![]() ![]() However, buttermilk is not your only option. This process of fermentation converts the milk sugars to lactic acid, giving it its tangy flavour. These days it’s made by adding bacteria cultures to pasteurised milk, which is left to ferment. Choosing your acidīuttermilk is the classic choice for an American style pancake. While baking powder already has an acid added in it, in order for the bicarbonate of soda to work, it needs to react with an acid, which bring us neatly on to. Sifting is a good idea anyway because it’s going to get lots of air into the flour and help create a light pancake. ![]() Likewise, little lumps of it in the batter will taste horrible, so make sure you sift it in with the flour. Most recipes will call for baking powder, but if you also add in a little bicarbonate of soda you’re going to get an extra boost.īicarb is powerful stuff but too much of it can lead to a very unpleasant metallic or soapy flavour. All riseĪ raising agent is essential for lift. There are three key components to getting the fluffiest pancakes ever : the raising agent, the acid and egg whites. However, I must confess that under the unique kind of pressure that only ravenous and impatient children can impress on you, I have skipped the resting time and the pancakes have still turned out absolutely fine. Resting for 15 minutes is good, 30 minutes is even better – and you can also leave it in the fridge overnight if you’re being organised and planning ahead. ![]() It allows the gluten to relax, resulting in tender pancakes, and the flour to hydrate fully, which improves texture. And rest….Īfter all that whisking, allowing the batter to rest is a jolly good thing. The secret to lump-free batter is to whisk the milk in gradually, making a very thick batter to begin with, which will essentially squash any lumps out, and then thin it to the right consistency. The batter should be the consistency of single cream and free of any lumps. As with most sweet dishes, a touch of salt is a never a bad thing and I tend to add a good pinch of it. I often switch out half the plain flour for buckwheat, which introduces earthy, savoury tones, or chestnut flour which gives a lovely nutty flavour. I also love to experiment with different types of flour. ![]() If you’re feeling really decadent, you could even add a splash of cream to the batter, or try a glug of beer for a malty flavour and really lacy edges. Likewise a couple of tablespoons of melted butter will make for a more luxurious batter and, some believe, help the pancakes not to stick in the pan. If you’re playing around with the ingredients, extra egg yolks can lend a richness. Not me: I like to use a mix of water and milk in my pancake batter, as it makes for a lighter, frillier-edged pancake. Whichever way you like yours – thin and lacy, crêpe style, or fat and fluffy, so-called American style – there are some easy rules to follow to achieve pancake perfection.įor crêpes or thin pancakes, when it comes to the liquid ingredients, there are some who swear by a straight mix of milk and eggs. Well, this truly was ground-breaking – a definite departure from my mum’s (or should I say Delia’s ?) version. In my 20s, while cooking in restaurants for a living, I came across smaller, fluffier pancakes, piled high and served with bacon and banana. At the time, we thought this was extremely fancy. Sometimes, if my brother and I hadn’t managed to demolish our usual quota, or if my mum had doubled the recipe and had enough time to fry more pancakes, we would eat them again the next day, served savoury, stuffed with bacon and mushrooms or spinach and cream. The pancakes of my childhood were always cooked and sprinkled with white granulated sugar and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Emotions run high when it comes to this dish that doubles up as both a breakfast and dessert, and with so much written on them, there is a lot to unpack. For something so simple, I don’t think there can be many knottier subjects than pancakes. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |