BEST FLUFFY PANCAKE RECIPE - Chefjar (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient in fluffy pancakes? ›

Separate your yolk from the egg white then beat to create a fluffy pancake. This is a small step, but it makes a big difference. When working with your egg whites, beat them until they form stiff peaks, then set aside. Add your yolks to the wet ingredients of the batter and when you're ready, fold in the whites.

For fluffier pancakes, use buttermilk. The acidity of buttermilk helps to tenderize the gluten in the flour, which results in fluffier pancakes. If you don't have buttermilk, whole milk will give the pancakes a richer flavor, while skim milk will give them a lighter and fluffier feel.

Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.

Many restaurants use buttermilk instead of dairy or plant-based milk when making pancakes, which changes the interaction of the ingredients before and during cooking — leading to a fluffier, more texturally satisfying, and tastier result.

The egg will add richness to the recipe and make the end result taste like homemade pancakes. If your pancake mix already calls for an egg, try adding an extra one.

Using extra virgin olive oil in place of the melted butter in this recipe adds moisture in addition to flavor, resulting in a light and fluffy pancake that's perfectly tender and moist, not dry or doughy in the least.

Baking powder, like baking soda, is a chemical leavening agent made with sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) plus a weak acid, such as potassium bitartrate. Baking soda is essential for baked goods, but baking powder is really what makes pancakes and biscuits rise and become so super fluffy.

Flat pancakes are nearly always because of expired baking powder, too little baking powder for the recipe size, or too thin of a batter. How to fix flat pancakes: First, test your baking powder by adding a teaspoon of baking powder in a glass and adding a tablespoon of water or two.

Flour is the main ingredient to any pancake. It provides the structure. Different types of flours alter the structure because some flours absorb more moisture or create more gluten (which binds the structure together) than others.

In order to get a fluffy pancake, we need to have gas (carbon dioxide) bubble up through the gluten just as the mixture is heated. This reaction requires an acid and a base. Almost all pancake recipes use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) for the base.

What makes pancakes fluffy, baking powder or baking soda? ›

Baking Powder: To help them be extra fluffy! Vegetable Oil: You can substitute this for melted butter! Buttermilk: Buttermilk is the best way to get a fluffy pancake! If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, make your own!

IHOP, for instance, requires its pans to be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and uses Crisco instead of butter to grease it, says Grimm. IHOP also has designated griddles that never cook anything other than pancakes, as Jon Kotez, IHOP's senior manager of field operations support, told Restaurant Business.

Restaurants use better quality ingredients

Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience.

While the griddles themselves likely vary from one diner chain to the next, diners are pretty much all working with a waffle iron or griddle that's already piping hot. IHOP, for instance, requires its pans to be heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and uses Crisco instead of butter to grease them, says Grimm.

Milk helps make pancakes fluffier than water. Since milk is thicker than water, it creates a thicker batter. Further, if you use whole milk or low fat milk, the fat content helps yield tender, fluffy results.

Baking Soda

It's used to chemically leaven doughs and batters when it is mixed with an acid. Combining baking soda with an acid produces a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas which causes the food to expand and become fluffy. Think about light and airy pancakes. That's the baking soda at work.

Top tips for fluffy pancakes

Don't be tempted to add more than the recipe suggests, as too much baking powder will make pancakes taste soapy. Alternatively, you could use self-raising flour, which will add to the amount of raising agent in the recipe and potentially make your pancakes fluffier.