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

FAQs

What is the trick to making pancakes fluffy? ›

The tip, via Food52, relies on relaxed egg whites, aka unbeaten whites that have been allowed to sit for a bit. The pancake technique calls for the eggs to be separated and for the yolks to be mixed into a buttermilk, milk, and melted butter mixture.

The combination of homemade buttermilk (milk and vinegar) and two leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) create lots of air bubbles in the pancake batter, resulting in the lightest and fluffiest pancakes imaginable.

Baking powder and baking soda are the chemical leaveners typically used in pancakes. They are responsible for the bubbles in the batter, and for making the cakes light and fluffy.

Sugar: Sugar binds with the water in the batter and slows the development of the gluten. That means pancakes with a tablespoon of sugar will be softer, less rubbery, less elastic. Sugar will also aid in browning and give you those crispy edges that no pancake can do without.

Baking Soda

It's used to chemically leaven doughs and batters when it is mixed with an acid. Combining baking soda with an acid produces a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas which causes the food to expand and become fluffy. Think about light and airy pancakes. That's the baking soda at work.

Using extra virgin olive oil in place of the melted butter in this recipe adds moisture in addition to flavor, resulting in a light and fluffy pancake that's perfectly tender and moist, not dry or doughy in the least.

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. When you don't add enough eggs, the cakes will be drier and tougher.

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.

Using too much baking soda or baking powder can really mess up a recipe, causing it to rise uncontrollably and taste terrible.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Pour ¼ cup of pancake batter for each pancake onto the griddle. Cook until the edges start to set and the pancakes are golden-brown underneath.

Why are restaurant pancakes so fluffy? ›

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.

Pancake lovers' biggest complaint when adding water instead of milk is that the flavor seems to change. Pancakes aren't as richly flavored with water. There are a few ways to improve your batter when you've used water, including: Add extra butter.

The first is that the batter is a bit runny. Add a little more flour (or mix) to make a thicker batter, and see if that fluffs up the pancakes. The other reason I can think of is that the leavening is either past its prime, or not getting enough time to work before cooking.