Easy and Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes Recipe - Savory Nothings (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick 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.

Air! 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.

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.

Milk helps make pancakes fluffier than water. Since milk is thicker than water, it creates a thicker batter. Further, if you use whole milk or low fat milk, the fat content helps yield tender, fluffy results.

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.

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.

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.

Why are my pancakes flat and not fluffy? A flat pancake is usually the result of the batter being too wet. This is because there isn't enough strength from the flour to trap the bubbles produced by the baking soda.

What not to do when making pancakes? ›

Q – Should I make my batter in advance? 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.

Using milk instead of water when you're utilizing it as a mix-in creates a fluffier texture in the end, much like it does when the same is done to scrambled eggs. Restaurants also refrain from using butter and oil on the griddle, popular ways to grease pans when in your own kitchen, which tend to affect the flavor.

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. 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.

Too much egg, however, will make the pancake dense and custard-like; not enough will make it drier and more biscuit-like. 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.

Flat pancakes are nearly always because of expired baking powder, too little baking powder for the recipe size, or too thin of a batter. How to fix flat pancakes: First, test your baking powder by adding a teaspoon of baking powder in a glass and adding a tablespoon of water or two.

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.