Is there anything quite as satisfying as a fluffy pancake on a Sunday morning?
The month of May in Austin was near record setting in terms of the rain we got. It rained a whopping 12.47 inches in just a month! Before moving to Austin, I did a lot of research on the weather patterns because as a native Californian, I just didn’t know what to expect. Turns out, 12 inches of rain is what San Diego gets the entire year. As a rain lover, I can’t complain. It’s nice too to see how green the city has become thanks to all the moisture. I also appreciate the cloud coverage to keep the hot sun from beating down.
A few weeks ago, I slept in later than anticipated because my bedroom stayed so dark from the thunderstorm brewing outside. Typically I like to take a walk to start my day but when I looked out the window that morning, I decided a warm breakfast sounded better. And so, this recipe was born.
These pancakes are tall, fluffy, and scrumptious. As someone who loves pancakes and grew up homemaking them, I’ve found that there are a few tricks to making them fluffy:
- A combination of baking soda and baking powder – these are the leavening agents at work.
- Buttermilk or in this recipe’s case, homemade buttermilk. It’s achieved by combining white vinegar (or fresh lemon juice) with milk. It needs a few minutes to sour and thicken and then it’s ready to go.
- Not over-mixing the batter! This is probably the most important part. It’s so tempting to whisk a batter until perfectly smooth but unfortunately, when it’s perfectly smooth, it’s usually overmixed. The smoothness inflates any desirable air bubbles that we need in order to give the pancake a nice lift. In addition, when we stir too much, this toughens the batter because we’re overworking the flour and alerting it that it needs to be more like a bread (as opposed to a cake…and cake is in the title of these y’all, so don’t over mix, even if there are a few lumps).
- And finally, there’s a tiny bit of sugar in this recipe which adds both a nice delicacy in flavor but most importantly, moisture in the pancake. So you get an even softer pancake with a fluff factor.
So when I woke a few weeks ago with pancakes on my mind and a thunderstorm at my window, it took just a few minutes to create this batter and get the griddle hot enough to make a little pancake diner situation in my kitchen. I took a picture and posted to @abeebakes on IG and y’all seemed to be craving the same thing so I figured I’d share the simple recipe with you!
The best part about pancakes? They’re delicious rain or shine, any day of the year! Enjoy.
Fluffy Pancakes
This classic fluffy pancake recipe is all you need when the pancake craving strikes. Irresistibly tall and fluffy, no other recipe need present itself.
- 3/4 cup Milk (whole milk is best but any milk will work)
- 2 tbsp. White vinegar
- 1 cup Flour
- 2 tbsp. Sugar
- 1 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp. Butter, melted
Combine milk with vinegar in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk the egg and melted butter into the milk and vinegar.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until most of the lumps are gone. But the key is not to over mix!
Heat a large skillet over medium heat (or adjust griddle to medium). Lightly coat with butter or cooking spray. Using an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop batter onto skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula and cook a few moments longer until golden on the other side and fluffy.
Serve immediately with your favorite pancake toppings.
Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com.
*Note: double recipe if you are a pancake lover!
A Bee Bakes 
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