My Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes - A Fluffy Buttermilk Pancake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the key to making fluffy pancakes? ›

Making pancake and waffle batter ahead of time is a huge no-no and will lead to flat, dense results every time. Even letting your batter hang out for just a few minutes after you've mixed it before you start ladling it onto the griddle will lead to less fluffy results.

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

The chemicals in the baking powder react when combined with liquid, which triggers an initial release of gas. This first release happens slowly. A second, bigger burst of gas occurs when the batter is heated. Heat produces a quick burst of bubbles, and that's what really gives pancakes their fluffiness.

Adding baking powder is the easiest way to make fluffy pancakes. There's more than one way to make the bubbles that make a pancake fluffy, but the easiest way is by adding a raising agent such as baking powder.

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

A – Ideally make your batter and let it rest for about 30 minutes before cooking. This allows the flour to absorb the liquid, making the pancakes lighter and fluffier. Q – Why buttermilk? The acidity of buttermilk reacts with the raising agents to make you pancakes lighter and fluffier.

1. Use Milk/ Alternative Milk Instead Of Water. Even though the mix may call for water, you can easily substitute that for an alternative milk (I like oat milk). You may have to add a dash more due to the difference in consistency, but it'll taste so much better!

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.

In an interview with Delish, IHOP's vice president of culinary innovation revealed that the pancake house keeps the wet ingredients “ice cold” in the prepared batter. This eliminates any heat interaction with the glutens that might cause the batter to rise prematurely.

How do you keep pancakes from getting dense? ›

Baking powder (double acting) provides two rises: The first occurs when the baking powder comes into contact with a liquid, the second when it's exposed to heat. Too much baking powder will create a very puffy pancake with a chalky taste, while too little will make it flat and limp.

Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to pour your batter so you get perfect, evenly sized pancakes. Start pouring from the middle, then continue pouring slowly in a circular motion so that the batter spreads into perfect round shapes. Allow the pancakes to cook properly! Don't rush them on high heat, or flip them too early.

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.

In pancakes, gluten forms strands that give the cake its structure. But too much gluten results in a pancake that is dense and gummy. The dry ingredients are rounded out with just a bit of sugar and malted milk powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.