Fluffy Pancakes - the Softest and Fluffiest Pancake Recipe - Quick, Easy and 5-miniute Prep. (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to making pancakes fluffy? ›

The tip, via Food52, relies on relaxed egg whites, aka unbeaten whites that have been allowed to sit for a bit. The pancake technique calls for the eggs to be separated and for the yolks to be mixed into a buttermilk, milk, and melted butter mixture.

Flour: This homemade pancake recipe starts with all-purpose flour. Baking powder: Baking powder, a leavener, is the secret to fluffy pancakes.

Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.

Gordon Ramsay's recipe

You will need 2 eggs, separated, 2 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 60g vegetable oil, 300g buttermilk, 160g plain flour, and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Whisk the egg whites “*ntil foamy”. MiX all the other ingredients in a second bowl, then fold in the egg whites.

Sugar: Sugar binds with the water in the batter and slows the development of the gluten. That means pancakes with a tablespoon of sugar will be softer, less rubbery, less elastic. Sugar will also aid in browning and give you those crispy edges that no pancake can do without.

Baking Soda

It's used to chemically leaven doughs and batters when it is mixed with an acid. Combining baking soda with an acid produces a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas which causes the food to expand and become fluffy. Think about light and airy pancakes. That's the baking soda at work.

The experts in the King Arthur Baking test kitchen share this handy hint: A recipe with equal volumes of flour and liquid (such as 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 cups buttermilk) will result in a thicker batter that makes taller, extra-fluffy pancakes.

Using extra virgin olive oil in place of the melted butter in this recipe adds moisture in addition to flavor, resulting in a light and fluffy pancake that's perfectly tender and moist, not dry or doughy in the least.

Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes. When you don't add enough eggs, the cakes will be drier and tougher.

Adding baking powder is the easiest way to make fluffy pancakes. There's more than one way to make the bubbles that make a pancake fluffy, but the easiest way is by adding a raising agent such as baking powder.

Can you put too much baking soda in pancakes? ›

Using too much baking soda or baking powder can really mess up a recipe, causing it to rise uncontrollably and taste terrible.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Pour ¼ cup of pancake batter for each pancake onto the griddle. Cook until the edges start to set and the pancakes are golden-brown underneath.

When stirring the batter together, unlike when making thin pancakes, don't go at it hammer and tongs to avoid lumps. A few floury lumps are not going to cause any issues here, but tough, overworked gluten will make the pancakes heavy and rubbery. Stir the batter until it's just combined, then it's ready to cook.

Pancake lovers' biggest complaint when adding water instead of milk is that the flavor seems to change. Pancakes aren't as richly flavored with water. There are a few ways to improve your batter when you've used water, including: Add extra butter.