Whole Wheat & Oat Baking Mix

For many years, I've been buying the Whole Grain Baking & Pancake Mix from Trader Joe's.

Recently I saw a story on the news about labels on "whole wheat" products, and one of the things I remembered was that if the product is truly "whole wheat," then the first item on the ingredients list is "whole wheat flour" - not "wheat flour." I started checking the labels of a lot of the products I buy, and noticed that they all have "wheat flour" as the first ingredient.

I went in search of a recipe to make my own baking mix, and found one to adapt on the King Arthur Flour website.  I borrowed theirs, but added wheat and oat bran to it. In addition, since I wanted one that would have a longer shelf life, I substituted shortening for the oil. If you use the oil, which some people would find healthier, then the mix must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

Whole Wheat & Oat Baking Mix
adapted from King Arthur Flour

3 cups old fashioned or rolled oats
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup wheat bran
3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 cup shortening

1) To make the mix: Grind the oats and oat bran in a food processor until it's all chopped fine, but not a powder.

2) Put the flour, oats, and all other dry ingredients into a mixer with a paddle. (I used the bread hooks, since I didn't have a paddle, and it mixed it all beautifully.) Cut the shortening into chunks (if you're using the stick shortening) or drop by spoonfuls into the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, mix until the shortening has been broken up into small bits and all is well-combined.

3) Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks at room temperature, or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To make pancakes: Whisk together 1 cup of mix, 1 cup of buttermilk (or a combination of half plain yogurt and half milk; or 3/4 cup liquid whey), and 1 large egg. Don't worry if it seems thin at first: the oats will soak up the milk, and the mix will thicken a bit as it stands.

Let the batter stand for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Yield: a batch using 1 cup of the mix will make about 5 to 8 pancakes, depending on size. Use mix as you would use Bisquick.