Sunday, February 19, 2006
Les pancakes
Weekends are for pancakes, especially freezing cold weekends.
Growing up, we had pancakes almost every weekend, and I always looked forward to them. Since I had family in town, I'd been harbouring a craving for pancakes, which came to a head late Saturday night. I decided to wait for Sunday come 'round, and as usual, I used whatever I had in my kitchen.
This recipe is pretty much the same one that was used by my family. The measurements in this recipe are approximations, as we never measured the milk and flour we used. Most importantly, the batter, after resting, should be able to coat the back of a ladle, but still be runny (see pic). I've heard that this consistency is similar to paint...but seeing as I've not had to paint a room yet, I can't corroborate this observation.
Beat eggs in a bowl. Add vanilla extract. Measure and mix baking powder into flour. Combine all ingredients by alternatively adding flour mixture and milk into the egg mixture. Mix until there are no lumps, but do not overmix, or the pancakes will be more gummy than fluffy. Heat pan and melt a small pat of butter. Using a ladle, pour batter into melted butter and cook on medium heat. Flip pancake when bubbles have formed holes in the uncooked side. Cook to a golden brown, then transfer to plate, top with favourite topping and eat standing up at the stove, while you cook the rest of the batter. Pancakes are best straight off the pan. Makes about 6 medium pancakes.
Today I alternated between maple syrup and Sarabeth's strawberry and raspberry preserves. Used one plate for pancakes topped with syrup and another plate for those with preserves--I'm not a fan of topping cross-contamination. Also, you can put those bubble holes to work when topping with maple syrup; the holes act like waffle wells. I think the smooth side works better with preserves.
Growing up, we had pancakes almost every weekend, and I always looked forward to them. Since I had family in town, I'd been harbouring a craving for pancakes, which came to a head late Saturday night. I decided to wait for Sunday come 'round, and as usual, I used whatever I had in my kitchen.
This recipe is pretty much the same one that was used by my family. The measurements in this recipe are approximations, as we never measured the milk and flour we used. Most importantly, the batter, after resting, should be able to coat the back of a ladle, but still be runny (see pic). I've heard that this consistency is similar to paint...but seeing as I've not had to paint a room yet, I can't corroborate this observation.- 2 large eggs (preferably Pete and Gerry's eggs, if near New Hampshire)
- 3/4 C whole milk
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1 t baking powder (Rumford always works well...and it doesn't have aluminium in it)
- 3/4 C all-purpose whole wheat flour (although I've also used unbleached white, and it works well too)
- Salted butter. Enough to grease the pan--essential for achieving crispy, savoury pancake edges, which is my favourite thing about pancakes.
Beat eggs in a bowl. Add vanilla extract. Measure and mix baking powder into flour. Combine all ingredients by alternatively adding flour mixture and milk into the egg mixture. Mix until there are no lumps, but do not overmix, or the pancakes will be more gummy than fluffy. Heat pan and melt a small pat of butter. Using a ladle, pour batter into melted butter and cook on medium heat. Flip pancake when bubbles have formed holes in the uncooked side. Cook to a golden brown, then transfer to plate, top with favourite topping and eat standing up at the stove, while you cook the rest of the batter. Pancakes are best straight off the pan. Makes about 6 medium pancakes.
Today I alternated between maple syrup and Sarabeth's strawberry and raspberry preserves. Used one plate for pancakes topped with syrup and another plate for those with preserves--I'm not a fan of topping cross-contamination. Also, you can put those bubble holes to work when topping with maple syrup; the holes act like waffle wells. I think the smooth side works better with preserves.// posted by mc @ 1:39 PM 
