Thursday, July 2, 2009

How to get Golden Brown Pancakes

Have you ever gone to a breakfast diner or IHOP and enjoyed their golden brown pancakes? Do you wonder how they get them so golden brown? You can make them this way too with the right techniques.

The Perfect Pancake Recipe

First of all, find a good recipe to follow and prepare your batter. An excellent recipe is extremely important. If you find the wrong one, your pancakes could turn flat, soggy, raw, gooey, burnt, or have any number of other problems. Search online or check your grandmother's favorite cookbook.

Perfecting the batter

The trick with pancake batter is to stir just enough, and stop at that. If you were to beat the batter together, the pancakes would be tough. Nothing like pancakes should be. Mixing the batter just enough, even leaving a few lumps, will make tender, delicious pancakes.

Also, once the batter is mixed together, don't stir again, even if it's just a little. Keep the batter whole because there will be lots of bubbles forming. The more of those bubbles you have, the fluffier the pancakes. Use a measuring cup or spoon to scoop batter without popping bubbles.

A Hot Griddle is the way to go.

Then, make sure the pan you are using is nice and hot. A seasoned griddle will work best, but you can use almost any kind of pan. In order to season a griddle, get a cast iron griddle, and spread a thick layer of lard on it. Bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for about 15 minutes and then pour off the excess melted grease. Then return it to the oven for another 2 hours. This way it will be nice and nonstick without having a toxic coating.

Most people don't have a griddle on hand. We want to make pancakes on a whim. If that's the case, use a long electric griddle or even a frying pan. You can make it work.

Very lightly grease the pan with vegetable oil or a little butter. Make sure the griddle is nice and hot. Medium high heat is best, but that heat might be different depending on your stove. If you are using butter, use clarified butter so that it doesn't burn. If you don't have clarified butter or can't make it, move quickly before the milk solids in the butter have a chance to burn.

Pour the batter onto the pan and let it cook until a lot of tiny bubbles form along the top. You want to make sure it gets nice and brown now before you flip. Peak underneath the pancake to look at the bottom and make sure it's toasted brown. Then, flip it over and brown on the other side.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

How to Make Pancakes more Fun

Do you ever wake up longing for a stack of pancakes, get lucky enough to have a stack waiting at the breakfast table, and sit down ready to eat only to find them boring and dull? I don't know about you, but it has sure happened to me before.

Yes, pancakes are delicious, but sometimes they can be just boring. Basic pancakes, buttered with maple syrup. It's delicious, but if you want something different from time to time, you probably want a change.

Why not add something new to the mix? Throw some chocolate chips or blueberries in the batter. Make a whole new batter such as peanut butter pancakes, chocolate pancakes, or potato pancakes. Find something new and delicious.

Why not top it with something new? The possibilities are endless when it comes to pancake toppings. You can use just about any kind of fruit you want. Throw some fruit in the batter and on top. Put some blueberries inside and strawberries on top for a delicious complementary blend.

Top it with chocolate chips or any other type of flavored chips. Top it all off with whipped cream and a cherry. It might be a little over the top, but couldn't it be worth it?

If you aren't interested in so much, make it simple. Use strawberry syrup instead of maple syrup. Try something completely new!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

How to Make your Pancakes Fluffy

Have you ever had flat, fluff-less pancakes? Pancakes are supposed to be fluffy. It's just a rule. I once had silver dollar pancakes that were so flat and lifeless they tasted like rubber. There was no air to them whatsoever. This is not the kind of pancakes you want.

It is actually pretty easy to keep your pancakes from being fluffy, but it is almost just as easy to avoid lifeless pancakes. It's all in how you stir.

When you make pancakes with a good pancake recipe, you're supposed to first mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Then, you pour the wet over the dry and stir it together. If you beat the ingredients together vigorously, you will kill your pancakes.

Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix pancake batter. If you were to mix pancake batter with a paddle attachment on high for two minutes, you're pancakes will probably come out like rocks, or something similar. They will be tough and chewy because you beat out the gluten.

In order to make fluffy pancakes, you want to mix it thoroughly, but lightly. Use a spoon to mix it together. If you sift the flour as directed, you shouldn't end up with lumps, otherwise a few lumps are probably okay.

Be gently, fold in the ingredients, and enjoy your fluffy pancakes!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

How to Make Pancakes

Don't you love warm buttery pancakes on a free Saturday or Sunday morning waiting for you at the breakfast table? Want to know how to make delicious pancakes every time? Here's how! Click here for a recipe.

First find a great pancake recipe. You could use a basic recipe or something new and interesting. For a twist, use a basic recipe and jazz it up a little.

Next get out all your ingredients. Make sure you have all the ingredients you'll need. You don't want to end up having to take an emergency trip to the store.

Now measure out all your dry ingredients including the flour, salt, baking powder, etc. Follow the instructions exactly with the measurements. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Next measure out all the wet ingredients. These will include oil, eggs, milk, etc. Make sure you crack open and beat the egg first so that it mixes easily with all the rest of the ingredients. Now mix all the wet ingredients together really well in a separate bowl from the dry ingredients.

When both the wet and dry ingredients are combined well together, pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently combine them. Don't over-beat them or they will become tough.

Turn on a pan or griddle onto medium high heat and lightly grease with oil, butter, or cooking spray. When the pan is hot, pour some batter on the pan forming circles. Space the circles about 2 inches apart.

Let the pancakes cook for about a minute or until tiny bubbles form. Flip them over and cook for another minute until golden brown.

Serve the pancakes hot with butter and syrup or add some fresh fruit for extra flavor!