Pancakes Of Plenty
Growing up, making pancakes meant that we got a box, stirred in milk and eggs with a big spoon and plopped the dough haphazardly onto a skillet. Every little dough bit cooked wether a drippy dot or a pool of batter. Cooked droplets of batter looked more like spetzle than pancakes but with brown bottoms. They never turned out as good as the ones my aunt made on her electric skillet… but the consistency of smooth, almost fake, cakey pancake was maintained. This left so much to be desired and with pancakes being a favorite food I recall taking a self imposed pancake challenge when I was eleven only to be silenced by “the bisquik ones are still better, Claire” coming from my little brother.
Circle around another decade and I am making pancakes close to every morning at a Bed and Breakfast. So easy and so perfect. A few little tricks had me now a pancake pro and happy to have anyone stay over for breakfast. I even played with variations like banana pancakes, blueberry, lemon ricotta, etc. etc. Happily flipping and griddling the pancakes, one would think I spent that decade making batch after batch of pancakes. Not so. Living in pancake making shame (I’ll never make a homemade pancake that is a teen model!) I had spent the time unconsciously researching as the pancake love continued to grow into corn pancakes that made this cornmeal loving girl much too happy, a whole wheat banana pancakes cooked to the size of a dessert plates, and short stacks of pecan studded silver dollars.
“There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes.”
– CH Spurgeon, 1834-1892, preacher
Pancakes by definition should be overwhelmingly easy to make. A few simple ingredients, a bowl and a hot flat skillet? Much like biscuits, they can quickly to made and quickly disappoint. Inconsistent in texture, flavor and color (the browning is important, as it related to protein and sugar content of the pancakes or the quality of your griddle/skillet/pan.) Before falling into total pancake making isolation from making less than stellar pancakes, I did make plenty of mediocre pancakes. Buttermilk ones or just plain ones usually, yet they were never appreciated or enjoyed or gulfed up in the quantities of those that came from a box mix. What was this darn box onto that I was lacking? I wanted pancakes from scratch that were awe inspiring in image, shape, texture and eat-ability.
Making a basic pancake left me with many questions as to how to mix, how many lumps, how many eggs, melted butter or oil, type of flour? In the end mastering the plain could-be-a mix- pancake. Did buttermilk help? It could by requiring less flour in the batter (thicker buttermilk holds it together) as well as the acidity could alter the structure of the pancake and keep it tender. Leavening creates the little bubbles in the pancake batter that rise to the tip and signal the time to flip. The only flip needed as I found multiple flipping was like overworking hamburgers, you play with them a lot and lose that light fresh quality you wanted and end up with a dense life-less disk of cooked batter that looks like it has been at the breakfast bar far too long.
“Pancakes….
Fluffy, milky, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. You also need
a quality maple syrup.”
–Andrew: friend, chef, quality eater
The description above it what makes a darn good pancake yet few can put their names on those specifics. The quality of milk and butter in a pancake does matter. Vanilla or not and salt make a difference. It is those little taste huggers that make homemade pancakes stacks above the boxed ones….A little crispy sweetness on outside, not too thick and heavy yet not too light as to be dry. Sugar helps with this and with no bells, few whistles and only needing a good griddle… perfect pancakes can be born. That decade I did revert to the box a few times and others made homemade ones and still wondered what was happening. At the B & B, I knew that french toast, despite fantastic could not work everyday so I buckled up to my pancake fear and read over tattered recipes. Finding one that could be manipulated easily worked and the answer appeared in the form of another bowl and a whisk.
Folding in the whipped egg whites. It made all the difference in the world. Good local eggs made the pancakes a deeper yellow and whole milk with the melted butter gilded the lily and made them just rich and buttery enough. These do not use as much sugar as some recipes and less leavening due to the egg white whipping. These are not heavy but have been called surprisingly light for a pancakes. Double or triple the batter but know that the first one and the last one will never be that great. Just a fact of pancake making. Getting a good griddle pan really helps, too. Never underestimate the amount you will use it once you get your hands on pancakes like these.
I do not see pancakes as a hard and fast science now either. They are just as simple as I had always wanted them yet now live up to the pancake-as-superior-batter-food status. Demystified by this simple egg action, pancakes and I can now play any time we want. No shame, no boxes. Just perfect pancakes for good maple syrup. Or blueberry syrup. Or sorgum. Before I get carried away, here is the recipe I use every time rarely measured. Half a recipe is plenty for small groups or to eat all by yourself.
Pancakes for Happy Making
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
good sprinkle of sea salt, about a teaspoon
2 cups organic whole milk
4 large local eggs, separated
1//2 teaspoon vanilla, optional
2 to 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar OR brown sugar if you prefer
More butter, Maple syrup, jams, jellies, honey, cream…
local bacon or sausage
1. In a medium to large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the milk and egg yolks (I do all that in a large measuring cup.) Add the vanilla if using. Wet into dry, and stir in the melted butter (make sure it’s not super warm.)
2. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until soft to stiff peaks form. Please do not beat these until they are crispy and too stiff. Fold the whites into the batter. Heat a nonstick griddle pan or large skillet over medium heat and spray pan or brush with melted butter. Scope 1/3 cup measuring cups onto the griddle and start making your pancakes!
3. Cook until bottom is smooth, golden brown and bubbles foam all over the top, signaling that single flip. (2-3 minutes)
Flip.
Admire your great work and sudden rush of accomplishment as side one is the real determining factor. Once you flip, you’re almost finished!
4. Remove from heat to a plate when cooked all the way through and bottom is browned (another 2-3 minutes.) Serve warm with all the other goodies you want to put on your pancakes.
Variations for this can be made (when adding wet ingredients you lessen the milk used)
…by folding in mashed bananas and toasted pecans.
…by dotting with any fresh berries.
…by mixing in pumpkin and spices.
…by adding molasses instead of sugar, adding spices and serving with whipped cream for gingerbread pancakes.
…by dotting with chocolate chips.
…by using soy milk and earth balance spread to make them dairy free.
…subsitute yogurt for half of the milk, decreaing baking powder to half and adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
…by using whole wheat pastry flour, some ground oats, etc. (in the same dry goods ratio)…. using half the baking power, adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda…and use buttermilk for fiber full and tangy pancakes!
Oh pancakes make people happy.
For some people I guess it’s cupcakes but pancakes are so much more happy inducing. Less sweet, more food than pastry. Easily worked into the best brunches, morning meals or evening snacks. Make for friends and family. Make extra for your freezer (layer cooled pancakes with wax paper and place in short stacks in freezer proof zip lock bags…just saying for the times you cannot whip and fold egg whites but still want that delicious homemade pancake meal.)
To all the pancake fans out there, this batch is for you.
Drop your boxes and raise your forks high as we can all claim homemade pancakes that live up to the dream.
