Buttermilk pancakes

I’ve decided to post my buttermilk pancakes recipe.  I got the original recipe from a cookbook, but as with everything I make, I have fine-tuned and changed it a bit according to what my taste buds like.  When pancake loving people come to my house, they always say they are the best pancakes they have ever tasted.  Maybe yes, maybe no, but I’m going to post the recipe just in case our friends are telling the truth about the tastiness quotient.  This recipe makes around 8 four inch pancakes.  It’s enough for the three of us in the morning, but that’s because we have to eat at 7:15 a.m. so Will can get to school on time, and so our stomachs aren’t very hungry.  It’s best if you play with it and see what works for your family.  If you have large appetites or are more than three people, just double every measurement by two.

Meg’s Buttermilk Pancakes

ingredients: unbleached flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, butter, buttermilk, maple syrup

(If you like a side of bacon with your pancakes, start cooking the bacon on medium-low, and then start the recipe.  That way the timing will work out and the pancakes and bacon will be done at the same time.)

Put a large pan on the stove on medium-low heat.  (I don’t use a non-stick pan for pancakes.  I use a regular one.  I find that the non-stick makes the pancakes sweat slightly, whereas the regular one allows the edges to get that slight crisp.)

Measure into a mixing bowl.
-1 cup of unbleached flour
-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon of salt
-3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

Mix the above ingredients with a fork.

If you are using a two cup measuring cup, you can mix the next section right in the cup.  (If you are using a one cup measuring cup, then mix the following ingredients in another mixing bowl.)

- 1 and 1/4 cups of buttermilk
-1 large egg

Blend.  Place 3 tablespoons of butter in the hot frying pan.  Keep a close eye on it.  Swirl the butter around so the whole bottom of the pan is greased.  As soon as the butter is melted, pour it into the buttermilk and egg mixture, stirring constantly.

Turn the frying pan up to just a little bit higher than medium heat, (but not to medium-high!)

Then pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture.  Do not over blend! Just a few strokes of the fork until all the flour mixture is mixed in. 

Slip your fingers under the faucet, then dash a couple of drops of water on the frying pan.  If the drops of water skiddle around then the pan is hot enough, and you can spoon out the pancake batter into the hot pan.  (The pan shouldn’t be smoking.  If it is turn the heat down a bit, and remove the pan for just a few seconds to cool it down.)

When there are a least two bubbles that have formed in the cooking pancakes and popped without the uncooked batter filling in the holes then the pancakes are ready to flip with a spatula.  Do not flip before this or you will have raw and gooey middles.  (The second side of the pancakes don’t take nearly as long as the first side.  They brown quite quickly and are ready to go.)

Important! Do not fiddle with the pancakes while they are cooking just leave them to cook.  I see people using their spatula to press down on them all the time and that is not a good idea.  It makes the pancakes heavy. 

Also important While you are waiting, I know it is tempting, but do not stir the sitting batter in the bowl.  When you spoon it out into the frying pan, do not re-stir the batter either.  It takes the fluff out of the pancakes. 

When the pancakes are cooked serve them up, piping hot with a slab of fresh butter and real Canadian maple syrup.  That’s what we had this morning, and it was good.

Posted by Meg Tilly on Thursday, January 24, 2008 in Recipes

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