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

FAQs

What is the trick to making pancakes fluffy? ›

For fluffier pancakes, use buttermilk. The acidity of buttermilk helps to tenderize the gluten in the flour, which results in fluffier pancakes. If you don't have buttermilk, whole milk will give the pancakes a richer flavor, while skim milk will give them a lighter and fluffier feel.

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

Baking powder, like baking soda, is a chemical leavening agent made with sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda) plus a weak acid, such as potassium bitartrate. Baking soda is essential for baked goods, but baking powder is really what makes pancakes and biscuits rise and become so super fluffy.

1. Use Milk/ Alternative Milk Instead Of Water. Even though the mix may call for water, you can easily substitute that for an alternative milk (I like oat milk). You may have to add a dash more due to the difference in consistency, but it'll taste so much better!

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.

Gordon Ramsay's recipe

You will need 2 eggs, separated, 2 tbsp sugar, ½ tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 60g vegetable oil, 300g buttermilk, 160g plain flour, and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Whisk the egg whites “*ntil foamy”. MiX all the other ingredients in a second bowl, then fold in the egg whites.

To make the fluffiest pancakes possible, you need to make bubbles in the batter. You can make bubbles by using a raising agent, such as baking powder, and by making and cooking your batter quickly.

Flour is the main ingredient to any pancake. It provides the structure. Different types of flours alter the structure because some flours absorb more moisture or create more gluten (which binds the structure together) than others.

Note that mayonnaise contains eggs and oil, so it can replace oil or butter as well. This trick may not work as an egg replacement for an allergy or egg-free diet (unless it's a vegan mayo) but it works for those who don't have eggs on hand in a pinch.

What happens if you don't put baking soda in pancakes? ›

For baked goods that don't require too much leavening, such as cookies or pancakes, it's actually OK to leave out the baking soda completely — they just won't be as light and fluffy. If you do go this route when making pancakes, Gan recommends pouring less batter into the pan to cover the same surface area.

Baking powder and baking soda are the leavening ingredients responsible for making pancakes light and airy, but add too much and they'll make your pancakes taste chalky, and add too little and you'll risk your pancakes turning out limp (via Bon Appetit).

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.

Top tips for fluffy pancakes

Don't be tempted to add more than the recipe suggests, as too much baking powder will make pancakes taste soapy. Alternatively, you could use self-raising flour, which will add to the amount of raising agent in the recipe and potentially make your pancakes fluffier.

The options include sifting your dry ingredients to aerate the mix, adding milk or a milk alternative, or beating egg whites to fold into your mixture. Each one of these will have you feeling like you're biting into a sweet pancake cloud.

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.