Fluffy American pancakes with bacon and avocado (2024)

FAQs

How do you make pancakes fluffy and not rubbery? ›

Over-mixing pancake batter develops the gluten that will make the pancakes rubbery and tough. For light, fluffy pancakes, you want to mix just until the batter comes together—it's okay if there are still some lumps of flour. Fat (melted butter) makes the pancakes rich and moist.

Here's why. 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.

The number one reason pancake turn out dense or rubbery is… Over beating the batter. Aesthetically, we don't like to see lumps in our pancake batter. But with pancake batter, it is important to mix the batter just until most of the dry ingredients are incorporated.

American-Style Pancakes

The American pancake recipe uses a rising agent like baking powder to form much thicker, fluffier pancakes. These are best served with maple syrup and bacon for breakfast, or as a dessert with fruit, cream or yoghurt.

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.

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. When you don't add enough eggs, the cakes will be drier and tougher.

Flour: This homemade pancake recipe starts with all-purpose flour. Baking powder: Baking powder, a leavener, is the secret to fluffy pancakes.

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.

If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking powder and you use the tablespoon by mistake, you've added three times the baking powder to your dish. That might not sound like a big difference, but too much baking powder will make your baked goods bitter and can cause a cake to collapse.

What is the scientific secret of fluffy pancakes? ›

When cooked, the chemical leaveners (the baking powder and baking soda) in the pancakes created large air bubbles. The loose gluten network captured the air bubbles and maintained the each pancake's shape while still keeping it fluffy with air.

American pancakes are thicker and fluffier because of baking soda and/or baking powder. European pancakes are thinner made from a runnier mix. Crepes are even thinner and can have sugar in them.

Can I Use Water Instead of Milk in Pancakes? Milk adds both flavor and texture to pancake batter, so if you are looking to make pancakes without milk, a simple swap to water doesn't always do the trick. For pancakes made without milk, you'll want to add some flavor through melted butter and vanilla extract.

You don't want to mix the batter for too long, if not it can go dense and chewy. Heat a nonstick pan over a medium flame and grease with butter and a few drops of oil (see note on this under 'What oil should I use for my pancakes?

Make sure your baking powder, or mix, is fresh, and then let the batter sit a little while before cooking. Many folks will make their pancake batter the night before, which seems to result in fluffier pancakes. Use baking powder and a light baking soda. Don't over mix, batter should be bubbly.

Baking powder or baking soda (depending on the recipe) will help your pancakes to rise more, preventing a gummy texture. Make sure you don't forget this ingredient! It's also important that you don't get the two ingredients mixed up because they work differently.

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.