Nothing is better than waking up in the morning to a tall plate of pancakes topped with butter and maple syrup. The perfect light and fluffy pancake that breakfast dreams are made of can be hard to come by though. But making them from scratch is a good place to start. Master your most delicious pancake yet with these tips!
1. Add sugar into your batter.
Adding sugar directly into the batter gives the pancake itself sweetness from the get-go, rather than relying on syrup and toppings later on.
2. Swap out sugar for spices.
Did you know you can also swap out sugar for spices like paprika, pepper, or even chives for a savory flapjack? Our favorite savory toppings are cheese or bacon pieces (or both!).
Sifting dry ingredients helps make smoother batter by minimizing lumps, and it makes it easier to incorporate the wet ingredients.
4. Replace half the flour with whole wheat flour.
Pack some extra nutrients into your breakfast by replacing half the flour with whole wheat flour. Just make sure to add an extra teaspoon of baking powder to compensate for density.
Real buttermilk helps to enhance flavor and texture. There’s a reason why buttermilk pancake mix is so popular.
6. Avoid over-stirring the batter.
Mix the ingredients just enough to combine them, being careful to not stir for longer than is necessary. The Bosch blender attachment is great for mixing pancake batter. You can ignore any remaining lumps in the batter, most of which will be addressed in the next hack.
7. Leave your batter to sit.
Let your batter sit for at least five, but preferably up to 30 minutes in order to let the starch cells swell, making your pancakes fluffy. This resting period will also allow the batter to settle, which will cause some of the lumps to disappear.
8. Grease your pan or griddle with butter.
Rather than melting a pad of butter or using oil, just rub a stick of butter directly onto the pan, creating a thin, even coat. While it’s tempting to load up the butter for an easy flip and added taste, you’ll want to use it minimally to avoid burning your pancakes. Also, a thin coating of butter is all you need to show off your flapjack flipping skills.
Try these tricks out tomorrow morning with your favorite pancake recipe (or try our Barley Oat Pancakes), and let us know about your go-to pancake toppings in the comments!