The Unique Flour Combo That Makes Cracker Barrel Pancakes So Delicious

When the craving for comforting Southern food hits, Cracker Barrel (named after a useful shipping container) is always a reliable choice. Famous for its fried chicken, meatloaf, and front porch rocking chairs (not to mention the extensive gift shops at each location), Cracker Barrel's pancakes have developed a cult following and are one menu item that never disappoints. Fluffy with crispy edges, these aren't your run-of-the-mill flapjacks created mostly from all-purpose flour. It turns out that Cracker Barrel's pancake recipe includes three types of flour: enriched wheat, yellow corn, and white rye flour.

It's quite a genius combination of grains. The wheat flour provides most of the gluten which gives pancakes structure and helps them rise, while the yellow corn flour lends a mild, corny sweetness and aids in those scrumptious crispy edges (white corn flour is not as sweet as its yellow counterpart). It's noteworthy that there is a big difference between cornmeal and corn flour; cornmeal is much coarser and can also be used in pancakes but will give a much more toothsome bite to pancakes. The corn flour in Cracker Barrel's pancakes gives a subtle crunch and body. The rye flour imparts a nutty, malty flavor. Incidentally, rye flour is also the best flour to use for the quickest sourdough starter. With the additional ingredients of buttermilk powder, sugar, and leavening agents that make up Cracker Barrel's buttermilk pancake mix, they create a stack of truly mouthwatering flapjacks.

At their most basic, Cracker Barrel pancakes are served traditionally with butter and maple syrup. However, there are also several ways to customize them, most of which involve sweet or fruity ingredients, and they all work well with the complex flavors of the chain's signature recipe. Customers can opt to mix blueberries, chocolate chips, or pecans in the batter, and they can request the pancakes to be topped with apples or peaches. The restaurant's blueberry, strawberry, and butter pecan syrups also taste fantastic with a short stack. In the spring, Cracker Barrel usually offers strawberry-topped pancakes and a cheesecake-stuffed version.

But pancakes don't have to be cloying to be delicious. In fact, enjoying them with bacon or sausage is a classic choice. For a time, Cracker Barrel upped the game of the savory pancake by offering pancake tacos. Its signature buttermilk pancakes came folded and stuffed with fried eggs, bacon, and cheese, and were served with syrup. While the dish doesn't appear on the current menu, it could easily be built on your own by ordering each element à la carte. If you order the popular Momma's Pancake Breakfast, you'll get everything that goes into the tacos except the cheese.