Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
There is nothing like a stack of fluffy old fashioned buttermilk pancakes smothered in maple syrup on a weekend morning–or any morning! And if you’re using a boxed mix to make yours, you have to stop right now! They are so easy to make with the most basic of kitchen staples–and they taste way better too!
Not that I would ever refuse a pancake made from a mix–they can be quite tasty too. But if you have some all purpose flour, buttermilk and eggs, you’re more than halfway there. You can save a few dollars (and cupboard space) and whip up a batch in no time. So grab yourself a mixing bowl, a big measuring cup and a whisk and let’s make some old fashioned buttermilk pancakes!
What Ingredients go in Buttermilk Pancakes?
To make a batch of buttermilk pancakes this weekend, you will need:
- All purpose flour
- Sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Eggs
- Oil or melted butter
- And of course…buttermilk!
Can I Use Regular Milk Instead of Buttermilk?
If you use regular milk instead of buttermilk to make your pancakes, they will still turn out delicious. But buttermilk contains acidic cultures that react with the leaveners (in this case, baking powder and baking soda), making your pancakes that much fluffier.
Fortunately you can even make your own mock version of buttermilk with regular milk. For every cup of buttermilk you need for the recipe, simply add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar and allow it to stand for 10 minutes. You may notice a little curdling and even thickening of the milk–this is basically buttermilk! And it works pretty much as well too!
What’s the Secret for Thick, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes?
There are a few simple tricks to getting thick, fluffy old fashioned buttermilk pancakes every time. If you haven’t been experiencing success when trying to achieve this, try these helpful tips:
- Mix the dry ingredients separately from the wet ingredients. If you try to mix everything in a bowl all at once, you will have to do a lot of stirring to incorporate everything well. The more you stir the batter, the more gluten you’ll develop and the tougher and less fluffy your pancakes will turn out. So mix them separately!
- Use buttermilk or make it yourself. As mentioned earlier, the acidity in buttermilk reacts with the chemical leaveners in the dry ingredients. This creates a foaming action that will raise your pancakes to maximum fluffiness. No buttermilk? Just use a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar for every cup of milk and allow it to stand for 10 minutes. This is a perfect substitute for buttermilk.
- Do not cut down the amount of sugar. Sugar not only contributes to sweetness and flavor–it also helps make baked goods soft and fluffy. This recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of sugar, which isn’t that much to begin with. If you try to reduce that amount, your pancakes might not only be bland, but they might be less soft and fluffy.
- Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are fresh. So many baked goods fail because the chemical leaveners (baking powder and baking soda) are past their expiry dates. Check the dates on your leaveners and if they are more then a year old, replace them immediately.
- Don’t overmix the batter–it should be lumpy! I know it’s tempting to take a whisk to a bowl of lumpy batter, but doing so in this case will develop lots of gluten which can make your pancakes turn out tough. The batter should be lumpy–the lumps will disappear when you cook them.
- If using melted butter, add it last. If you choose to use melted butter instead of oil for your pancake batter, add it slightly after you’ve added the wet ingredients to the dry. If you add it to the cold milk and egg mixture, the butter will solidify and won’t mix in properly.
- Use medium heat. If your heat is too low, your pancakes can not only take too long to cook, but they can dry out in the process. If your heat is too high, they will cook too fast on the outside and stay raw and gooey in the middle. Medium heat is usually the best for achieving perfect pancakes.
I hope the information in this post will help you with your fluffy buttermilk pancake success this weekend. Give this recipe a try along with the helpful tips I’ve given you. And don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how your fluffy buttermilk pancakes turned out for you!
If you like this recipe, try these other delicious breakfast recipes too!
- Best Cheese Scones
- Best Blueberry Scones
- Best Blueberry Muffins
- Best Bran Muffins – One Bowl Recipe
- Amazing One Bowl Sweet Potato Muffins
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla optional
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In another smaller bowl or a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla (if using). If you are using melted butter instead of the oil, do not add it in at this point. Whisk the mixture together well to beat the egg until it's smooth.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir to just combine. If you are using melted butter, stir it in now. This will prevent the butter from solidifying in the cold buttermilk. The batter should look lumpy. Do not over stir; mix only enough to incorporate any dry pockets of flour. Allow batter to rest for 30 minutes (this step is optional, but it yields a better pancake).
- Preheat and grease a large skillet or cast iron pan on medium heat for several minutes until hot. Reduce heat to medium low. If your pancake batter has thickened too much while resting, add a few spoons of buttermilk to thin it slightly.
- Drop desired sized portions of batter onto the hot skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes. There should be little bubbles forming on the surface of the pancakes and the edges may start to dry out slightly. Flip the pancake and cook another minute on the other side. You can prick the pancake with a knife to ensure it is cooked thoroughly.
- Cook all the remaining pancakes. You can hold the ready pancakes on a platter covered with foil in a warm oven while you finish. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup or jam.