2w ago

I'm getting better at making pancakes

Apparently the main problem was that the batter I made according to the instructions on the bag of pancake mix was way too viscous. A friend told me to add more water and showed me the consistency it's supposed to have. Now my pancakes are round and thin instead of being two-inch thick lumps. I still need to work on finding the right temperature. I used to burn the outsides without cooking the inside and I've gotten better but I think I still had the heat up just a little too high today.

31 comments

You're probably better off making the batter yourself. That's what I do and they seemingly turn out perfectly every time (except the first one, which always breaks up and goes a bit wrong).
- The off-the-shelf mix has the advantage of somehow being vegan. Technically it isn't because it advertises "buttermilk pancakes" but in practice buttermilk is the last ingredient and there's so little of it that I don't count it. I admit that I'm not sure whatever alchemy produced it is good for me.
  
  You kind of buried the lede. Obviously the pancakes are going to turn out differently than traditional pancakes if you sub out like half the usual ingredients.
  
  I mean, apple sauce instead of egg works wonders. (Or banana if you like the flavor. Or pumpkin. Or plenty of things. Bob’s red mill makes an egg substitute that works fine too.) Make sure if you’re using baking soda you add some lemon juice or some acid of some kind to activate it (apple sauce generally does that but other egg subs won’t.)
  
  I have used off the shelf vegan mix. The one I had needed milk (substitute) added to it. Maybe you need to do that rather than add water?
  
  Not Milk or Next Milk sub in well for regular milk
  
  Do you not add an egg to it? I've tried using mashed banana instead which sort of works but still isn't as good.
- The first one always sucks
Congrats, man. Pancakes are deceptively hard to cook. There are a lot of little variables involved to make them really good.
For anyone that might need some help:
The batter should be barely thicker than housepaint.
Some lumps in your batter are fine, if you develop too much gluten, then the end product will be tough(secret tech: Let your batter rest for 15 minutes before cooking to better hydrate)
Don't use too much fat to cook them, they'll end up oily with a splotchy surface
Your pan should be egg-frying temperature
Flip when the edges are dull and you have bubbles on the top.
Dont worry about flipping the thing more than once and letting it get darker on a side you've already cooked. That advice comes from getting attractive grill marks on things, and does not apply when cooking on a flat top or skillet
- I heat the pan or griddle, run water on my fingers, and splash a tinyy bit on the cooking surface. Should sizzle for a few seconds. Temperature is tricky. Somewhere in the internet there's a great picture guide for temp. Sometimes i like thin ones, sometimes i add a bit of lemon juice and baking powder to get more lift when i flip. The number one pancake rule is one flip only.
I went to a cooking science lecture some years ago, and learned that the key to nice fluffy pancakes is to not over-stir the batter. Leave it lumpy.
- I grew up with my mom making pancakes for 8 in a blender. So my preference is dead flat pancakes loaded with oil I guess...
  I do appreciate fluffy pancakes but not dry ones.
If you want to try your hand at sourdough pancakes, they're super simple (and vegan, if you care) --- though you need to have an active starter.
Little water, salt, sugar (or banana), neutral oil, starter, baking soda. Add spices (cinnamon , nutmeg, vanilla) if you like. No need to measure anything out, just use your judgement.
Fast, easy, and pretty tasty!
For the insides I just put them in the toaster oven on low to finish
Hell yeah man. Being able to make good pancakes is one of those back-of-your-pocket skills that I want to have. Maybe my batter is too thin, too -- mine are also usually burnt on the outside and uncooked on the inside. (I'm also trying to make them somewhat healthier with whole what flour, which seems make them burn quicker. Maybe because whole what flour has some of the oils from the wheat in it? I dunno.)
- Burnt outside and raw middle is too thick not too thin. Add a little milk/liquid. And try a little lower temp.
  
  Doh, yes I meant too thin. "Same as OP," I should say. Does anyone here know if whole what flour absorb more liquid than white flour? Seems like any time I use whole wheat flour when a recipe calls for white flour, the mixture doesn't look like it has the right consistency.
I suck at baking.
I treat it as science.
Got Pancake mix and a food scale. 180g of mix, 1 egg, 7.5oz of a milk/water split then a pinch of salt.
My wife prefers my pancakes over her own.
Took me a dozen tries tweaking it. Then getting feedback from her.
- You might like Lessons in Chemistry. That’s only one part of the premise, but she approaches baking like a scientist.
  
  Thanks!
If you're willing to use a non-stick frying pan, they're dirt simple. The only variables are temp and time. Lower temp (medium or medium-low) for thicker pancake batter, and longer time (till the edges are dull and bubbles form), if you like thick pancakes. Or, you can make the batter thinner, then it's hotter (medium or medium-high) and faster (they're ready to flip faster). Either way works.
No matter what, the first one is a dud, I don't know why, but the rest are perfect.
I like my pancakes greasy, so I make them in a cast iron skillet with what most people would call "too much butter". I don't know what that means.
Pancake mix?
You are already lost.

31 comments