pancakes

This subject has come up a few times among friends and family and I still don't have the answer.

No matter what I and others I've spoken to about this do, which includes getting the butter really, really hot, the first pancake always seems to be flatter than subsequent pancakes from the same batter.

Any reason?

Could it be the a age of the baking powder? When we open one we write the day of six months hence on the can, and throw it out if not empty.

The longer the batter stays mixed, the more viscous it becomes as the flour absorbs more of the liquid. The more viscous, the less it spreads out on the griddle. In addition, the more viscous it becomes, the less chance the CO2, which forms during the cooking, can escape as breaking bubbles when cooking the first side (before flipping).

The longer the batter stays mixed, the more viscous it becomes as the flour absorbs more of the liquid. The more viscous, the less it spreads out on the griddle. In addition, the more viscous it becomes, the less chance the CO2, which forms during the cooking, can escape as breaking bubbles when cooking the first side (before flipping).

So, Howie, are you saying that after mixing the batter I should wait a while to start cooking? If so, how long of a wait works?

Carl, why would old baking powder ruin only the first pancake and not the rest in the batter?

When you first mix the batter the flour is more of a slurry in the liquid. After it starts absorbing the liquid, it becomes more of a paste. I've also found that if I cook some of the pancakes immediately after mixing, the first batch is thinner, but the subsequent batches are pretty consistent (with raising 5 boys, 20-30 pancakes were not uncommon). I'd say 7-10 minutes and mix again before ladeling out. Another nice feature of waiting until the batter thickens is that fruit (blueberries, apple slices, etc.) can be added right to each pancake, and it sinks into the batter, instead of laying on top. I was always the lazy type and used Bisquik to make pancakes, but my wife used the following recipe from the "All Maine Cookbook". Hers were better, by far.

Griddle Cakes
(A Very Old Recipe)
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 heaping teaspoon soda
Flour to make a soft drop batter

Mix together the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, soda and salt. Add enough flour to make a soft drop batter. I use a piece of bacon on a fork to grease my griddle or frying pan. Drop by tablespoon, turn-ing over once. Serve at once, with maple syrup.
Note: Neither sweet milk nor sour milk will make griddles to taste like these. Buttermilk must be used for flavor.
Submitted by Miss Etta Beverage, North Haven, Maine

When you first mix the batter the flour is more of a slurry in the liquid. After it starts absorbing the liquid, it becomes more of a paste. I've also found that if I cook some of the pancakes immediately after mixing, the first batch is thinner, but the subsequent batches are pretty consistent (with raising 5 boys, 20-30 pancakes were not uncommon). I'd say 7-10 minutes and mix again before ladeling out. Another nice feature of waiting until the batter thickens is that fruit (blueberries, apple slices, etc.) can be added right to each pancake, and it sinks into the batter, instead of laying on top. I was always the lazy type and used Bisquik to make pancakes, but my wife used the following recipe from the "All Maine Cookbook". Hers were better, by far.

Griddle Cakes
(A Very Old Recipe)
2 eggs, well beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 heaping teaspoon soda
Flour to make a soft drop batter

Mix together the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, soda and salt. Add enough flour to make a soft drop batter. I use a piece of bacon on a fork to grease my griddle or frying pan. Drop by tablespoon, turn-ing over once. Serve at once, with maple syrup.
Note: Neither sweet milk nor sour milk will make griddles to taste like these. Buttermilk must be used for flavor.
Submitted by Miss Etta Beverage, North Haven, Maine

Great recipe. And I mean that because it is very like the one I have come up with over the years :

Flour, all-purpose 3 Cups
Baking powder 1 TBSP
Salt 2 Tsp.
Sugar, granulated ¼ Cup
Buttermilk 2½ Cups
Eggs, large 2
Butter, melted ¼ Cup

(The flour is sifted in my recipe.)

I'll add a note, too. In her recipe not only is the buttermilk important for taste, it is *essential" for the formation of CO2. She is using baking soda, not powder. Without the buttermilk the pancakes would be flatter than, well, pancakes.

I love pancakes and so do my boys.

...
(The flour is sifted in my recipe.)

I'll add a note, too. In her recipe not only is the buttermilk important for taste, it is *essential" for the formation of CO2. She is using baking soda, not powder. Without the buttermilk the pancakes would be flatter than, well, pancakes.

I love pancakes and so do my boys.

Quite often these old hand-me-down recipes have hidden wisdom, in addition to making good food. I have yet to meet a boy who doesn't like pancakes. My French-Canadian grandfather, who died in '62 at age 89, in addition to making great baked beans (I posted his recipe) used to make crepes, which he called "Flapjacks", rolled up with home canned strawberry jam. (Note to self - search through Mom's recipe collection again).

This pancake topic came up because my blueberries are ripe. Nuthin' like blueberry pancake on a Sunday morning--or evening, if you feel like it.

There have been many times when I made pancakes for supper.

And yep, that recipe is close to the one I do. Being a relatively anti-sugar guy, I do not add sugar to the batter. I do, however, double up on the maple syrup on top.

I do not add sugar to the batter.

You might add a teaspoon of honey to the batter. It helps them to brown.

Cheers,
Carl

[Jenise]

I love pancakes and so do my boys.

Not much of a pancake eater here, and therefore I never make them at home, but every so often that's what's being served and one pancake in my meager experience trumped all the others. Never mind that we were camping out overnight on Alaska's Prince William Sound and had hand-picked the blueberries while otters chirped at us from shore--that couldn't have prejudiced me, could it?--they were marvelously thick (small in diameter, yet a good half inch high) yet light and cake-y. On being queried, my host revealed that he whipped the eggwhites to soft peak separately and then folded them in last thing. I could have eaten a dozen.

Yet I rarely encounter a pancake recipe that recommends that step, and none in this thread have. I can be fairly certain, I think, that you would have explored that option, but it would appear it didn't make your final cut. Why do you, or anyone else here, prefer them the other way?

that couldn't have prejudiced me, could it?

Sensation transference? You, Jenise? No way!!

...On being queried, my host revealed that he whipped the eggwhites to soft peak separately and then folded them in last thing. I could have eaten a dozen.

Yet I rarely encounter a pancake recipe that recommends that step, and none in this thread have. I can be fairly certain, I think, that you would have explored that option, but it would appear it didn't make your final cut. Why do you, or anyone else here, prefer them the other way?

I have a few waffle recipes that use that step, but have never heard of doing it to pancakes. Generally, at least for us, pancakes are a quick hot breakfast. Something you mix up, pour on the griddle, flip and serve, and whipping the egg whites in a separate bowl, folding in, etc. goes against that. Waffles, on the other hand, require more work: getting out the waffle iron, separating the eggs, a different bowl for the egg whites, cooking fewer for a longer period, etc. Waffles would be for a Christmas brunch, when company came over.

I love pancakes and so do my boys.

Not much of a pancake eater here, and therefore I never make them at home, but every so often that's what's being served and one pancake in my meager experience trumped all the others. Never mind that we were camping out overnight on Alaska's Prince William Sound and had hand-picked the blueberries while otters chirped at us from shore--that couldn't have prejudiced me, could it?--they were marvelously thick (small in diameter, yet a good half inch high) yet light and cake-y. On being queried, my host revealed that he whipped the eggwhites to soft peak separately and then folded them in last thing. I could have eaten a dozen.

Yet I rarely encounter a pancake recipe that recommends that step, and none in this thread have. I can be fairly certain, I think, that you would have explored that option, but it would appear it didn't make your final cut. Why do you, or anyone else here, prefer them the other way?

Actually, I have tried that, Jenise.

It did not satisfy. And that from a guy who has whipped and folded egg whites into the most unexpected items. I make a cornbread that way, for instance.

I like a little density and mouthfeel in my pancakes and think of them a hearty dish. I just made some this week with local blueberries. And am probably going to be able to havest enough raspberries this week to do them, too.

I love pancakes and so do my boys.

Not much of a pancake eater here, and therefore I never make them at home, but every so often that's what's being served and one pancake in my meager experience trumped all the others. Never mind that we were camping out overnight on Alaska's Prince William Sound and had hand-picked the blueberries while otters chirped at us from shore--that couldn't have prejudiced me, could it?--they were marvelously thick (small in diameter, yet a good half inch high) yet light and cake-y. On being queried, my host revealed that he whipped the eggwhites to soft peak separately and then folded them in last thing. I could have eaten a dozen.

Yet I rarely encounter a pancake recipe that recommends that step, and none in this thread have. I can be fairly certain, I think, that you would have explored that option, but it would appear it didn't make your final cut. Why do you, or anyone else here, prefer them the other way?

Actually, I have tried that, Jenise.

It did not satisfy. And that from a guy who has whipped and folded egg whites into the most unexpected items. I make a cornbread that way, for instance.

I like a little density and mouthfeel in my pancakes and think of them a hearty dish. I just made some this week with local blueberries. And am probably going to be able to havest enough raspberries this week to do them, too.

Our raspberries are done for this season, but they were great as a sauce for pancakes, cooked down with maple syrup and just a touch of soy sauce for salty interest...just great. It was a good raspberry season.

Not sure about the soy sauce in syrup, but the raspberries and maple sounded good!