How to make fluffy pancakes (2024)

FAQs

What makes pancakes more fluffy? ›

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.

Baking powder (double acting) provides two rises: The first occurs when the baking powder comes into contact with a liquid, the second when it's exposed to heat. Too much baking powder will create a very puffy pancake with a chalky taste, while too little will make it flat and limp.

Usually, pancake batter has baking soda or baking powder. Those react to water and heat— first reacting when the batter is mixed, then when the batter is cooked. The leavenings react and form carbon dioxide— the bubbles. The bubbles lift the batter, making it thick and fluffy.

Making good pancakes depends on three key factors: mixing the batter to the right consistency, heating the griddle properly and recognizing when to turn the cakes.

A – Ideally make your batter and let it rest for about 30 minutes before cooking. This allows the flour to absorb the liquid, making the pancakes lighter and fluffier. Q – Why buttermilk? The acidity of buttermilk reacts with the raising agents to make you pancakes lighter and fluffier.

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.

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.

In an interview with Delish, IHOP's vice president of culinary innovation revealed that the pancake house keeps the wet ingredients “ice cold” in the prepared batter. This eliminates any heat interaction with the glutens that might cause the batter to rise prematurely.

Restaurants have professional griddles

The constant heat leads to a more evenly cooked pancake, that never runs the risk of having the batter poured too early. If the heat is always at the right level, it's always the correct time.

What ingredient in a basic made from scratch pancake batter makes pancakes fluffy? ›

Flour: This homemade pancake recipe starts with all-purpose flour. Baking powder: Baking powder, a leavener, is the secret to fluffy pancakes.

How do you fix a pancake batter that is too thin? Slowly add small amounts of flour to get desired thickness. You may need too add a pinch of baking soda and baking powder depending on the amount of flour added. Let it rest a couple of minutes before making pancakes.

Whipping egg whites for pancakes (or waffles) helps to incorporate air into the batter, which creates bubbles. When you cook the pancakes, these bubbles expand due to the heat from the cooking surface, making the pancakes fluffy.