Fluffy American Buttermilk Pancakes

About This Recipe

American buttermilk pancakes — the diner classic, stacked tall and drowning in maple syrup. The secret is buttermilk (real, not faked — though we give the substitute), a high enough rise from baking soda + baking powder, and not overmixing the batter. Lumps are GOOD. Smooth pancake batter = tough pancakes.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 gplain flour
• 3 tbspcaster sugar
• 2 tspbaking powder
• 1 tspbaking soda
• 0.75 tspfine sea salt
• 500 mlbuttermilk(or 470ml milk + 30ml lemon juice — let stand 10 mins)
• 2 largeeggs(lightly beaten)
• 60 gunsalted butter(melted, plus extra for the pan)
• 2 tspvanilla extract
• maple syrup, butter and berries(to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Whisk dry ingredients

   In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the centre.

2. 2

   Combine wet ingredients

   In a jug, whisk buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla until smooth.

3. 3

   Combine — DON'T OVERMIX

   Pour wet into dry. Stir with a fork or whisk JUST until no flour streaks remain. Lumps are good. Overmixing develops gluten and makes pancakes tough.

   Stop mixing the moment streaks disappear — about 8-10 strokes.

4. 4

   Rest the batter (game-changer)

   Let the batter REST for 10 minutes. The flour hydrates fully and the leaveners activate. This is the difference between flat and tall pancakes.

5. 5

   Cook on medium heat

   Heat a wide skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Brush lightly with butter. Pour batter in 100ml portions for each pancake. Cook 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface and the bottom is golden. Flip ONCE and cook 90 more seconds.

   Medium-low heat is the secret to evenly golden pancakes. Too hot = burnt outside, raw inside.

6. 6

   Stack and serve

   Stack 3-4 pancakes per plate. Top with a generous knob of butter (it melts down through), pour maple syrup over the top. Add fresh berries. Serve immediately.

Variations

• •

  Blueberry: drop 60g blueberries onto each pancake AFTER pouring batter.

• •

  Banana: slice ½ banana into thin discs, place on pancake before flipping.

• •

  Lemon Ricotta: substitute 200g ricotta for 200ml of the buttermilk; add lemon zest.

• •

  Chocolate Chip: fold 100g mini chocolate chips into the batter.

• •

  Protein: add 30g protein powder; reduce flour by 30g.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked pancakes up to 3 days. Freeze for 1 month — reheat in toaster.

Frequently Asked Questions