Cooking Pancakes

Lunawolfy · 1 Jun 2013 at 19:16

Hey all,

Recently I've been trying to cook lovely pancakes however I'm encountering a couple of issues:

They never seem to be cooked through properly, they are always a tad soft inside.
The bottom looks great, the top side, once flipped, looks dry like a crepé or naan bread. :/

Any tips!?

seabiscuit · 1 Jun 2013 at 20:01

Use more oil for the looking dry, as for a bit soft, try less milk, or maybe more milk so that it spreads more. Experiment. Eat pancakes in the name of science (that's pretty much my dream job right there).

Illgresi · 2 Jun 2013 at 00:20

Every recipe I've ever seen says to use a very hot pan, I find that causes the exact problem you're having, that the centre isn't cooked by the time they're almost burning on the outside.

I use a medium flame, and leave them on the one side until almost cooked right through, then flip and cook on the other side until nice and golden. Also, try this recipe:

225g Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
4 tsps Baking Powder
2 Eggs separated
290ml Milk
50g Butter (melted and cooled)

1. Put dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well. Add egg yolks and 1/4 of the milk. Mix, gradually adding milk as you go
2. Fold in melted butter
3. Whisk egg whites to soft peaks, then fold through mixture.

Simple, and really tasty. The whipped egg whites give it a great, light texture.

UltimateChef314 · 2 Jun 2013 at 07:57

Flip them two or three times and if you want to properly cook the center prod the pancake with a fork when it's partially cooked. That way it has mini gaps that allow the heat in.

johnny6 · 2 Jun 2013 at 21:54

I normally use a non stick pan on a medium heat. Gives the pancake enough time to cook through without burning/crisping the outside. Flip/turn once no need for mess with the pancake in the pan to much.

As said earlier separate the eggs and fold in the egg whites once you have whipped them. Really lightens up the mixture. I like to add vanilla extract as well.

snitcher · 3 Jun 2013 at 10:50

try to use a bit more oil.

dpbadger · 3 Jun 2013 at 11:12

I do cup of milk, cup of self raising flour, 1 egg and blitz in a blender then leave to rest for 15 minutes. Matbe a pinch of salt as well.
Hot pan with butter in put 1 pancake worth of batter in the pan then turn heat down slightly so it doesn't burn. Then flip when the bubbles break on the surface.
Do a few test runs with maple syrup and coconut or vanilla yoghurt. LLLooovveelllyy(voice of Nigella Lawson)