In praise of self-raising flour and water

[Breadandwine]

As a vegan, I'm always experimenting with recipes - taking ingredients out and seeing what works.

I did this with pancakes - took the eggs out, and found no difference in the result. Then I made it with water instead of milk - again, it worked. So then I removed the sugar and was left with flour (s/r) and water. And again, you can't tell the difference.

So now I make pancakes which cost about a penny each instead of about 10p each. And these are available to everyone - including those with egg or dairy allergies.

Then I looked around to see what else can be made with flour and water and discovered soda bread (which I've been making for years), homemade pasta - and only this morning I made some tempura which we had for lunch. Not to mention pikelets - both plain and fruited!

So simple - and so cheap!

Here's my blog post on the subject, with a few links:

nobreadisanisland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/what-can-i-make-with-just-flour-and.html

[mrspremise]

Not really available to 'everyone'... What about coeliacs? That's a medical condition, not a lifestyle choice.

[Breadandwine]

Take your point about having coeliac disease being a medical condition and not a lifestyle choice, MrsP, but I don't think I said it was.

And, if you check out my pancake recipe properly, you'll see that I state that these pancakes can be made with gluten-free flour. So they are available to everyone!

If you - or anyone - has coeliac disease or a gluten/wheat allergy or intolerance, I have a lot of info on the subject on my blog. Just put 'gluten free' in the search box.

[snowlie]

Thing is flour isn't very nutritious and I wouldn't be happy giving my kids a breakfast of flour and water, it's cheap for a reason, a couple of eggs and some milk can only improve on this.

[Kidsarekarma]

You can make glue from flour and water...

As snowlie said, not much nutrition in it. Eggs and milk are good for growing children.

[starfishmummy]

I seriously think you must have something wrong with your tastebuds if you think that pancakes made with flour and water are the same as ones made with milk and eggs

[newlark]

really interesting blog - thanks for sharing it. I'm veggie rather than vegan but don't always have butter/eggs in the fridge unless I've bought them for something specific so it is useful to have some ideas that don't use them :)

[HazeltheMcWitch]

Is it really ok that you publicise your blog (on here) so openly? is that not just advertising?

[figwit]

Great Blog, surprised at some of the miserable responses on here.

I think it's really interesting to see what you can make with flour and water. Of course it won't be that nutritious on it's own, but you can add lots to these to make them tastier.

[EsTutMirLeid]

I'm sorry but there is no way on earth a pancake made with flour and water will taste as nice as one made properly with eggs and milk. Also flour and water isn't at all nutritious.

[DragonsAreReal]

I make banana fritters with just mashed up bananas and sr flour (and vanilla essence almond essence and cinnamon) make batter and drop into frying pan.

[BumbleChum]

Have you tried them with gluten free flour? Can't believe that would work (coeliac household here). Gf flour has very different qualities to wheat flour.

We make ours with gf plain flour, a scoop of ground cashews for protein, two eggs (I find two 'bind' the mix better than one) and a pint of semi skimmed milk. Yummy creeps. I

I wouldn't feed kids flour and water as not nutritious even if it tasted ok

[thisisyesterday]

my grandma, and then my mum in turn, used to make "morning rolls" when they couldn't afford bread (which was sadly all too often)
just flour and water, or milk, mixed into a dough and cooked in balls to make these surprisingly fluffy little rolls.
have to be eaten as they're cooked or they go hard, but I have fond memories of eating "morning rolls" at tea time, with jam or marmite on :-D

[thisisyesterday]

we also make flatbreads with just flour and water and serve with beans for a quick lunch

[DragonsAreReal]

Oh flour and water make great dumplins to, you really don't need suet and all that other stuff if they're just for soup.

[thisisyesterday]

oh and btw, eggs and milk aren't good for growing children when those children have intolerances to them!

agree with earlier poster, lots of miseries on MN these days it would seem. some people just appear to enjoy making negative comments on as many threads as possible,

[Artandco]

They don't sound overly nutritious though.

Instead of taking ingredients out I'm always adding them in. We make pancake batter with self raising flour, ground almonds/ ground coconut, milk and eggs. Usually then add thinly sliced and peeled apples and pears to the pan and pour batter over. Served with some Greek yogurt

It makes a nuritious and healthy meal for everyone, and one I would be happy for children to eat before school for example.

Flour and water doesn't do the above really and I would only serve fr breakfast with glass of milk/ boiled egg/ fruit etc so might as well be in it

[JulieMumsnet]

Hi,

thank you for the reports about this thread. It's in the correct place.

MNHQ.

[snowlie]

I don't see what's miserable about pointing out that a breakfast made from flour and water regardless of how cheap it is, isn't very nutritious.

I make pancakes with eggs, almonds and bananas. Kids need nutrients not just calories.

[Breadandwine]

Wow! This is the closest I've been to a hornets nest for a long time!

I'll attempt to answer all your criticisms, and I'll try not to be judgemental along the way!

Thing is flour isn't very nutritious and I wouldn't be happy giving my kids a breakfast of flour and water, it's cheap for a reason, a couple of eggs and some milk can only improve on this.

snowlie, ever give your kids toast? Please explain the nutritional difference between toast - made with flour, water, salt and yeast, and a pancake, made with flour and water.

I seriously think you must have something wrong with your tastebuds if you think that pancakes made with flour and water are the same as ones made with milk and eggs

starfishmummy I was as unprepared for the result I got as you are. All I can ask is that you don't knock it until you've tried it!

Thank you, newlark and figwit

Hazel Mumsnet have agreed that we can reference our blogs (Mumsnet approved) as long as it's relevant.

EsTutMirLeid try it, you may be surprised.

Thanks, Dragon - I'll have to try that!

BumbleChum of course I've tried pancakes with GF flour - I wouldn't recommend them otherwise!

I'm not going to lie and tell you that they taste as good as the ones made with wheat flour - but they're perfectly acceptable. Have a go yourself!

thisisyesterday that's a great story, thanks - also helps to explain your nickname, as well!

Dragons I keep meaning to add a dumpling recipe in with the rest - these things are so easy, aren't they?

Artandco I agree about adding things. I made a soda bread mushroom en croute for dinner tonight - the flour and water dough also contained a stock cube, a dessertspoon of curry paste, 4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped fine, and a good glug of the s-d-tomato oil. Absolutely gorgeous!

One of the things that being a vegan has helped me to do is to be a lot more experimental. It takes just a minute or two to mix some flour and water, pour some in a hot frying pan, and sprinkle the result with sugar and lemon juice. Make the experiment - and let us know how you get on!

[snowlie]

No, I don't give my kids toast for breakfast, I like them to have a protein based breakfast - meat, eggs, yoghurt, nuts, seeds, avocado, some fruit, some good fat....no processed cereal, no fruit juice and often pancakes made with eggs and a variety of other food stuffs.

[mumofcrazynamedkids]

definitely some miserable and narrow minded views on here, flour and water pancakes as a basis for a light, quick and economical snack is great add to it what you like, this is just a recipe suggestion, personally I'd add berries and nuts with some honey, yummy for a breakfast or a pudding.

[headintheclouds]

what a very unhelpful response from snowlie . i think the OP was trying to be helpful with some cost cutting recipes in the current fiscal climate. .. thats all !

[snowlie]

I think it's a valid point about the nutritional impact of removing egg and milk from a pancake recipe to reduce costs and I think you're wrong - it is helpful information for someone considering cutting back, nutrition is still important if cash is tight. If you think that's a miserable thing to mention then I think that's a bit odd - it's just a fact.

[Breadandwine]

snowlie no-one eats a pancake on its own - just as no-one eats a slice of bread on its own. They're both used as vehicles for something else - with a pancake it could be sugar and lemon, with bread it could be ham and cheese, or a simple jam butty!

As I've said, there's no difference between the two nutritionally. I've never eaten a pancake for nutrition - it's a simple treat and not to be taken seriously.

BTW, to turn it into a serious treat, just add a bit of water to a teaspoon or so of marmalade and microwave it for a few seconds, pour that over your pancake then drizzle some Benedictine over the sauce and add a bit of soya cream - et voila, Crepe Suzette!

On the coeliac front, I heard from a coeliac friend of mine that the crepe van, which is to be found in the centre of Taunton, only makes GF crepes! Using Doves GF flour. It does not make any crepes with wheat flour.

How about that, mrspremise?

[glorious]

Ooh thanks for reminding me about these OP. My aunt is vegan and made egg free pancakes a while back, though I think she used soya milk. They were surprisingly similar to normal pancakes. My DD seems to be allergic to eggs and I was sad about not giving her pancakes so I'll give these a go, probably with almond milk for a few more calories