How to Make Pancakes

"Selling like hot cakes" is a common phrase and for good reason. Pancakes are quick to make and delicious. If you are new to cooking, making pancakes from scratch is a great place to start. With a little mixing and a little cooking, you'll be on your way to becoming a first-rate chef.

Basic Pancake Recipe

There are many variations to the pancake recipe, but I bet you have the ingredients to make a decent pancake in your kitchen right now.

Ingredients

A good basic recipe to start you on your way to making pancakes from scratch is this one:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a bowl. If you have a whisk, use it, and make sure the ingredients are well mixed. Otherwise you can use a fork.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg, then add the milk and oil. Mix until it is thoroughly combined.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk them together for about a minute. The mixture should be a bit lumpy.
4. Heat a griddle or large cast iron skillet over medium heat until a drop of water dropped onto the skillet sizzles.
5. Now pour about a third of a cup of batter into the pan. This isn't exact. If you want larger pancakes, pour more. For smaller pancakes, pour less batter.
6. Cook the first side approximately two minutes two minutes or until the bubbles that form on the top pop.
7. Flip it over and let the other side cook for about a minute or until golden brown.

Crepe Expectations

Now that you are an expert on making pancakes from scratch, it is time to move up to the fancy stuff. Crepes are very much like pancakes. They are flat. They are yummy, and if you want to impress people with your culinary expertise, there is no easier way than putting a plate of hot crepes in front of them. With some strawberries and a bit of powdered sugar, you have a gourmet breakfast.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons whole milk
• Pinch salt
• 4 1/2 teaspoons melted unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Put the flour, eggs, milk, salt, and 4 1/2 teaspoons of butter in your blender and blend to form a smooth, thin batter.
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before proceeding.
3. Heat up a crepe pan or a 6-inch non-stick pan over a medium flame until a drop of water dropped on the pan sizzles.
4. Put a touch of butter in it and let it melt. Just a little butter goes a long way, you just want to coat the pan.
5. Add enough batter to barely cover the bottom of the pan and cook it for 30 seconds. When the crepe is firm enough to flip, flip it over. Plan to throw this first crepe in the trash. Inevitably, the first crepe always falls apart.
6. In classic French cooking, a crepe should have no color, but in real life, that is just too insane to worry about. If your crepe is lightly browned, it is perfect.

Make as many as you have batter for at one time, the batter won't keep long, but the crepes freeze very well. You can fill them with Nutella or jam or just powder them with sugar. Crepes are rather versatile. They are even used to make manicotti in restaurants.

Waffle Recipe

Now that you can make pancakes from scratch and whip up a crepe with ease, it's time to move away from things that are as flat as Kansas. Waffles are just another variation of the pancake from scratch recipe.

Ingredients

You probably have a waffle iron in your kitchen. Plug it in, and while it heats, gather the following:

• 1 1/3 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¾ cups milk
• ½ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

By now you should know the drill.

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.
3. Add the wet to the dry all at one time.
4. Whisk until mixed but just a touch lumpy.
5. Pour about a cup of the batter onto the waffle iron and close.
6. When the waffle is golden brown, take it out, eat and repeat.

Making Pancakes from Scratch

The best part about learning how to make pancakes from scratch is that you pretty much always have the ingredients in your kitchen. They are great by themselves or you can drop some blueberries into the batter as they cook or serve them with eggs or use buckwheat flour or add bananas or...ok you get the point.