This wonderfully fluffy, crowd-pleasing, basic pancake recipe is just perfect dressed down with butter and pure maple syrup. It's also very flexible and accommodates pretty much any toppings or mix-ins your heart desires. (And, psst...pancakes are really good with bacon in the oven.)
Tip
Don't skip the text of this post. Scroll down for lots of useful tips to help you make the best pancakes ever.
A basic pancakes philosophy
I feel pretty strongly that a person ought to be able to wake up on a weekend morning, leaf through a cookbook or two while sipping a cup of coffee, and proceed to produce a tasty and reasonably healthy batch of pancakes for breakfast in half an hour or so, with a few common ingredients.
On the one hand, a box of Bisquick should not be required. On the other hand, neither should powdered buttermilk, sweet potatoes, ricotta cheese, or macadamia nuts. Save those for brunch parties and houseguests. Yes?
A very good pancake recipe, made even better
One Saturday morning nearly a decade ago, I found myself with fully functional internet access, four perfectly reasonable cookbooks, an ecological nightmare of a pile of foodie magazines, and the need to invoke my post-graduate education to make this happen.
I did, ultimately, find a very good recipe. And perhaps someone who had known to Google "basic pancakes," rather than the tempting but apparently idiotic "pancakes," could have found this recipe in a matter of minutes.
Alas.
Over the years we've tweaked the original recipe just slightly to yield what we consider basic pancake perfection.
How to make pancakes
Here's exactly what it looks like to make a great, fluffy batch of homemade pancakes. Watch the video in this post to see it in action. You will:
- Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl.
- In a small mixing bowl (or glass measuring cup), whisk together room temperature milk, egg, and vanilla.
- Melt butter and let it cool slightly, then mix it into the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix together gently, leaving some lumps in the batter.
- Let the batter rest for at least five minutes.
- Set a griddle over medium heat and coat it lightly with safflower or other high-heat vegetable oil.
- Scoop batter by the ¼-cup onto the hot skillet, leaving plenty of room between pancakes.
- Cook the pancakes until the edges of the underside are browned and the top is covered with bubbles that have begun to burst and stay hollow.
- Flip the pancakes and cook until the underside is browned.
How to make these basic pancakes your own
Think of these basic pancakes as a canvas for whatever artistic additions you would like to make — from the impressionist (blueberries, bananas, a dash of almond extract) to the expressionist (shredded sharp cheddar, crumbled bacon), to the postmodern (pancakes with pieces of pancake in them, the brainchild of Shopsins in NYC, which I know I should be over the pedantic humor of by now; but I just can't quite get there). Just try to stick with solids as opposed to liquids in more than tiny amounts, unless you're willing to venture into truly experimental territory.
All that said, these pancakes don't need anything. They're perfect the way they are.
Tips for making the best pancakes
Pancakes — especially basic pancakes — have so few ingredients and so few techniques that it really pays to pay attention. (This is true for cooking in general, for sure. But the simpler the dish, the more each small step can make a big improvement.) Here's what to do to get the best results.
Have ingredients at room temperature
You've seen this instruction in recipe ingredients so often that you might be tempted to glaze over it from time to time. Don't do that with pancakes. Room-temperature eggs and milk will make much fluffier pancakes, and milk that's not ice-cold will also help the melted butter distribute better throughout the batter rather than clumping up.
Don't tell anyone I told you, but in a lot of climates it's toooootally fine to leave the egg and milk out on the counter when you go to bed at night and use them in the morning. Or pour the milk into a glass measuring cup, crack the egg right into it, and microwave on half power just until room temperature.
Use fresh baking powder
...and really, all your ingredients should be fresh, good quality ones. Baking powder tends to sit around in pantries for a long time, but it doesn't last forever, so make sure to buy a new container a couple of times a year. Your cakes will thank you, too.
Let melted butter cool slightly before mixing into wet ingredients
This way you'll be 100% sure not to end up with unwanted scrambled eggs. Save those to eat alongside your pancakes!
Don't overmix the batter
Pancake batter should be a bit lumpy. Smooth batter is an indication you've mixed too much, which develops too much gluten in the flour and yields tougher pancakes. Just be lazy. It's the best.
Give the batter a short rest before cooking
Baking powder starts to work the minute it gets wet, so you don't want to make pancake batter ahead. But a few minutes — five, let's say — resting on the counter before cooking gives the flour a chance to soak up the liquids and the gluten a chance to relax a bit.
Use just a little bit of oil on the skillet
A neutral-tasting vegetable oil with a high smoke point is your best bet for achieving a nice brown pancake but not a black one. We tend to use safflower oil.
You can also use clarified butter if you like. But the milk solids in regular butter burn at a low enough temperature that it makes cooking the best pancakes a little too finicky. It's not impossible to make perfect pancakes with butter on the skillet, but it's harder, especially in later batches.
Don't sweat the first batch
Treat your first few pancakes like a test batch. They'll be perfectly edible, but they won't be perfect.
Flip pancakes when you see these two indicators
A nice, brown edge on the underside of the pancake (lift up a bit with a spatula to take a peek) is the indication from the bottom of your pancake that it's ready to be flipped.
Bubbles that burst and stay hollow are the indication from the top of your pancake that it's ready to be flipped.
Your task is to regulate the heat of your skillet so that both of these things happen right around the same time. I swear it's a little different every time, so just pay attention and experiment a little until you get it right.
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Basic Pancake Recipe
This is such an easy, fantastic basic pancake recipe. Follow the tips above and the directions here and you'll have a great, simple batch of pancakes in under half an hour. Keep them simple with a little butter and pure maple syrup, or go nuts with the toppings. Their classic flavor works either way. Makes about 8 pancakes. Can be doubled.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- Safflower oil, for the skillet
Instructions
- Have egg and milk at room temperature for optimum pancake fluffiness.
- Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla. Then whisk in the butter.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir together just until combined. Some lumps are fine. Don't overmix.
- Let batter rest for five minutes before proceeding.
- Set a griddle or heavy, nonstick pan over medium heat. Coat lightly with safflower oil.
- When griddle is hot, scoop batter by the approximate ¼-cupful onto the skillet, leaving plenty of room between pancakes. Cook until the edges of the underside are browned and the top is covered with bubbles that have begun to burst and stay hollow. Flip and cook until the underside is browned. Repeat with remaining batter.
- Pancakes are best served right as they come off the griddle, though you can keep them warm in a 200°F oven while you cook the rest if you insist.
Notes
We discovered incidentally that replacing the whole milk with soy milk yields extra-delicious, incredibly fluffy pancakes — so we often make that substitution now. I think it's because the protein structure of soy is stronger, but I haven't yet done the research. 🙂
Adapted from allrecipes.
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Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 369Total Fat: 12.8gCarbohydrates: 51.8gFiber: 1.4gProtein: 11.5g
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Elton says
Awesome recipe! The first time I made it, they came out a bit flat and chewy, with a slightly soapy flavor. So I made them again this week but decreased milk by a 1/4 cup, used fine salt instead of coarse salt, decreased the baking powder by 1/2 tsp and made sure the eggs and milk were room temp by microwaving them.
This time, very fluffy, no soapy flavor, and my new go to recipe!
Kostas says
Best pancakes ever! Loved this recipe! Thank you!
Carolyn Gratzer Cope says
Yay, I'm so glad! Thanks for the feedback.
Carolyn says
Todd, MomVee is always good for a new word. I've had Clabber Girl baking soda as part of my kitchen for months but had never really thought of it as part of my vocabulary. Now I want to clabber everything in sight. I couldn't be more flattered that you like the photo - thank you!
Brooke, one of these days you may just see that crazy gorgeous rainbow cake of yours gracing this site. With three girls in the family, it's all we can do to wait until tomorrow to start baking it!
Brooke says
I happen to think we may be sisters, separated since birth. I can't think of a nicer way to spend a Saturday morning and...yes! Fluffy pancakes. And, yes! Flipping through cookbooks. If only everyday was Saturday.
THANKS for your comment on my blog, which led me to yours. Will check in oft. It's a BEAUTIFUL site. So excited to see what you're up to in your kitchen...
White On Rice Couple says
Clabbering! New word of the day for me! I love it. I was lucky to find an old breads of the world cookbook that my grandma had. She gave their pancake mix an "xxxx." Her top mark. It's been my pancake staple since. We do use Martha's biscuit recipes, though. Damn good. Just like your photo. Todd.
Carolyn says
MomVee, there should be awards for best blog comments, and you should win them. All. I'm going to try clabbering soon!
MomVee says
As a big fan of biscuits and a slight agoraphobe, I have clabbered quite a bit in my time. It never gets as thick as buttermilk, so you have to take that into consideration--but it curdles up beautifully and does the chemical reaction trick.
A few years ago I bought a cast iron dutch oven, tried and failed to season it, and hid it in the basement. R. rescued it last week and succeeded in seasoning it. I think full-time childcare and cast iron care are mutually exclusive.
Carolyn says
MomVee, have you used the clabbering method? I've read about it but have always been too chicken to try.
I wish I'd gotten a nonstick griddle instead of my behemoth cast iron one that I'm not adult enough to take care of properly. David Lebovitz wrote the other day that if he'd wanted to invest so much time in something, he should have gotten a dog or had a baby instead of getting cast iron. So I feel a little redeemed.
MomVee says
If you're really desperate for a buttermilkesque experience, you can clabber your milk with a little lemon juice or white vinegar.
And I highly, _highly_ recommend a cheapa$$ nonstick stovetop griddle. With mine, I can make 6-8 pancakes at a time and the cook gets to eat hot pancakes with the rest of the family.
Carolyn says
Izzy's Mama, those look good!
Holly, you're right! My mom gave me Joy of Cooking years ago as my first cookbook, and I still love it. We often use their four-grain flapjacks as our go-to pancakes, but I didn't have it with me last weekend, and I don't have a reliable memory for measurements. That book is the reason I never noticed the lack of basic pancakes elsewhere in the world until now!
Holly Heller says
O! You need to add Joy of Cooking to your collection. I had the same thought this past Saturday, and with just the staples (flour, little bit of sugar, egg, water, vanilla extract and cinnamon- the last two being optional), we got our pancake on within your 30 min limit. It was quite awesome, actually. And the awesome husband stopped me from dumping heavy cream into the batter (what I had assumed was buttermilk...)
izzy's mama says
I went through the same search years ago and my go-to recipe is here.
http://www.izzyeats.com/2007/03/pancakes-pancakes.html
Pancake simplicity, and I use a portion of either whole-wheat or white whole wheat flour.
Carolyn says
Thanks, ladies!
April, I've recently been craving pancakes on a regular basis, for all meals, even though I'm usually more of a savory kind of girl. It's a bit of a safety hazard to be able to make them without leaving the house.
Y, I'm a huge fan of buttermilk pancakes, too (and buttermilk in general); but I always seem to have either too much of it, or none, in the fridge. I think that's why some people resort to the powder.
Jill, you should try these! The risk/reward ratio is very favorable.
Jill says
Sounds DE-licious, Umami girl! 😉
Actually just bought some goodies to have on hand for homemade pancakes... just may have to try some of your tricks!
And I agree, beautiful photo!
Y says
I've never heard of powdered buttermilk, but I do love buttermilk pancakes! Your basic pancakes look fantastic.
april says
found you through tastespotting, beautiful picture! and i love basic pancake recipes that you can tailor to your tastes. now i'm craving pancakes! i've been known to eat pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner 🙂