Sunday Mornings: Perfect Pancakes

In his magnificent cookbook How To Cook Everything, Mark Bittman writes that “Americans must have been sadly alienated from the kitchen for pancake mixes to ever have gained a foothold in the market, for these are ridiculously easy to make.”

Ridiculously easy is an understatement when it comes to making his Basic Pancake recipe. I first put pancakes on the menu a few weeks ago for the girls’ before-school breakfast, and woke up one morning dreading that decision, thinking I was in for a long session in the kitchen, but I had buttermilk that needed to be used up and the girls had been asking for pancakes for a few weeks, so I decided to give it a go.

The batter for these pancakes was ready before the griddle was hot! I had planned to have the dry ingredients prepared the night before and sitting out, and the wet ingredients combined and waiting in the fridge ready to mix in, but I didn’t get it done and it still took only a very few minutes to pull the batter together. The pancakes that resulted were light and fluffy, and the girls said they were the best “regular” pancakes they’d ever had. Mr. Losing It made the pancakes again this morning (because we again had buttermilk to use up), and he agreed they were easy, easy, easy and the best regular pancakes he’d had (and I agree). We served them with just butter and maple syrup, and they disappeared quickly.

Bittman adds several ideas for variations: Polenta, blueberry, banana, buttermilk, sour milk or yogurt, and buckwheat pancakes all require just a few simple changes. The standard recipe calls for all-purpose flour, but we’ve used whole wheat pastry flour each time with great success, and also substitute vegetable oil for the melted butter. I’ve also made them substituting pumpkin puree for some of the liquid (I also added some cinnamon) and they also cooked up great as well. The batter can be made ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator for several days, until ready to use.

Perfect pancakes!

Don’t forget to link up one of your favorite breakfast recipes below!

BASIC PANCAKES

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBSP sugar

1 or 2 eggs (we use 2)

1 1/2  to 2 cups milk (we use 2)

2 TBSP melted and cooled butter (or vegetable oil)

Preheat griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you make the batter. Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs into the milk, then stir in the melted butter or oil. Gently stir this into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten the flour (don’t worry about a few lumps). If the batter seems too thick, thin with a little milk.

If your skillet or griddle is non-stick, cook pancakes without any additional oil. Otherwise use a teaspoon or so every time you add batter. Pour the pancake batter onto the hot surface; the bottom should cook in 2 -4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn and cook until the bottom is browned as well and serve hot. If necessary, the pancakes can be held in a 200° oven for up to 15 minutes.

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