Fluffy Pancakes — American-Style Thick, with Baking Powder, in 20 Minutes
Yvonne Ammann VegetarianMix 250 g flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar, salt; add 3 dl milk, 1 egg, 30 g melted butter and stir only until no dry flour shows — lumps are fine. Ladle into a medium-hot pan, turn when bubbles pop on the surface. Over-mixing makes them tough.
Pancakes are what children order on Sunday morning, and they work with a single rule: do not over-mix. The batter should be lumpy — stirred smooth it turns tough, because the gluten in the flour tightens. Baking powder makes them rise, a little butter in the batter makes them tender, and the pan must not be too hot. Twenty minutes, and the table is full.
Ingredients
- 250 g Flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 3 dl Milk
- 1 piece Egg
- 30 g Butter (melted)
- 1 tsp Vanilla sugar (optional)
- 20 g Butter (for frying)
To serve
- 1 dl Maple syrup
- 200 g Berries
Method
- 1
Mix the dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and vanilla sugar together in a bowl.
- 2
Add the wet ingredients
Whisk the milk, egg and melted butter in a jug, pour onto the flour and stir with a spoon only until no dry flour remains — 10 seconds. The batter is thick and lumpy. That is right.
- 3
Rest
Leave 5 minutes while the pan heats. The baking powder starts working and the batter turns airy.
- 4
Cook
Non-stick pan over medium heat with a little butter. 2 tbsp batter per pancake, do not spread. 2 minutes until bubbles pop on the surface and the edges look dry, turn, 1 minute. Three to four per pan.
- 5
Serve
Keep warm in the oven at 80 °C until all are done. Stacked with butter, maple syrup and berries.
Tips
- Blueberry pancakes: scatter the berries onto the batter in the pan, do not stir them in — or everything turns blue. Banana pancakes: one mashed banana in the batter, then 1 tbsp less sugar.
- The batter does not keep — the baking powder works at once. To prepare ahead, mix the dry ingredients the night before and stir in the milk in the morning.
- Freeze cooked pancakes stacked between baking paper. Reheated in the toaster they are the fastest weekday breakfast.
What can I substitute?
The American diner version — tangy and even fluffier, because the acid reacts with the baking powder.
Maple syrup costs about 8 CHF a bottle at Migros and Coop. Apple sauce is the Swiss answer and cheaper.
More filling and nuttier. The batter needs 0.5 dl more milk and 10 minutes' rest.
Nutrition per serving
Estimated from the ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why do my pancakes turn out flat and tough?
Over-mixed, or old baking powder. The batter should be only just combined — lumps are good. Every extra stir develops gluten, which toughens the pancakes and stops them rising. Baking powder older than a year no longer lifts.
When do you turn pancakes?
When bubbles rise and pop on the surface and the edges look dry rather than glossy — after about 2 minutes. Turned too soon they fall apart, too late and the underside is dark. Turn only once.
What is the difference between pancakes and Pfannkuchen?
Pancakes are thick and fluffy from baking powder, small and stacked. Pfannkuchen or Omeletten are thin, large, without baking powder, and rolled. Pancakes are breakfast, Pfannkuchen supper — in Switzerland at least.
How many pancakes per person?
Three to four per person for brunch, two for children. The batter makes about 14 pancakes of 10 cm — for four with seconds.
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