How to Make Pancakes From Scratch

For many of us, one of the best breakfast options are pancakes. When it comes to making pancakes, we usually reach for the box of instant pancakes which only requires you to add water or milk because it is a fast way to do it. But there is a quick way to make pancakes from scratch that takes almost the same amount of time and tastes better than the pancakes from a box. Following these very simple steps will allow you to not only have better tasting pancakes, but it will also give you more nutritious pancakes that use fresh ingredients.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

(For 10-12 pancakes)

Time: 20-25 Minutes.

Dry Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 cup of flour
• A pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 cup of buttermilk or regular milk.
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter.

Other

• Pan or griddle. (If using a pan, you will need access to a stove top.)
• Cooking spray for pan or butter
• Spatula
• Mixing bowl
• Wisk
• Medium size spoon
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring glass for milk
• Microwavable bowl for melting the butter

Steps:

1. In a mixing bowl, add in the dry ingredients and mix them together. The dry ingredients include the baking powder, baking soda, sugar, flour and the salt.  When measuring the flour, make sure to pack as much flour in the measuring cup as you can to ensure that you have enough flour. When measuring the baking soda, sugar, and baking powder, make sure to scrape the top of the measuring spoons to make sure that you are not adding too much of an ingredient. The pinch of salt should be about the amount of salt that you could pinch in your fingertips.

Dry Ingredients measured out

2. After the dry ingredients are mixed together, add in the wet ingredients. The wet ingredients include the buttermilk, one egg, and the butter. When we made the pancakes, we used regular milk and they turned out just as well as they would with buttermilk. When cracking the egg, begin by hitting the egg gently against the side of the bowl to put a small crack into the egg. When you have the small crack, gently force the crack upwards to break the egg open. This will help to prevent pieces of the egg shell from getting in the bowl. When the yolk and egg white are in the bowl, use one of the egg halves to scoop the remaining liquid dripping from the other half to prevent a mess when throwing the egg away. When melting the butter, use a microwavable bowl and microwave it for 15 to 20 seconds, the butter should not be completely melted. When mixing the ingredients, make sure that the consistency of the batter is smooth and that it has no clumps. If desired, you can add in chocolate chips or pieces of fruit into the batter.

Wet Ingredients

3. After the ingredients are mixed together, use a pan on a stove or a griddle and turn the griddle or the stovetop on to medium heat. Coat the pan in either cooking spray or butter to prevent pancakes from sticking to the pan. If you are using butter, use around a half a tablespoon and allow for some time for the butter to melt completely onto the pan.

Pan Coated in Butter

4. When the pan or griddle is ready to use, add a medium size spoon full of the batter onto the pan. When adding more spoonful's on, make sure there is around a couple inches of space between them. To make a pancake in a circular shape, start by adding a small spoonful and place it in a small circle. Then add more batter on top of the circle slowly. This will help your pancakes to cook in a more circular shape.

Batter on Pan

5. After the pancake batter is on the pan or griddle, wait for the edges to set. To know if the edges are set, the sides of the pancake will not look runny. Once the edges are set, flip the pancake by using a spatula. Flip pancakes frequently to prevent them from burning. To save time with cleaning up, get your sink ready to wash dishes and wash your dishes while the pancakes are cooking. It also works better if you have another person helping with making the pancakes so one person can cook pancakes while the other washes dishes and cleans up.  

(Left) Edges Setting on Pancake (Right) Pancake After Being Flipped

6. When each side of the pancake is a light brown they are ready to be served. For best results serve pancakes warm. Toppings that can be used are maple syrup, butter, whip cream, fruit, or you can come up with your own!

Finished Pancakes

Following these steps will allow you and your family to enjoy better tasting pancakes compared to making them from a box. Not only do they taste better, but they are better for you and are easy to make!

Authors: Jackson Campbell, Jake Raasch, Jordan Sorenson