Got half an hour? Make Master Mix.
Who needs Krusteaz, Kirkland, or even Pamela’s?
Make your own pancakes, muffins, waffles, and biscuits just as easily, with control over ingredients’ sources, and exactly to your taste.
You can have handy baking mix on your shelf in half an hour. Here are tested regular and gluten-free options and some paleo-friendly ingredients to test on your own.
Paleo folks: do tell what works, and we’ll spread the word.
Master Mix
Ingredients
- 9 cups flour. If you tolerate gluten, try unbleached flour. My gluten-free version is based on finely-milled rice flour. Nut, coconut, squash, and bean flours spring to mind for both no-gluten and paleo options. Buckwheat has a strong flavor and short shelf life, so I use it for only a quarter of the flour.
- 1/3 cup baking powder
- 1 1/2 cup dry milk powder. Goat’s milk powder if you don’t like it from a cow. Coconut milk if veggies are your thing. Buttermilk powder if that’s your favorite flavor.
- 1 TBSP salt
- 2 tsp cream of tartar
- (1/2 to 1 tsp Xanthan Gum when using gluten-free flour)
- 1/4 c sugar, ground dried fruit to sweeten, or omit and add a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup when you mix the dish.
- 2 cups shortening. By “shortening” I mean a fat of your choice. I use coconut oil for a shelf-stable mix or butter if there’s room in the refrigerator for a batch of Master Mix. Any liquid oil I’ve tried yields tough baked goods.
Sift dry ingredients together three times. This is one of very few recipes for which I sift flour.
Cut in shortening to cornmeal consistency.
Store, tightly capped, with a bay leaf taped inside the lid to discourage flour weevils.
The recipe is less daunting in half batches during your own testing process. You’ll soon hit on the proportions and ingredients that work for your household.
Now, how do you use this?
Pancakes
Feeds 4 or fewer: depends upon appetites.
- 2 cups Master Mix
- 2 – 3 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 – 3/4 c water: depends on your flour mix and climate
Wheat option: Stir only as much as necessary or you’ll make tough, gluten-y pancakes. A few lumps of dry ingredients in the batter are OK.
Gluten-free: Mix first, then beat the batter until you see bubbles.
If you like light pancakes, separate the eggs, whip the whites and fold them in at the end.
Crêpes
To pancakes recipe add another egg or two, 1 TBSP melted butter, and more water.
Waffles
To pancakes recipe add another egg and 1 TBSP melted butter.
Biscuits
Makes a panful.
- 3 cups Master Mix
- 1/3 cup water
Knead 15 times.
Roll 1/2″ thick and cut.
Bake 15 – 20 minutes at 425 ° F.
Sweet Bread
About 2 loaf pans, depending upon the size of your pans.
Preheat oven to 425° F
Bake a batch of muffins to greased loaf pans.
Reduce heat to 350° or 375° when you put the loaf pan in the oven and bake 25 – 40 minutes, until the toothpick test is successful.
Let rest at least 15 minutes before inverting pan to get at the bread.
Muffins
1 dozen
Preheat oven to 425° F
I like a protein-boosted muffin that’s not very sweet.
- 3 c Master Mix
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 – 4 eggs
- more sweetener. Honey is my favorite, but I also use that last bit of jelly in the bottom of the jar.
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- liquid of choice to flavor and maybe to sweeten
- fun additives like fresh and dried fruit, nuts, seeds, spices, leftover dessert remnants, and grated vegetables.
Stir together Master Mix and baking soda. If you plan to use dried spices, add them here.
Make a well, break in the eggs, and whip them a bit.
Add sweetener and vanilla.
Wheat option: Add liquid to make the right consistency, stirring gently as little as possible.
Gluten-free: Add liquid to make the right consistency and beat the holy heck out of the batter until it’s bubbly. Consider separating the eggs, whipping the whites, and folding them in just before baking.
Stir in the additives.
Fill muffin holders or greased muffin tins 3/4 full.
Reduce heat to 350° or 375° when you put the loaf pan in the oven and bake 25 – 40 minutes, until the toothpick test is successful.
Let rest 10 minutes before removing from pan. I freeze muffins and take out one or two at a time for a fresh breakfast. They thaw in half an hour.
