Buttermilk Pancakes

I made a birthday cake for my significant other earlier this month. It was a banana-bread cake with bananas and custard between the layers and chocolate frosting over the cake. Caused a serious sugar rush. Anyway, the recipe required a small amount of buttermilk. Since I rarely use buttermilk, I decided to use the remainder to make pancakes, and found them to be better than my previous recipe... (Recipe adapted from the 'Joy of Cooking' by Irma S. Rombauer):

Take 2 bowls. In the larger bowl, place the following dry ingredients:
1 cup AP flour, 0.5 cups Whole-wheat flour, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt. Mix well.

In the smaller bowl, place the following wet ingredients:
1.5 cups buttermilk, 3 tbsp butter (melted), 2 eggs (beaten), 0.5 tsp vanilla extract. Stir until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix gently with a fork until everything is just mixed together. Do not over-mix - lumps are fine. Allow the batter to rest for a few minutes and then preheat a large nonstick pan with a little butter. Once hot, ladle portions of batter into the pan. Cook until the tops begin to bubble, then flip and cook until the second side is golden. Remove to a platter and top with Vermont maple syrup!

Note 1 - If you do not have whole wheat flour, you can substitute any other kind of flour, or just use a total of 1.5 cups of all-purpose. I find that a little whole wheat flour gives the pancakes a nice texture.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1 cup = 240 ml; 0.5 cups = 120 ml; 1.5 cups = 360 ml.

Pancakes

Today, by special request, pancakes!

It is preferable to weigh the flour (because even the same batch of flour can give you different volume measurements for the same weight), but I have provided a volume equivalent for those without scales.

Start by measuring 10 floz of milk, cracking and beating 1 egg and putting 1.5 oz (3 tbsp) butter in a pan over low heat to melt. I use the pan which I will be using to cook the pancakes (a large skillet). This accomplishes the additional task of greasing the pan. Allowing the milk and egg to come to room temperature will help with the mixing.

Next, measure 8 oz all-purpose flour (1.5 cups) into a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix these dry ingredients together.

Now mix the wet ingredients - melted butter, milk and egg. Then stir the wet gently into the dry. Lumps are OK - do not over-mix. Allow the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate.

Now the mix is ready to use. Ladle out 1/4 cup (2 floz) portions into a preheated greased non-stick skillet (or onto a hot griddle). Medium heat usually works well.

Cook pancakes until the tops become quite bubbly and the bottoms are a light brown. Flip with a spatula and cook the second side until also light brown. Remove to a plate. Eat with Vermont maple syrup!

This recipe makes approximately 8 pancakes (I didn't measure the portions, hence the approximation).

Note 1 - There are endless variations to this recipe. You can replace part of the flour (I would suggest 2 oz) with a different type of flour (e.g. whole grain) for a different texture. You can also add fruit (bananas and blueberries are favorites in my house) or chocolate chips - just push into the tops while you are cooking the first side. You can also substitute buttermilk for half of the milk for a more tangy flavor.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 10 floz = 300 ml; 2 floz = 60 ml; 8 oz = 225g; 2 oz = 55g.

This recipe is adapted from one in 'The Good Housekeeping Cookbook' of the same name.