Fluffy Pancakes - the Softest and Fluffiest Pancake Recipe - Quick, Easy and 5-miniute Prep. (2024)

FAQs

What is the key to making fluffy pancakes? ›

Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.

Adding baking powder is the easiest way to make fluffy pancakes. There's more than one way to make the bubbles that make a pancake fluffy, but the easiest way is by adding a raising agent such as baking powder.

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

Can I Use Water Instead of Milk in Pancakes? Milk adds both flavor and texture to pancake batter, so if you are looking to make pancakes without milk, a simple swap to water doesn't always do the trick. For pancakes made without milk, you'll want to add some flavor through melted butter and vanilla extract.

When cooked, the chemical leaveners (the baking powder and baking soda) in the pancakes created large air bubbles. The loose gluten network captured the air bubbles and maintained the each pancake's shape while still keeping it fluffy with air.

Your problem is likely that you are using some “only add water” pancake mix. Admittedly that is 90% of all mixes on the shelves. The problem is that what ever mix you are using does not have enough baking powder in it and/or you have your pan too hot so the batter doesn't have enough time to rise before it sets.

Restaurants use better quality ingredients

Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience.

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

Can you put too much baking soda in pancakes? ›

It's important not to use too much baking soda in recipes, as it can result in a metallic, soapy flavor. It is much more powerful than baking powder – you only need about 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per cup of flour to leaven baked goods.

You technically can leave out baking soda in certain recipes (like chocolate chip cookies or pancakes) in a pinch, but you need to understand that your finished product will not be as light and fluffy as the recipe intended. Unless you have no other option, you really should use a leavening substitute.

Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to pour your batter so you get perfect, evenly sized pancakes. Start pouring from the middle, then continue pouring slowly in a circular motion so that the batter spreads into perfect round shapes. Allow the pancakes to cook properly! Don't rush them on high heat, or flip them too early.

The lactic acid reacts with the bicarbonate in the self-raising flour to produce carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas. Bubbles of gas are caught in the batter as it cooks and this is what makes the pancake fluffy.

In order to get a fluffy pancake, we need to have gas (carbon dioxide) bubble up through the gluten just as the mixture is heated. This reaction requires an acid and a base. Almost all pancake recipes use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) for the base.

In pancakes, gluten forms strands that give the cake its structure. But too much gluten results in a pancake that is dense and gummy. The dry ingredients are rounded out with just a bit of sugar and malted milk powder, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.