Pancake breakfasts are a Stampede tradition. The first pancake breakfast originated with one of the early chuckwagon drivers. In 1923, on the first day of the Stampede, a driver by the name of Wildhorse Jack raced his wagon into downtown Calgary, stopped on a corner, fired up his stove and made pancakes which he handed out to happy passers-by.

Today, pretty much everybody has gotten into the act and pancakes are served on nearly every corner and in almost every park every morning during Stampede. No one goes hungry.

Pancakes for the Gang: Going for the Guinness
Have your pancakes, get into the picture and into the Guinness Book of Records on July 8th as Chinook Centre cooks up and serves the biggest Stampede breakfast around. Last year over 75,000 people showed up for breakfast. Get in on the fun between 7 AM and 11 AM.

Try this on for size:Recipe for the World’s Largest Breakfast, Chinook Centre’s 40th Annual Stampede Breakfast

Ingredients:
3,300 cowboy hats of pancake mix
185 saddlebags of sliced ham
400 cowboy boots of maple syrup
7,500 udders of orange juice

Mix together in parking lot. Blend with tradition, spirit and hospitality.

Serves over 75,000 hungry and spirited Calgarians and visitors.

Pancake Recipes
We have collected a stack of recipes. Try them out or send us your favourite.

Basic Pancakes
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients in a bowl and stir in liquid ingredients with a wire whisk or spoon, until mixed. Do not beat. Rub griddle or fry pan with oil. Sprinkle droplets water on the grill and if they "dance", it’s hot enough. Drop a large mixing spoon of batter for each pancake onto griddle. Cook until bubbles form on top and the bottom browns. Flip and cook until brown on other side. Keep griddle very hot at all times.

Makes 12 pancakes.

Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup quick cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1 large egg, beaten lightly
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed grated peeled Granny Smith apple, excess juice squeezed out
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus additional for brushing the griddle
Maple syrup as an accompaniment

In a bowl whisk together 1 cup of the buttermilk and the oats and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together the egg, the brown sugar, and the apple. Stir in the flours, the baking soda, the salt, the cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the oats mixture, and the remaining 1/4 cup buttermilk and combine the batter well. Heat a griddle over moderate heat until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface, brush it with the additional oil, and drop the batter by half-filled 1/4-cup measures onto it. Cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden and cooked through. Serve the pancakes with syrup.

Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes

Serves 2.

Buttermilk Pancakes
Non-stick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cooking oil
pinch of salt

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Use a pan with a nonstick surface or apply a little nonstick spray. In a blender or with a mixer, combine all of the remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour the batter by spoonfuls into the hot pan, forming 5-inch circles. When the edges appear to harden, flip the pancakes. They should be golden brown. Cook pancakes on the other side for same amount of time, until golden brown.

Makes 8 to 10 pancakes.

Sourdough Pancakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups milk
1 large egg, beaten lightly
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, melted, plus additional as an accompaniment
Vegetable oil for brushing the griddle
Maple syrup as an accompaniment

In a bowl whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the yeast, and 1 cup of the milk and let the mixture stand in a warm place, covered loosely, overnight. Whisk 1/2 cup of the remaining milk into the starter and add the remaining 1 cup flour, the egg, the salt, the sugar, the baking soda, dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot water, 2 teaspoons of the butter, and the remaining 1/2 cup milk, whisking until the mixture is combined well. Heat a griddle over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking and brush it with some of the oil. Drop the batter by 1/4 cups onto the griddle and cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the undersides are golden brown. Turn the pancakes and cook them for 1 minute or until the undersides are golden. Serve the pancakes with the additional butter and the maple syrup.

Makes about sixteen 4-inch pancakes.

Serves 4.

Bacon and Corn Pancakes
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh corn kernels including the pulp scraped from the cobs (cut from about 2 ears of corn)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional, melted, for brushing the griddle
5 slices of lean bacon, cooked until crisp
Maple syrup as an accompaniment

In a bowl whisk together the cornmeal, the flour, the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt. In a food processor purée coarse the corn. In another bowl whisk together the corn purée, the eggs, the milk, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, add the egg mixture to the cornmeal mixture, and stir the batter until it is just combined. Let the batter stand, covered, for 10 minutes and stir in the bacon, crumbled. Heat a griddle over moderate heat until it is hot and brush it lightly with some of the additional melted butter. Working in batches, pour the batter onto the griddle by 1/4-cup measures and cook the pancakes for 1 minute on each side, or until they are golden, transferring them as they are cooked to a heated platter and brushing the griddle with some of the additional melted butter as necessary. Serve the pancakes with the syrup.

Makes about 12 pancakes.