Fluffy pancakes recipe | Good Food

8 slices pancetta
to serve (optional)
sunflower oil
and butter, for cooking
blueberries
to serve (optional)

For the pancakes

300g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 medium eggs
1 tbsp maple syrup
plus extra to serve
300ml milk

Method

step 1
If serving with pancetta, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and lay on the pancetta in a single layer. Put another piece of parchment on top, followed by a second baking tray, and bake for 12-15 mins until crisp.
step 2
To make the pancakes, get a little helper to weigh out and tip the flour, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl with a small pinch of salt. Crack in the eggs and whisk until smooth. Add the maple syrup and milk while whisking.
step 3
Heat a splash of oil and a small knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan until sizzling. Add spoonfuls of batter to make pancakes the size you like, we made 20cm pancakes for a serving size of one per person, or if you are very hungry, two per person. Cook until bubbles start to form on the surface, then flip and cook the other side. Eat straight away or keep warm in a low oven while you cook another batch. Serve pancakes with pancetta or blueberries, drizzled with extra maple syrup.

Fluffy pancakes technique

1. Don’t over-mix your batter

It's fine if you have a few lumps. The more you mix, the more the gluten will develop, which will create tougher pancakes.

2. Don’t let the batter hang around for too long

It's best to use it before bubbles start to form in the mixture, as the pancakes may not rise fully when cooking.

3. Make sure your pan is hot enough to cook the batter quickly

Top tips for fluffy pancakes

1. Adding baking powder is the easiest way to make fluffy pancakes

There’s more than one way to make the bubbles that make a pancake fluffy, but the easiest way is by adding a raising agent such as baking powder.

Most baking powder is double action – it starts to activate and make bubbles of carbon dioxide when the wet ingredients are added to the dry, and then is activated again to make more bubbles when the pancakes are cooked.

Don’t be tempted to add more than the recipe suggests, as too much baking powder will make pancakes taste soapy.

Alternatively, you could use self-raising flour, which will add to the amount of raising agent in the recipe and potentially make your pancakes fluffier.

Because gluten-free flours don’t work in the same way, it’s harder to make fluffy pancakes with them, but whisking the egg white and folding it into the mixture will help. Healthy pancakes that have lower amounts of raising agents to keep the salt levels down will also come out flatter.

Some pancakes such as blinis use yeast to make their bubbles, while others rely on whisked egg whites.

2. Use bicarbonate of soda for buttermilk pancakes

If you have a recipe for buttermilk pancakes, then you might notice that you need bicarbonate of soda instead of baking powder. This is because buttermilk is acidic and will react with the alkaline bicarbonate of soda to give the same effect. Baking powder is nothing more than bicarbonate of soda with an added powdered acid. If you swap buttermilk with milk in a recipe, you will also need to make sure your raising agent is baking powder. Bicarbonate of soda also helps the pancake to brown.

3. Add buttermilk or yogurt for a thicker batter

A thicker liquid will make a thicker batter, and you need a thick batter for a fluffy pancake – thin batter makes a crêpe-like pancake. Buttermilk and yogurt are often used in fluffy pancake batters to add thickness, as adding more flour to a thin batter will make a stodgy, thick pancake. Don’t be tempted to add cream though, because fat affects gluten and gives a crumblier, less fluffy texture.