Best Tips for Making Pancakes by Joanne

Every time I take a bite of a really good buttermilk pancake, one that is fluffy, light, and perfectly flavored with a little sweetness and vanilla, I feel like I could write a poem about how it comforts my soul. It makes me SO happy!

What I’m saying is, if I made a list of the “little things” that make me happy in life, pancakes would definitely be on it.

 
 

Pancakes come in all sorts of varieties, from classic buttermilk, to healthier 100% whole wheat pancakes and apple spiced pancakes, still-fairly-healthy hot chocolate pancakes, to completely unhealthy concoctions like cinnamon roll pancakes or carrot cake pancakes. This is because pancakes take so well to swapping in different types of milks, flours, fruits, and flavors.

All variations aside, here are some general tips that I find are great for making pancakes.

 
 

Use real buttermilk, not a milk + vinegar substitute.

When I see recipes calling for buttermilk on the internet, I often see comments from people saying they made the recipe substituting milk and vinegar for the buttermilk. My stance on this is that you should only use milk + vinegar when you’re in a pinch, need to make something in a spur of the moment situation, and don’t have buttermilk on hand.

Milk mixed with vinegar (or lemon juice) is just not the same as purchased buttermilk from the store. It doesn’t have the same flavor or the same consistency, and true buttermilk is the way to go if you want the best pancakes.

Many people’s objection to buying buttermilk is difficulty using it all up. I have found that buttermilk oftens comes in a quart size (4 cups), and my recipe for Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes at the bottom of this post uses 2 cups, which is a substantial use. If you want to use a quart of buttermilk all at once, make a double batch and freeze the leftover pancakes. Pancakes freeze SO well and then you can have pancakes whenever you want!

 
 

Add sugar to the pancake batter.

Sometimes I come across pancake batter recipes with absolutely no sugar in them. While it’s likely that the pancake will be served with maple syrup, I think it’s important to sweeten the actual pancake as well. Otherwise, the disparity between no sugar in the pancake and basically sugar syrup on top is a bit too great.

I mix the sugar right into the dry ingredients, which are flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the sugar.

 
 

Make a well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the wet ingredients.

If there’s one overarching thing you want to accomplish when making pancakes, it’s making sure you don’t over-stir the batter. Excess stirring will develop gluten in the batter and make the pancakes tough, instead of light and fluffy.

When combining the dry and wet ingredients, making a well and tossing the dry into the wet can assist in this process of making dry and wet come together gently, instead of working the batter.

 
 

Let the batter be lumpy.

Lumps in pancake batter are a good thing, because it means you haven’t stirred the batter excessively. The perfect time to stop stirring is when you don’t any more flour streaks, but there are still lumps in the batter.

 
 

Grease a nonstick skillet or griddle with a cold stick of butter.

Before the pancakes hit the hot pan, run a cold stick of butter on the surface of the pan to grease it. This gives the pancakes a very thin, evenly distributed layer of fat to cook in, without overloading the pan with oil. If you can’t have dairy, cooking spray is a good substitution.

 
 

Use a cookie scoop or a pancake dispenser.

There are two benefits to using a cookie scoop or dispenser. First, it is easier to make uniform and evenly-portioned pancakes. Second, using these tools gives the pancakes a rounder shape.

Because of my small NYC kitchen, I don’t have a dedicated pancake dispenser. But the cookie scoop works very well, especially for thick batters like the one in this post.

 
 

Flip when the bubbles just begin to pop.

This is usually when the bottom is golden and the sides have also set a little bit.

 
 

Flip, and you’ll only need another minute or two on the other side.

 
 

If you make a lot of pancakes regularly, invest in a griddle.

This allows you to make tons of pancakes at once and reduces the cooking time quite a bit. Otherwise, you can use a nonstick sauté pan.

 
 

Are you hungry for pancakes yet? I will leave you with my absolute favorite recipe for fluffy buttermilk pancakes, which are very eggy, almost a little spongy, and very light. Enjoy!