The Secret to the Fluffiest Pancakes in the World
Pancakes are a great ambassador for lazy weekends, so it’s important they’re fantastic. Although different pancake recipes vary in taste , one thing is for sure: they should be fluffy. Whether it’s banana, chocolate, vegan, protein, or plain and simple like my recipe below, to get the fluffiest pancakes, you need to make them lumpy.
You don’t need to add whipped egg whites or seltzer water to your pancake mix, no matter what the internet tells you. Even the simplest pancake batter will turn out better if you handle it with a light hand. I know that skipping the lump batter goes against our primal pancake-making caveman instincts—and yet, it needs to be done. This is the key to perfecting any pancake recipe, and it’s absolutely essential for increasing the height and getting a batter that doesn’t “burn” while it waits in the bowl.
Smooth dough makes flat pancakes
When you mix pancake batter until smooth, a few things happen. First, your batter will be thinner, so once it hits the pan, the mixture will spread widely. Second, you develop the gluten proteins and make them stronger. This can make the texture tough and rubbery, which is generally something to avoid with any cake that wants to show off its tenderness.
Finally, overmixing the batter tends to activate the leavening agent (which is a bit like an international spy gone rogue). In other words, the baking powder or baking soda will begin to bubble after being hydrated, and if all of this happens at once, your dough will quickly lose its vigor. Thanks to these factors, the dough quickly spreads and becomes elastic, and each subsequent pancake you cook will be less and less fluffy. This is not the best way to start the weekend.
How to cook pancakes
1. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately.
Instead, mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just moistened. The best way to do this is to place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, spices) in one large bowl and the wet ingredients (eggs, liquid, liquid flavorings, fruit or mixes) in another. bowl. First, mix them separately in separate bowls.
2. Mix them until they are slightly moistened.
Then pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, all at once. Stir or whisk to moisten dry ingredients. It only takes a few seconds, maybe eight to 10 sharp strokes, and you’ll be fine with the lumps. Just drop the spoon. The lumps will help keep the batter thick and the baking powder will activate faster.
In the photo you can see my dough. There are no large dusty windrows, but there are plenty of pea-sized lumps. Even if excess dough remains during cooking, it retains its thick consistency.
The results are obvious. The pancake on the left was my batter mixed until smooth, but the pancake on the right was still lumpy.
I think a lot of people worry that the lumps will leave bits of raw flour in the finished pancake, but when you cut it in half you can see there are no bits of flour left. This is my recipe for simple, no-frills pancakes. This is a great base pancake mix, so go for it. Make yourself some lumpy pancakes.
A simple recipe for fluffy pancakes
Ingredients:
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1 ½ cups flour
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3 tablespoons sugar
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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¼ teaspoon salt
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¾ cup milk, room temperature
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2 eggs, room temperature
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1 tablespoon butter, melted
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Extra butter for the pan
1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a second bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter.
2. Start heating the griddle or skillet over medium-low heat.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk a few times, leaving no lumps but completely combined.
4. Add enough oil to coat the pan and quickly add a spoonful of pancake batter. Let the pancake cook until the bubbles around the edges remain open and bubbles begin to appear in the center. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for about a minute. Repeat with the rest of the dough, adding butter as needed. Keep pancakes warm using this simple method .