We need to show more love for the griddle. Expand the “yay” to cooking all day with this perfect pancake recipe.
This one is near to my heart because I dialed it in over months of trying. The key was actually the salt and baking powder balance. Too much salt and the pancakes were, well, salty. If there was too much baking powder they’d be really fluffy but sometimes undercooked and a little metallic tasting.
The good news was (and still is) kids will eat anything with enough syrup or sugar on it, so no one starved.
Anyway, let’s get into it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 egg
Go ahead and start your griddle warming now. I use an electric griddle and keep the temps LOW, around 200 degrees, but try a different temp each weekend until you get it right for you. You can use a stovetop griddle or even a shallow frying pan, but keep in mind you’ll likely have hot and cold spots. Learn your tools and adjust accordingly.
Let’s get going by mixing the wet and dry ingredients SEPARATELY. I like to start with the dry and go big to small; flour, sugar, baking powder, then salt. Use a larger bowl because you’ll add wet ingredients to make the batter. A simple fork does the trick to mix it evenly.
Because I am lazy I’ll use the same fork to whisk the milk and egg together in a separate bowl. Then pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until the batter has a thick, creamy consistency.
Note: if we messed up you’ll know now. If it’s too runny, add flour. If it’s too thick, a little milk. That said if we measured right you should be good so if it’s your first time trying just go with it.
Spray on some nonstick like canola oil or butter before you start. Don’t wait too long or it’ll burn off. Decide how big you want to pancakes to be. In my house we like 3-4” silver dollar pancakes but there’s no reason you can’t scale to 8” flapjacks. Of course, the bigger the cakes the fewer the yield.
I might recommend to use a large spoon to measure out the batter but I’ve also just poured it out from a large measuring cup. Try both and see what you like. What really matters is what happens next.
Look for bubbles a small holes to start forming in the cakes. Wait for the edges to have a kind of waxy look before grabbing a flexible spatula and flipping them. I like to aim for a golden brown on each side, but if you want them a little crispier let them sit longer or turn up the heat A LITTLE.
Give it the same amount of time on the other side and check a couple before flipping the whole batch. I like to keep them warm on a plate, wrapped in a clean towel, until we’re ready to eat. Strongly recommend you do the same.
Tell us what you think! Salty? Metallic? OR JUST PERFECT?!