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Why Do My Pancakes Burn? (4 Common Reasons)

Why Do My Pancakes Burn? (4 Common Reasons)

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Pancakes are something that many people love having for breakfast multiple times per week. Even if you just enjoy them as an occasional treat, it’s likely going to be something that you look forward to.

They’re sweet, fluffy, and very filling when you make them right. Being able to make perfect pancakes will ensure that your family is happy and well fed in the morning.

If you haven’t been making them for very long, you might still be learning how to perfect them. Are you having issues with your pancakes burning?

Why do they burn sometimes? Is there a good way that you can avoid having this happen?

Keep reading to learn about the common causes and what you can do to fix them.

1 – Cooking at the Wrong Temperature

The most common reason why pancakes burn while you’re cooking them has to do with temperature issues. You might be cooking them at a temperature that is far too high.

Some people choose to do this because they’re hungry and they just want to get the pancakes finished quickly. This is understandable, but it’s going to be a bad idea since it can lead to you burning them.

The high heat that you’re using isn’t actually going to be helpful. It’s going to make the pancakes cook unevenly instead of turning out the way that you want them to.

Often, you’ll find that the outsides of the pancakes will be burnt while the insides will still be a bit doughy. This is pretty much the worst-case scenario when you’re making them.

The ideal way to cook pancakes is to set the heat to medium. It’s also recommended to allow your pan to heat up for approximately three minutes since using a cold pan can cause them to soak up too much of the oil.

If the pancakes soak up the oil, they’re going to turn out flatter than normal. Exercise patience and let the pan heat up for a few minutes before putting your batter in.

2 – Not Paying Enough Attention

Flipping A Pancake In A Pan

Of course, cooking pancakes using medium heat won’t guarantee that you’ll get things right. It’s still possible to burn the them if you aren’t paying close attention to what’s happening.

You’ll find that many people will burn pancakes because they wind up getting distracted. If you allow them to cook too much on one side, you could easily wind up with burnt pancakes instead of the golden brown ones that you desire.

Someone might send you a text message in the morning and you’ll stop to respond to it. This amount of time might not seem like a big deal, but it could mean the difference between flipping the pancakes on time and burning them.

It’s easy to get distracted by talking to your family members while you’re cooking, too. If you want to avoid burning pancakes, you’ll just have to make an effort to pay attention while you’re cooking them.

You should try to cook them until bubbles start to form on the top. This will take about three minutes on average and then you’ll be able to flip them.

The second side should only take about two minutes to cook the rest of the way. Once done, you’re going to want to use your spatula to put the pancakes on a plate.

It’s pretty simple to get things right when you know what you’re doing, but it’s easy to mess up if you get distracted. Do your best to follow this advice and you should be able to make perfect pancakes every single time.

3 – Using Butter Instead of Oil

Olive Oil In A Pan

Some people make the mistake of using butter to grease the pan when they’re getting ready to make pancakes. This might seem like a solid idea at first, but it’s actually going to be a good way to burn them.

Butter can burn up in the pan and that makes it less than ideal for cooking pancakes. If you notice that your pancakes are coming out burnt, it might simply be because you’re using butter in the pan.

Instead of using butter, it’ll be better to use olive oil or canola oil in the future. This is pretty much the standard way that people make pancakes, but you might not have known that going in.

Make the swap and you’ll likely see a big difference in the way that they turn out. This might be all that you need to change to get the results that you’ve been hoping for.

4 – Pouring Oil Directly Into the Pan

How you add the oil to the pan can actually have an impact on how the pancakes will turn out. This might seem like a weird thing at first, but you’ll understand once you dig into the details.

If you were to pour oil into the pan after each pancake you cook, the oil would pool up in the pan at certain spots. This actually causes the pancakes to cook unevenly and it could possibly cause them to burn because you won’t quite get the results that you want.

You can have an easier time with the oil if you add it to the pan in a different way. Consider pouring the oil onto a paper towel and then rubbing it on the pan to cover it completely.

Doing things this way should ensure that the batter is getting hit by the oil in all spots. It isn’t hard to do this, and it’s just going to make it that much simpler to cook the pancakes evenly.

Other Important Pancake Tips

You know enough that you should be able to cook pancakes without burning them now. There are still a few things that you should consider if you want to make the tastiest pancakes possible, though.

Don’t Overmix the Batter

Mixing Pancake Batter

Overmixing the batter is going to cause problems when you’re making pancakes. You might think that mixing too much would be better than not mixing thoroughly enough, but both mistakes are equally as bad.

If you mix the batter more than you should, it’s going to cause gluten to develop. This makes the pancakes turn out way tougher than they normally would.

When you bite into them, they’re not going to be light and fluffy. They’re going to be chewy and perhaps a bit dense.

You don’t want them to turn out lumpy either, but you have to figure out how to mix things just right. Mix the batter without going overboard and things will turn out way better.

Allowing the batter to rest is important too. You shouldn’t put the batter in the pan right away because it needs time to rest.

Resting the batter ensures that gluten will be activated. This makes things a bit thicker overall.

If you don’t rest the batter, your pancakes will be a bit too thin. Resting batter doesn’t take too long either.

You can rest the pancake batter for at least five minutes to get good results. Some people choose to rest the batter for up to thirty minutes.

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Swedishgal56

Tuesday 15th of November 2022

Thank you. Made Banana Nut pancakes and what a disaster! Now I know why...

maureen a haisten

Tuesday 11th of October 2022

thanks still learning at my age wow!

Rapperboy19

Thursday 16th of December 2021

Thank you.Simple mistakes make huge differences,I see that now