Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Perfection. . .in a Pancake!

I have been on a mission, for a year now. A quest for the PERFECT buttermilk pancake. I wanted the light, fluffy, melt in your mouth kind of goodness you get at the Cracker Barrel. Ya know, where the syrup soaks into the pancake, and every bite is a mouth full of wonderful?

And I wanted it to come out of my kitchen.

I tweaked my recipe, trying this and that, determined that a mere buttermilk pancake would not get the best of me. And yet, after a year of trying, I still had not achieved pancake perfection.

And then, IT happened. That moment in the middle of meal preparation, when a child was in dire need of my attention. I was forced to leave my pancake batter, waiting by a hot griddle, while I dealt with the "emergency". But when I returned, I found a surprise waiting for me. Something I never would have thought of on my own.

And with that, the perfect buttermilk pancake was born, or poured. Yep. . .let's go with poured.

What you will need:

2 cups self rising flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cultured buttermilk powder
2 eggs slightly beaten
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups cold water
100% real maple syrup
1 arm and 1 leg to pay for above mentioned maple syrup

In a mixing bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients. And before you ask, NO, you cannot substitute all purpose flour for the self rising flour. We are talking about the PERFECT buttermilk pancake here!

So, take your. . .



and your. . .



Then add your salt and your. . .



and also your. . .



And once again, no substitutes on the powdered buttermilk. Liquid buttermilk will not produce the same results. Remember, I spent a year testing this.

Now you are ready for your water and. . .



Remember to slightly beat the eggs, and melt the butter. Overlook the fact that my eggs are not beaten in the picture. They made a prettier picture this way.

Don't forget to have your griddle heated and ready to go.



Use a whisk to mix together.



Just until moistened. . .



Now, walk away. Go get the mail, put moisturizer on your face, solve latest child disaster, whatever you want. But only for 3 minutes. You will come back to this.



Notice how the batter has risen? This is why you need self rising flour, powdered buttermilk, and baking soda and baking powder. Letting the batter rise, is the secret I discovered by accident. I did not get a pictured of the pancakes right after I poured them onto the griddle and I am sorry for that. When poured, they will be thick and they will not run everywhere or spread out a great deal.

When you flip them over, after cooking on the first side, you can see them rise as they cook.



When they come off, spread with soft butter, and top with 100% real maple syrup. Only, I suggest planning ahead when purchasing said maple syrup. I would NOT buy it at the mom and pop health food store up the street. Nope, I would really not recommend that. Unless of course, you remembered your arm and leg for payment. I could tell you what my bottle of maple syrup cost, but then I'd have to, you know. . .

I recommend sending your husband to Whole Foods Market on his lunch hour, to purchase their brand of 100% maple syrup. That is a much better plan.

And yes, you can use pancake syrup. But it would be a crime.



This my friends, is the finished product. A stack of melt in your mouth, fluffy, buttery pancakes, with the syrup all soaked in.

Enjoy.



Oh, there is one more thing.

Don't forget to do the dishes.



Please, if you try the recipe, be sure and let me know what you think!

blessedwith3

3 comments:

westover girl said...

MMmmmmmmmmmm! Sounds wonderful. I must try them. Thanks for the tips.

Sandi said...

Thank you Mary. I promise, they do not disappoint!

Mom2my10 @ 11th Heaven said...

I love, love, love cooking tutorials like this with LOTS of photos! Great job, Sandi! I love pancakes, too, and these sound delicious! Have a great day!