I’m going to apologize right off the bat because this article doesn’t have a recipe with it even though it totally should.

In any case, pancakes are one of those quintessential recipes that thou shalt adore on lazy mornings in America. Pancakes are also a staple across the world, eaten all day in parts of Europe and often as a dessert in parts of South America.

We do them differently. In most of the world, a pancake is super thin, almost a crepe. The American pancake is most similar to the Dutch pannenkoeken—it’s thicker and heavier and will make you want to nap.

Now if you didn’t know, pancakes are shockingly easy. So easy in fact that one day when I’m president, I will make it illegal to sell pancake mix. They’re that easy. You just need a handful of ingredients and a snippet of knowhow, and you’re off to the races.

But how can we improve our pancakes? Is there even such thing? Well if you’ve never had those pancakes, I’m about to blow your mind. Try these six tips:

It’s All About the Fat

Let’s face it—pancakes are anything but a health food. Sure, I know there are people out there advertising their special high-protein keto pancakes, but it’s not the same. If you want a really good pancake, you need to accept that it’s an indulgence and you ought to eat it in moderation.

Here’s another way to look at it: if you know you’re about to indulge in a high-calorie food, you may as well indulge in the best way possible.

So let’s talk fat.

Most pancake recipes call for vegetable oil. Are you kidding me? The primary flavor you get from a pancake is the fat you cooked it with. Why in the world should I eat giant forkfuls of vegetable oil?

No. No more. No vegetable oil. Get that crap away from my pancake batter and off of my skillet. There’s a new kid in town who actually loves me:

Butter.

Oh baby. Take whatever pancake recipe is your favorite, and simply replace all the oil with melted butter. Pour melted butter into the batter and grease your skillet with more butter. Just like that, you probably just made the best pancakes you ever had. I’m serious.

Once you’ve had a pancake with no vegetable oil in it, normal pancakes don’t taste the same anymore. I go to breakfast diners and all I can taste is the highly-processed crap oil they’re sneaking me. Butter pancakes are an ultimate delight.

Add Some Sour Cream

This is another tip that doesn’t need a whole recipe. Just take whatever pancake recipe you always use (hopefully this time with butter instead of vegetable oil, if you read my last tip), and just add a spoonful or two of sour cream.

Sour cream’s acidic nature has a leavening effect on the pancake’s other ingredients, especially if you’ve added any baking powder. The result is a decadently fluffy pancake that sings and dances in your mouth and makes you realize that happiness actually has texture!

Experiment with Flour

If I haven’t been clear by now, by far the dominant flavor profile of any pancake is the fat you use. However, if you want some variety (and perhaps a few more health benefits), it can be a lot of fun to experiment with different types of flour.

I grew up eating my Nana’s wheat-germ pancakes, which have an earthy flavor that totally basks in maple syrup. In recent years, my dad has gotten into making pancakes with spelt flour. Another popular add in is blended up oats.

Anything you do to your flour will add more complex flavor and texture. It makes it seem a little less indulgent and a little more like a real meal.

Using only white flour is by no means a deal breaker; but using something other than white flour always gets me to prick my ears up (as long as you’re not using vegetable oil).

Don’t Overmix

Gluten. Gluten is a friend until it’s not. And when gluten isn’t a friend, it’s an enemy. There is no in between.

Two places where you want minimal gluten development are in pie crusts and in batters (ie crepes, waffles, aebleskivers, and pancakes).

And here’s the secret: the more you mix your flour, the more you activate your gluten. The more you activate your gluten, the more your pancakes will be tough and chewy instead of fluffy.

Most recipes say to “mix your pancake batter until there are just a few lumps.” I understand what this is getting at, but it misses the main point. Rather, the goal is to mix your batter exactly as much as necessary, but as little as reasonably possible. You want to mix the ingredients around only enough to get everything incorporated (no giant dry balls of flour floating around). After that, you’re good to go and more mixing will just make the pancakes worse.

Leave It Alone!

Here are the steps to cooking your pancake:

1. Get the pan nice and hot.
2. Melt some butter (or bacon lard if you’re feeling cheeky) and let it get hot as well.
3. Pour a nice circle of pancake batter onto the hot pan. You should hear a very gentle sizzle, but nothing too jarring.
4. Watch the bubbles rize and pop on the pancake. If you look through the cavities that form, you’ll be able to see about when the pancake is cooked halfway through.
5. Flip the pancake over, and here’s the crazy part…
6. LEAVE IT ALONE! DON’T TOUCH THE PANCAKE!

Feel free to lift up the pancake by its edge to check underneath and see if it's done cooking, but that’s it!

Here’s a list of what not to do after you’ve flipped the pancake:

• Don’t poke the pancake.
• Don’t prod the pancake.
• Don’t whisper secret insults to the pancake.
• Don’t question the pancakes career choices.
• Don’t press the pancake flat.

The goal here is to make the pancake fluffy. If you do any of the above, you’re just flattening that pancake and ruining all the great chemistry.

“But wait, Matthew, I’ve tried my pancakes fluffy and I prefer mine flat!”

You know what? I can’t really argue if you prefer your pancakes flattened. In that case, you might consider waffles or crepes or literally any other breakfast food, but to each his own.

Ditch the Syrup

I’m just kidding. Maple syrup is the best. But have you ever considered homemade syrup?

This is one of those things where you don’t know until you know. Let me put it this way, Mrs. Butterworth is probably an okay mom at best. There’s better syrup out there, and there’s better syrup waiting in your pantry.

    Matthew Christensen
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2023
    Email the author! matthew@dvo.com