Pancakes serve as a great ambassador to a lazy weekend, so it’s vital that when you make them, they’re fantastic. Although different pancake recipes vary in regard to flavor, one thing is certain: they must be fluffy. Whether they’re banana, chocolate chip, vegan, protein-boosted, or plain and simple like my recipe below, the way to get the fluffiest pancakes is to keep ‘em lumpy.
You don’t need to add whipped egg whites or seltzer water to your pancake mix, despite what the internet may tell you. Even the most basic pancake batter will be better if you keep a light hand. I know, stepping away from lumpy batter goes against our primal, pancake-making cave-person instincts—and yet, it must be done. It’s the key to making any pancake recipe better and it’s absolutely essential for increased height and a batter that doesn’t “burn out” while it waits in the bowl.
Smooth batter makes flat pancakes
A few things happen when you mix pancake batter until it’s smooth. For one, your batter will be more runny, so as soon as it hits the pan, the mixture will spread widely. Secondly, you’re developing the gluten proteins and making them stronger. This can make the texture tough and rubbery, something you generally avoid with any cake that you want to exhibit tenderness.
This smoothly-mixed pancake spread out and fluffed slightly while cooking, but not much.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
These two lumpy pancakes did not spread out. In fact, the batter stayed nice and tall.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Finally, overmixing the dough encourages leavening agent activation (which sounds a little like an international spy gone rogue). In other words, the baking powder or baking soda will start making bubbles once moistened, and if this all happens at once, your batter will lose rising power quickly. These factors leave you with a quick-spreading batter that’s rubbery, and every subsequent pancake you cook will be less and less fluffy. That’s no way to start your weekend.
How to make pancakes
1. Separately mix the wet and dry ingredients
Instead, combine the wet ingredients and dry ingredients all at once, and until just moistened. The best way to do that is to organize the dry ingredients (flour, leavening agent, salt, sugar, spices) in one big bowl, and the wet ingredients (eggs, liquid, liquid flavorings, and fruit or mix-ins) in another bowl. Mix them up independently in their separate bowls first.
2. Combine the two until just moistened
Then pour the wet mixture into the dry, all at once. Give it a stir or whisk to moisten the dry ingredients. It only takes a few seconds, maybe eight to 10 big swooping stirs, and you must be okay with lumps. Just drop the spoon. The lumps will help keep the batter thick, and the leavening agent will activate in a more time-released manner.
In the picture you can see my batter. There aren’t big dusty swaths, but there are loads of pea-sized lumps. Even as the extra batter sits while I’m cooking, it will maintain its thick consistency.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
The results are clear. The pancake on the left was my mixed-until-smooth batter, and the pancake on the right was left lumpy.
Left: A flatter, overmixed pancake. Right: A properly mixed pancake with lofty bubbles.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
I think a lot of folks worry that leaving lumps will result in pockets of raw flour in the finished pancake, but you can see when sliced in half, there are no pockets of flour remaining. This is my recipe for simple, no-frills pancakes. It’s a great basic pancake mix to start with, so go ahead. Make yourself some lumpy pancakes.
Simple Fluffy Pancake Recipe
Ingredients:
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1 ½ cup flour
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3 tablespoons sugar
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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¼ teaspoon salt
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¾ cup milk, room temperature
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2 eggs, room temperature
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1 tablespoon butter, melted
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Additional butter for the pan
1. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a second bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the milk, eggs, and melted butter.
2. Begin heating your pan or griddle over medium-low heat.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk a few times, leaving it lumpy, but completely combined.
4. Add enough butter to coat the pan and quickly add a scoop of pancake batter. Let the pancake cook until the bubbles along the edge stay open and the center is starting to show bubbles. Flip the pancake and cook the other side for a minute or so. Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding butter as needed. Keep your pancakes warm using this simple method.
