Home workers who want a wholemeal base
Making batter lets you choose the flour directly. Tesco’s wholemeal pancake recipe specifies wholemeal flour, while M&S specifies plain wholemeal flour in its banana and blueberry recipe.
Who is each approach for?
Home workers short on preparation time
Ready-made pancakes avoid mixing batter and cooking from scratch. If wholemeal is a requirement, check the ingredients on the particular pack before choosing it.
Shoppers checking allergens
Wholemeal wheat flour contains gluten. Check the current flour or pancake label, as well as any toppings, for ingredients and allergens relevant to you, including wheat, egg, milk and nuts.
What should you check before choosing?
For a wholemeal work-from-home lunch, decide whether confirming the flour or reducing preparation matters more, then check the ingredients and serving you intend to use.
Make pancakes with wholemeal flour
Choose this when: You want to select the flour yourself and have time to prepare batter; Tesco gives 20 minutes for its wholemeal recipe and M&S gives 15 minutes for its plain-wholemeal-flour recipe.
Allow for: Cooking and clearing up, plus the other ingredients your chosen recipe calls for.
Buy ready-made pancakes
Choose this when: Minimising lunch preparation matters more and the exact pack meets your ingredient requirements.
Check first: A ready-made pancake’s style or fruit flavour does not establish that its flour is wholemeal.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Wholemeal ingredient | Look for the flour type in the recipe or the exact product’s ingredient list. Compare fibre figures on the same basis, such as per 100g or per serving. | I want to know that the pancake base uses wholemeal flour, rather than judging by its colour or name. |
| Preparation time | Compare a recipe’s stated total time with the preparation instructions on a ready-made pack. Tesco states 20 minutes for its wholemeal recipe; M&S states 15 minutes for its banana and blueberry recipe. | On a short lunch break, I would rather avoid making batter; with more time, I can choose the flour myself. |
| Sugars and toppings | Read sugars per 100g or per serving on the relevant nutrition information, noting which basis is used. Check what the recipe or serving includes; Tesco lists maple syrup as optional. | I want to decide on toppings separately, rather than assuming a wholemeal base describes the entire lunch. |
| Ingredients and allergens | Check the current pack’s ingredient and allergen information, including toppings. Wholemeal wheat flour contains gluten; pancake ingredients can also include egg, milk or nuts. | If I need to avoid an ingredient, the word “wholemeal” cannot stand in for an allergen check. |
What can go wrong when choosing?
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Assuming a ready-made pancake is wholemeal
Names such as Scotch, buttermilk or blueberry describe a style or flavour, not necessarily the flour used.
Read the exact pack’s ingredients. If wholemeal flour is essential and you cannot confirm it on a ready-made option, use a recipe that specifies the flour.
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Treating wholemeal as gluten-free
Wholemeal wheat flour contains gluten, and other pancake ingredients or toppings may introduce additional allergens.
Check the current ingredient list and allergen information for every product you intend to use; do not treat a wholemeal description as a free-from claim.
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Ignoring the serving and toppings
The flour does not determine the sugars in the finished lunch. Tesco’s wholemeal recipe, for example, makes maple syrup optional.
Compare nutrition information on a consistent per-100g or per-serving basis and decide which toppings to add.
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Tasting uncooked flour-based batter
Waitrose’s wholemeal flour product information describes flour as a raw ingredient that must be cooked or baked before eating.
Cook the pancakes rather than eating the uncooked flour or batter.
Which brand references are useful?
These recipe and ingredient references help distinguish a specified wholemeal-flour route from a ready-made pancake whose flour needs checking on the pack.
Tesco
Tesco publishes a wholemeal pancake recipe with yogurt and fruit, specifying 135g wholemeal flour.
- The recipe states a 20-minute preparation and cooking time and lists 6.6g fibre per serving.
- For a ready-made Tesco pancake, confirm the flour in that product’s ingredients rather than applying the recipe details to the wider range.
M&S
M&S publishes a banana and blueberry pancake recipe specifying 100g plain wholemeal flour.
- Its stated total time is 15 minutes, giving a recipe-based option for a lunch break.
- The recipe’s flour choice does not establish the ingredients of M&S ready-made pancakes; check the particular pack.
Waitrose
Waitrose lists Duchy Organic Stoneground Wholemeal Plain Flour as an ingredient option for making pancakes.
- The listing names wholemeal wheat flour and states 12.9g fibre per 100g of flour.
- The flour contains wheat and needs cooking; its details do not describe a ready-made Waitrose pancake.
Flour options on Joybuy
These flour options are for making pancakes at home, not ready-made lunches. They include different flour types, so check your recipe’s required flour and the product ingredients before choosing.
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Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Spelt Flour 1kg
A wholemeal spelt flour option for making batter rather than buying ready-made pancakes. Check that your recipe suits spelt flour and review the pack’s allergen information; spelt is a type of wheat. Cook the batter before eating.
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Laila Chakki Atta 5kg
An atta flour option for making batter at home. If wholemeal is essential, confirm the ingredient list on the current pack, and check whether your pancake recipe calls for this flour type rather than plain wholemeal flour. Cook the batter before eating.
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Allinson’s Very Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour 1kg
This is wholemeal bread flour, not the plain wholemeal flour specified in the M&S pancake recipe. Check your chosen recipe before substituting one flour type for another, and cook the batter before eating.
Common questions
Are wholemeal pancakes gluten-free?
Not when they are made with wholemeal wheat flour, which contains gluten. Check the current ingredients and allergen information on the flour or pancake pack, along with any toppings, if you need to avoid gluten.
Does the type of wholemeal flour matter for pancakes?
Follow the flour type specified by your recipe. M&S calls for plain wholemeal flour in its banana and blueberry pancakes; do not assume that atta or strong bread flour will give the same result simply because it is wholemeal.
Can ready-made pancakes work for a wholemeal lunch?
They can if the exact product’s ingredients confirm a wholemeal flour that meets your requirement. Check its pack rather than assuming that a fruit, Scotch or buttermilk variety is wholemeal.
What should I read on a packaged pancake label?
Start with the ingredients to identify the flour, then check the nutrition information, serving basis, storage instructions and allergen information relevant to you. Include toppings in those checks if they are part of your lunch.
Can I eat wholemeal flour or pancake batter uncooked?
No: Waitrose’s wholemeal flour product information says flour is a raw ingredient that must be cooked or baked before eating. Cook the pancakes rather than tasting the uncooked flour-based batter.