Testing Tom Brady’s Pancakes

Basking in today’s recaps of the Patriot’s unbelievable Super Bowl victory last night, I stumbled across this story about Tom Brady’s favorite pancakes on Eater.com. It links to a video in which Tom Brady narrates (by phone) the recipe for his favorite flapjacks. A shot of a pancake seductively bubbling away in a skillet provides the only visual. Brady calls the recipe “pure happiness.” The recipe is a great listen. I’d argue that the only thing more attractive than Tom Brady is Tom Brady’s voice. So when that voice is talking pancakes, it’s a heady combination.  Here’s what he says: “I take 5 eggs and I beat ’em real good, until they’re really bubbly. And then I just pour in, I think, probably, 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of almond oil, and then I mix that into the batter. And then a little dash of vanilla extract. I put a little baking soda and a little baking powder and I’ll put, like, some protein powder in it. A little scoop of butter, get the pan nice and hot—it’s usually like medium-low heat—let it bubble through, shake it a little bit if it needs help, then flip it. Voilà, delicious pancakes. That’s just pure happiness.” That’s it. As someone who has made a lot of pancakes over the years, personally and professionally, I knew Tom’s recipe for pancakes couldn’t possibly work. The recipe has no flour, no flour substitute, nothing to actually hold the pancakes together.  And yet Brady’s supermodel wife, Gisele Bündchen, called him “The Pancake Master” #bestpancakesintheworld in a recent Instagram post. http://instagram.com/p/xbwQFgHtEI/   I decided to make the pancakes to find out who was right. Here are the ingredients. I should note that I had no almond oil on hand and my car is buried under 3 feet of snow, so I substituted coconut oil. Not knowing what brand of protein powder Tom uses, I just grabbed whatever I had, grateful to have found a use other than actually drinking the stuff. Now for the cooking. I beat the eggs for a minute or so.

I warmed the coconut oil a bit to bring it to its liquid state and added that to the mix. Next came the vanilla. Tom didn’t give an exact measurement for the baking powder and baking soda, so I estimated 1/2 teaspoon of powder and 1/4 teaspoon of soda (I could’ve gone up on both). I also added 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, figuring Brady just forgot to mention it. Don’t worry Tom, sometimes I forget the salt, too.

  Finally, I added the first packet of protein powder, which weighed in at 22 grams. After laying a little butter down on the griddle, I tested a small amount of batter… …only to watch it creep, amoeba-like, across the griddle.   Clearly more protein powder was needed to thicken the batter, and luckily, I had a second packet (this one 33 grams). The second pancake held up better. But when I persuaded my usual tester to try the finished pancake, I got this: #WORSTPANCAKESEVER!! They reminded me of the “pancakes” I used to make during my Atkins diet phase: wet, greasy, and mealy. As my son spit his bite back into my hand, I was reminded of this line from yesterday’s New York Times Magazine profile of Brady: “’Sometimes we’ll go over to Tom and Gisele’s house for dinner,’ Brady’s father, also named Tom, told me. ‘And then I’ll say afterward, ‘Where are we going for dinner?’ ” Could it be that after years on a strict diet regimen in which avocado “ice cream” and raw macaroons are his only treats, Brady has lost his taste for normal food? Then I found a hint that the #Bradycakes recipe was (unlike his passes) incomplete. Turns out, the handsome-voiced video that started this whole quest was originally posted on a new lifestyle website called True.ink. At the moment, this website is little more than a home page promising a spring launch, but the people behind True seem to be using Tom’s pancakes as a lure to get people to hand over their email addresses. Sign up, they promise, and we’ll send you the full recipe. So I did, and I got…nothing. But I did spot this little nugget at the bottom of the page, under the video: “Despite the nutrient-rich additives to his oatmeal-based mix, Brady describes his approach to pancake making as “very classic.” His preferred topping: “Maple syrup for me.” Oatmeal-based? So there are supposed to be grains in the recipe! Tom didn’t fumble the recipe, the website did! He probably narrated the whole thing exactly perfectly, just like he does everything, but those fiends at True.ink cut out the crucial part. And Tom Brady likes maple syrup! He’s a real New Englander! I considered pulsing some oatmeal in the food processor to make a rough kind of flour, but decided to add 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour  instead (I’m 90 percent certain that there’s no white flour in the Brady-Bündchen house). These pancakes puffed up nicely on the griddle.

My taster pronounced them, “Not bad. Pretty good, actually.” I served them with raw coconut nectar, which, if you haven’t tried it, is actually delicious, like nature’s own caramel sauce. Still, I don’t recommend making these pancakes; there are much better recipes out there. If I can get my hands on Tom’s actual recipe, I’ll test it for you here. But until then, if you’re looking for a protein-rich breakfast, try our souffle-like Dutch Baby pancake. Real eggs taste so much better than protein powder.   UPDATE: On February 3, I heard from Jason Schwartzman of True the Magazine, which originally posted the video that inspired this post (you can see that he also commented below). He kindly shared the complete recipe, which actually starts with a base of store-bought pancake mix and adds the protein powder, almond oil, and even flax seed for extra nutrition. It looks good. Once I get permission from Jason to share it with you, I’ll give the recipe a go.  

  UPDATE 2/5/15:  After receiving the complete Bradycakes recipes from the folks at True the Magazine I cooked it up this morning. Results are pictured below (I was not able to get permission to share the recipe here, so click on the link to sign up for it yourself). I found the recipe a little tricky in that it relies on pancake mix but doesn’t specify Tom’s brand, so your results will vary depending on what you use (perhaps the True team can specify?). But here’s what I did like about it: First, Tom uses buttermilk, which adds terrific flavor and produces a tender crumb. Second, he adds flax seeds, which boosts the nutrition and fiber content and gives the pancakes a pleasantly grainy texture. And third, almond oil lends a lightly nutty flavor (but it’s expensive, so don’t hesitate to use regular canola oil or coconut oil if you prefer). I did add a bit of whey protein, as per the instructions, and appreciated that it was undetectable in the eating. In summary, Gisele has yet another reason to consider herself lucky.

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