Everyone can make a plate of pancakes in an instant, but not everyone can serve up a pile of pancakes that are tender, soft, and delicious. In fact, there are hundreds of recipes and methods that you can copy to make pancakes. However, if you want to produce pancakes that are very soft and have the potential to make anyone addicted to eating them, try reading this article to find out the right quantity of ingredients and the right method for preparing each ingredient. Remember, cooking is an art so it can't be done haphazardly!
Ingredients
For: 16 pancakes
- 250 grams of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- 2 large eggs, separate the yolks and whites
- 350 ml buttermilk
- 250 grams sour cream
- 60 grams of butter
- Oil for cooking pancakes
Step
Part 1 of 3: Preparing Dry Dough
Step 1. Prepare all the ingredients and kitchen tools needed
To make fluffy pancakes, you need to use the right ingredients and kitchen utensils. In addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe, you will also need kitchen tools such as:
- Two large bowls, one medium bowl, and one small bowl
- Sieve
- Airtight container (if you make additional dry dough for later use)
- Dough beater
- Rubber spatula
- Flat skillet
- Silicone pastry brush
- Measuring cup
- Spatula
Step 2. Use fresh baking soda
Remember, pancakes are a quick-cooking variant of bread. That's why pancakes use baking soda as a developer instead of yeast. The process of “rising” the dough occurs when the baking soda dissolved in the liquid mixes with the acid, and causes a reaction that produces carbon dioxide.
Since baking soda is so important in expanding the dough and creating a soft pancake texture, make sure you only use baking soda that is fresh and not older than six months
Step 3. Mix all dry ingredients
Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Sifting the dry ingredients is mandatory so that the dough does not clump and mixes better.
- If you don't have a sieve, try mixing all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then stirring with a whisk for a few minutes.
- If you want to make additional dry ingredients for later use, try adding equal amounts of each.
Step 4. Save the remaining dough
If you intentionally overdo the dry dough portion for later use, set aside about 300g of the dry dough and place it in an airtight container. After that, store the container on the counter or kitchen cupboard until it's time to use it.
Dried pancake dough can be stored for three months
Part 2 of 3: Making Pancake Dough
Step 1. Melt the butter
Put the butter in a small bowl, heat it in the microwave. Every 30 seconds, stir in the butter to speed up the process. If you don't have a microwave, you can also melt the butter in a medium-heat skillet.
Set the melted butter aside until it is completely cold. Mixing hot butter with eggs can overcook the eggs and spoil the batter
Step 2. Beat the egg whites
Another important key to making fluffy pancakes is to beat the egg whites until stiff as you would meringue. This method will introduce as much air as possible into the egg whites, giving the pancake a fluffy and hollow texture. Place the egg whites in a medium-sized bowl and mix with a mixer or hand mixer.
Beat the eggs for 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form
Step 3. Mix all wet ingredients
Place the egg yolks, buttermilk, and sour cream in a large bowl; stir until completely smooth. After that, pour the cold melted butter and mix well again.
You can also replace the sour cream portion with buttermilk. Remember, make sure you only use buttermilk, not regular milk, as the acid in the buttermilk is needed to activate the baking soda in the batter
Step 4. Add beaten egg whites
Place the beaten egg whites into a bowl with the wet ingredients. Slowly stir in the egg whites using a rubber spatula. Stop stirring when all the ingredients are well mixed.
Stirring the wet ingredients for too long can make the egg whites flaky. As a result, the pancake texture will not expand
Step 5. Mix dry and wet ingredients
First, make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients. After that, pour the wet ingredients into the hole and gently mix them with the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula.
- Stir in the wet and dry ingredients just until they are well combined. If there are still small lumps in the dough, leave it alone.
- If you knead for too long, the dough will form gluten (a reaction of mixing wheat flour with liquid) which risks making the pancake texture tough instead of light and hollow.
Part 3 of 3: Cooking Pancakes
Step 1. Heat the pan
As soon as the dough is done, heat the skillet on the stove over medium heat. While waiting for the pan to heat up, use a pastry brush to apply oil to the surface of the pan.
- Pour a little batter onto the surface of the pan. If you hear a sizzling sound and the dough is cooked within 3-4 minutes, it means the oil is hot enough to use.
- Don't have a flat pan? You can also use a wide, thick-walled skillet so that the pancakes don't burn easily and are easier to flip.
- Don't cook pancakes with butter, as the smoke point is very low. In other words, butter is very easy to burn if you use it to cook pancakes on medium heat.
Step 2. Pour some of the batter into the pan
When the surface of the pan is hot, pour a spoonful of pancake batter into it. After a while, the dough should immediately expand and circle.
Although it really depends on the size of the pan, you will most likely only be able to cook two to four pancakes at a time
Step 3. Cook the pancake batter
Once poured into the pan, do not touch the pancake batter until one side is completely cooked. Watch the pancakes as they cook. If small bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, and if the bubbles pop and make small holes in the top of the pancake (about 2 minutes), the pancake can be turned.
- Flip the pancake and cook the other side for 2 minutes.
- Set aside the cooked pancakes and cook the rest of the batter. Remember, pancake batter should be cooked immediately so that the texture is not too hard or chewy.
- Although pancake dough can't be stored for days, you can actually store pancakes that are cooked but not finished eating, you can store them in the refrigerator for a few days and warm them up when you eat them.
Step 4. Keep the cooked pancakes warm
Since pancakes need to be cooked in stages, make sure you keep the cooked pancakes in a warm oven while you cook the remaining batter. That way, the whole pancake will stay warm and tender when served.
- Transfer the cooked pancakes to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or another heat-resistant container. Cover the container or baking sheet with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent the pancakes from drying out when warmed.
- Place the container or pan in the preheated 93°C oven to keep it warm while you cook the rest of the batter.
Step 5. Serve the pancakes with your favorite accompaniments
Remember, there is no right or wrong combination because everyone has their own way of enjoying pancakes! Some examples of popular pancake accompaniments that you should try are:
- Spread melted butter over the still warm surface of the pancakes
- Sprinkle cinnamon powder on top of the pancakes
- Pour maple syrup, corn syrup, honey, or other sweetening liquid onto the surface of the pancakes
- Sprinkle nuts or berries on top of the pancake
- Squirting whipped cream over a pile of pancakes
