Few sights appeal to me more than butter melting and dribbling down a hot stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes. It was time to make some because we seem to have a week for everything and this is National Pancake Week.
And tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day in the UK, but the pancakes BBC Good Food is making are very different from these. Their recipe makes an unleavened pancake, thinner and flatter than these and more like a crepe. Mine are the light, fat pancakes I grew up on.
My mother always made buttermilk pancakes, possibly for the simple reason that she enjoyed drinking buttermilk and it was usually on hand. My friends used to love sleeping over because they knew they’d get silver dollar pancakes in the morning. The mini-pancakes were a special treat and if you have the patience to make them, you’ll get about 36 from this recipe. Otherwise, expect a dozen, approximately 4″ in size.
Beginners: These are no more difficult than making pancakes from a box. Let’s face it, any recipe that tells you lumpy batter is what you’re aiming for can’t be hard. The learning curve with pancakes is getting the pan hot enough but not too hot. If you touch the edge of the preheating pan and can’t leave your finger there for longer than a moment, it’s hot enough. Use oil in the pan because even though butter will give you flavor and color, its flash point is so low you’ll be thinking of Ron White’s line that a smoke alarm is not a kitchen timer. And there’s no shame in using a non-stick spray, but not on non-stick pans. They’ll lose their non-stickiness because of it, no matter how well you wash the pans. The first side will always be prettier, the second will have more nooks and crannies for butter and syrup. I like them second-side-up.
Ella’s Mom’s Buttermilk Pancakes
1 cup / 130g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, well-beaten
2 TB vegetable oil
1 cup / 237ml buttermilk*
more vegetable oil for the pan
*If using buttermilk powder, as I did this time, mix the powder in with the flour and add the water to the egg and oil.
In a small bowl or a 2-cup glass measuring cup, mix together the beaten egg, 2 TB vegetable oil and buttermilk.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix very well to distribute the leaveners. Add the wet ingredients and stir just until blended. The batter will be lumpy. This is what you want.
Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat until drops of water dance across the surface. If the water evaporates as soon as it hits the pan, the pan is too hot. Lower the heat and try again in a minute or so. When the pan is right, brush the surface with oil.
Using a ladle or big spoon, drop batter onto the pan for 3 or 4 pancakes at a time. Turn them over when the top is bubbly and holey and the edges look dry, about 2 minutes. Cook the second side for 1 to 2 minutes more, until well-colored.
The pancakes can be kept warm in a 200 degree oven, loosely covered with foil, or frozen and reheated, loosely covered, in a 200 degree oven as needed.
Yield: 12 pancakes
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I love pancakes! For some reason, I rarely make them, though. Hey, here’s a thought: if you reduce the amount of liquid and add lemon zest and blueberries, you’ll have muffins! Or just add zest to the pancake batter and push some blueberries down into each pancake as it cooks. Oh, yay, for pancakes! And yay for you for telling everyone that they are just as easy to make as the boxed kind. Amen to that!
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Yay, pancakes!
I had some amazing Lemon Ricotta pancakes in Memphis this weekend, how much and what do I reduce if adding the ricotta to duplicate this delicious morning meal?
Hi, there. I’ve never made ricotta pancakes and wouldn’t want to guess, so I looked around and found this recipe from a very reliable source – Bobby Flay. It looks delicious and I might try it one of these days.
Thanks for asking!