How to Make the Best Homemade Pancakes in Your City
Your City: There's nothing like a tall stack of golden buttermilk pancakes, crisp at the edges and pillowy in the middle, soaking up warm maple syrup and a melting pat of butter on a slow weekend morning.
What Most People Don’t Know About Making Homemade Pancakes
- Rest the Batter, Lumps and All: Mix only until the dry flour disappears, then let the batter sit for 15 minutes. The flour hydrates completely, the lumps dissolve on their own, the gluten you created while mixing relaxes, and the leaveners start filling the thickening batter with bubbles. You get taller, more tender pancakes than batter that goes straight to the griddle.
- Two Leaveners, Two Different Jobs: Baking soda reacts with the buttermilk's acid as soon as they meet, and it raises the batter's pH, which speeds browning and gives you that deep golden face. Baking powder is double-acting, so it releases a second burst of gas when the batter hits the heat, and that's the rise you see on the griddle. Use only powder and you get pale, tangy pancakes. Use only soda and you get flat ones.
- Wipe the Griddle Almost Dry: A pool of butter fries the edges into a greasy, lacy ring and leaves a spotty, leopard-print surface. Too much fat plus an under-preheated pan is why the first pancake always flops. Brush on a little neutral oil, then wipe it with a paper towel until the surface just looks glossy, and you'll get even golden color from edge to edge. Save the butter for the top of the stack.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or vegetable), for the griddle
- Warm maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat Low and Slow: Heat an electric griddle to 350°F, or set a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-low for 5 minutes (8 to 10 minutes for cast iron). Heat your oven to 200°F and set a wire rack inside a rimmed sheet pan.
- Whisk the Dry: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, until evenly combined.
- Whisk the Wet: In a second bowl, whisk the buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Whisking constantly, drizzle in the melted butter. If some of it firms into small flecks in the cold buttermilk, that's fine because they'll melt on the griddle.
- Fold, Don't Beat: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Fold with a rubber spatula, about 12 strokes, just until no streaks of dry flour remain. The batter should be thick and lumpy.
- Rest the Batter: Let it sit untouched for 15 minutes, and no longer than 30. It will thicken and show bubbles on the surface. Don't stir it again. When you portion, scoop gently from the top so you keep the bubbles.
- Oil and Wipe: Brush the griddle with a little oil, then wipe it with a folded paper towel until it just looks glossy. Keep that oiled towel nearby for later batches.
- Run a Test Pancake: Cook one small, 2-tablespoon pancake. It should turn golden on the bottom in about 2 minutes. If it browns faster, lower the heat. If it's still pale, raise the heat slightly.
- Portion the Batter: Scoop ¼ cup of batter per pancake, leaving 2 inches between them. Nudge each one gently into a 4-inch round with the bottom of the measuring cup.
- Watch the Edges, Not the Clock: Cook for 1½ to 2½ minutes, until the edges look dry and matte and the bubbles on top pop and stay open. Flip once and cook 60 to 90 seconds more, until the bottom is golden and the center springs back when touched. Never press down with the spatula, because that squeezes out the air you just built.
- Hold Them on a Rack: Move finished pancakes to the rack in the warm oven in a single layer. Stacking traps steam and turns them gummy. Re-wipe the griddle with the oiled towel every batch or two.
- Serve: Stack them high and top with butter and warm maple syrup.
Make-Ahead Option
Whisk the dry ingredients and store them airtight at room temperature for up to 1 month. The night before, whisk the buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and refrigerate. In the morning, whisk in the melted butter, combine the wet and dry, and rest the batter for 15 minutes before cooking.
Cooked pancakes also freeze well. Cool them on a rack, freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan, then bag them with parchment between each one for up to 2 months. Reheat straight from frozen in a toaster, or on a sheet pan in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
Enjoy Your Homemade Pancakes!
Pour the coffee, warm the syrup, and let the stack disappear.
