-fashioned in 1943, then they would be especially old-fashioned today, right? I looked through my cookbook collection and found a similar recipe for them in the 1927 edition of The Butterick Book of Recipes and Household Helps. My older cookbooks didn’t have anything close, but they are mostly home economics textbooks and have just a few basic recipes. I’ll include the 1927 recipe later in this post so you can compare the two versions.

The recipe we tried was from the March 1943 issue of Woman’s Day. If you want to know more about why this week is filled with pancakes, you can read Part 1 here.

Bread Crumb Griddle Cakes

• 2 c hot milk
• 2 c soft stale bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp fat
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 c sifted flour
• 2 tsp baking powder

Pour hot milk over crumbs. Add fat, sugar, and salt. Let stand until cool. Add beaten egg and the flour which has been sifted with the baking powder. Mix only until ingredients are blended. Bake on hot greased griddle. Bakes 14 (3 inch) cakes. Cost 15 cents in February 1943.

Results

This recipe made fluffier, more cake-like pancakes than the other recipes we tried, but they were also much more crumbly than regular pancakes. Of the three kinds of pancakes we made, these were our favorites and the taste was closest to the pancakes we regularly eat. The crumbly texture was quite different than any other pancake I’ve ever seen or made, though, so be prepared for that if you want to try this recipe out.

I think bread crumb griddle cakes were probably made frequently over the years because they allowed women to use up bread even after it went stale. That was good practice during times of war and/or economic hardships. Here is the 1927 version of bread crumb pancakes. Have you made these before?

1927 Recipe: Bread-Crum Griddle-Cakes

You can find the other pancake recipes here:

Pancakes: Part 1: Whole Wheat Orange Pancakes for Dessert with Orange Toffee Sauce