Pancakes are a delicious breakfast staple that go with just about everything. Whether they are accompanied by eggs and bacon or just on their own, pancakes are a crowd-pleasing food that are sure to satisfy.
Making pancakes is pretty straightforward, but sometimes you might encounter some issues, the most common being that your pancakes aren’t browning. So, what causes this and how can you fix it? Keep reading to find out.
Getting the Perfect Pancake
Oftentimes, people underestimate the temperature needed to cook a pancake. As a result, your pancakes don’t cook all the way through or don’t get browned on the outside. In order to prevent this from happening, be sure to turn your stove’s heat on before you put your pancake batter on it.
Not only will this make sure that your pancakes get cooked evenly, but it will also give you the crispy outside that you’re looking for. You will also want to make sure that you add butter or oil to the pan and let it get hot before you put in your pancake batter.
If you are unsure of whether or not your pan is hot enough, you can always drop in a bit of batter to test it out.
If the batter doesn’t start cooking right away, chances are that your pan still isn’t hot enough. Be sure not to turn your heat up too high, however, as this could burn your pancakes.
Another great way to ensure that your pancakes are perfect is to make sure that you aren’t overmixing the batter. If you do, more and more gluten will continue to form. This in turn leaves you with tough, chewy pancakes.
In terms of pancakes, you want them to be light and fluffy instead. Try to mix your batter only until your wet and dry ingredients are combined. Even if you have lumps in your batter, try to keep from mixing.
You may not want to, but resting your batter is also another great way to make sure that your pancakes come out perfect. This is so that you give the gluten in your batter more time to settle before cooking. When you let your batter sit for a bit, the results will be soft and fluffy pancakes.
If you are a fan of blueberry or chocolate chip pancakes (and who isn’t?), try to stay away from stuffing your pancakes too much. This is so that you don’t weigh down the batter in your pancakes or result in burnt filling.
If you’re making your pancakes from scratch, be sure to follow the directions exactly and use all of the ingredients that it calls for. Even adding one too many eggs to your batter will cause your pancakes to be a little bit too dense.
Lastly, you want to make sure that you are flipping your pancakes over only one time during the entire cooking process. If you flip them too often, they end up deflating and the end result will be flat pancakes.
Delicious Pancake Recipes
Fluffy buttermilk pancakes make the perfect breakfast food and are easy to make. The trick when making them from scratch is to make sure that your batter isn’t too thick as this could lead to an undercooked pancake. If it’s too thin, on the other hand, the batter will spread when placed on the pan and won’t get fluffy.
Before starting, be sure to preheat your pan so that it is nice and hot when you put your pancake batter on. For this recipe you will need 2 cups of all-purpose flour, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, 4 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1-3/4 cups milk, 1/4 cup butter, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, and 1 large egg.
In one bowl, combine your flour, sugar, and baking powder as well as baking soda and salt. In the middle of the mixture, add in your milk, butter, vanilla, and egg. With a whisk, start mixing up the ingredients, making sure to fold them in.
Don’t forget to let your batter rest for a little bit before you start cooking the pancakes. Add butter to your pan and then slowly start to pour in your batter. Be sure to pour in about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake to get the perfect consistency.
As soon as you see the bottom side of your pancakes start to bubble up, you can flip them over. Be sure to only flip your pancakes once for best results. You want to make sure that your pan is hot, but not too hot that it will burn your pancakes.
If you see light spots on your pancakes, don’t panic. It simply means that small droplets of oil have clustered up on your pancake instead of spreading out.
Those who prefer pancakes with a little more pizzazz to them may find this recipe a bit more enticing. The ingredients required are chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, buttermilk, lemon juice, eggs, butter, and sunflower oil.
To start, mix your peanut butter and brown sugar together and then put two teaspoons of the mixture onto a baking sheet to freeze for about an hour.
In another bowl, be sure to mix together your flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda as well as the pinch of salt. Take a separate bowl and mix your buttermilk, lemon juice, eggs, and butter. Later, stir both your wet and dry ingredients together. Again, make sure that you let your batter rest before you start to cook it.
Once your batter has been left to sit for enough time, start to cook each pancake, making sure to drop in only a small amount of batter in the pan. Next, take your peanut butter disks out of the fridge and place one on top of the batter. Put another few spoonfuls of batter on top of it and let cook.
If you want to keep your pancakes warm during serving, place them in a preheated oven. When you are ready to serve them, simply take them out of the oven and serve with sliced fruit.
Final Thoughts
Getting the perfect pancakes isn’t as difficult as you may think. All you need to do is manage the heat on your stove and make sure that you’re not undercooking or overcooking your pancakes.
Keep a close eye on your pancakes as they tend to cook rather quickly, and don’t forget to let your batter sit before you start pouring it into the pan.
The key to making good pancakes is to simply be patient. This is the case when preparing your batter, heating up your stove, and letting your pancakes cook.
In order to get that perfectly browned and crisp top, make sure that you leave them on each side until they bubble and don’t flip them before that.
Again, make sure that your pan is sufficiently hot before putting your pancakes on, otherwise they will be undercooked and will take much longer to become the consistency that you want them to be.
Following these simple steps will surely lead you to the best pancakes of your life!
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.