Perfect, Puffy and Palatable Pancakes
The following tips will transform the temporary title of part-time cook to the status of full-time chef.
by
Kareem
Marashi
For the Sunday morning chef who has resigned his or herself to the old adage that a pancake should be, well, "flat as a pancake," the following tips and recipe for the perfect, puffy, palatable pancake will transform the temporary title of part-time cook to the status of full-time chef with another job during the week.
Before you start your normal Sunday morning routine, send everyone out of the kitchen and express a prayer up to the cooking gods. With that out of the way, assemble your small army of ingredients. It's not going to be as easy as water and pancake mix, but nothing good ever was.
INGREDIENTS: 1 Cup Flour - either All-Purpose Unbleached Flour or 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Unbleached and 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat, depending on taste, but not all Whole Wheat. 2 Tablespoons Sugar 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Spice - This can be any kind depending upon taste. I personally prefer cinnamon, but spices such as pumpkin pie spice or all-spice are good also. Fruit zest, such as lemon peel or orange, are a good choice as well. 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 3/4 Cup Buttermilk 1/2 Cup Flavored Yogurt or Low-fat Sour Cream 2 Large Eggs separated 4 1/2 Tablespoons melted Butter 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 1 Cup Additional Ingredient, such as Nuts, Fruit, Chocolate chips, etc. or any combination imaginable.
1. Now that you've got a small market worth of goods, mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and set aside. 2. Then mix together the Buttermilk, Yogurt or Sour Cream, the egg yolks, melted Butter, Vanilla Extract, and Additional Ingredient. 3. Pour the liquid mix into the bowl with the dry ingredients just until mixed. RULE #1 - DO NOT OVER MIX THE BATTER AT ANY TIME! KEEP BATTER LUMPY ALWAYS! 4. Beat the egg whites until stiff, moist peaks form. Then gently fold the egg whites into the lumpy batter. 5. Spoon out about 1/2 cup servings of batter and pour 4-inch circles onto a lightly buttered griddle or skillet at low to medium-low heat. Avoid the temptation to cook at a higher temperature. RULE #2 - KEEP COOKING TEMPERATURE LOW TO MEDIUM-LOW! (This allows the batter to rise and evenly cook through.) 6. Be patient. Wait until the majority of the bubbles pop (about 2-3 minutes) and then gently flip the pancake, cooking on the opposite side about a minute longer. RULE #3 - DO NOT FLATTEN THE PANCAKE! This one is the most important so I'll repeat, DO NOT FLATTEN THE PANCAKE! RULE #4 - WATCH THE POPPING BUBBLES, NOT THE TICKING CLOCK! 7. Once the pancake is done, remove it from the grill or skillet and replace it to a plate warming at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Now you can either stop here and serve with butter and syrup or you can prove your love and expertise by making a homemade syrup.
For this you will need: 4 Cups fresh Berries 1 1/4 Cups Sugar 1/4 Cup Water
1. Mix the fruit and water in a medium saucepan. 2. Crush the berries against the sides, then cover and boil. 3. Strain the sauce and return the sauce to the saucepan. Mix with the sugar and return to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. This will only take about a minute so pay attention. 4. Serve warm.
Finally, for the final touches and extra brownie points, decorate the pancakes with whipped cream, maraschino cherries, chocolate chips, whatever. The pancake house doesn't have a copyright on food decorating so feel free to be as creative as you can.
The recipe should yield about 12 servings. Think of it as Sunday Pancake Brunch instead of just Breakfast. And if your significant others don't appreciate your time and effort, find others who will.
Perfect, Puffy and Palatable Pancakes