The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES They may be golden brown, crisp on the edges, and light and fluffy in the center, but when yo ...

respect)†. When flour is mixed with liquid, two proteins naturally present in wheat, glutenin a ...

include a significant acidic ingredient. That’s why you see so many classic recipes for buttermilk pancake ...

As it turns out, the reaction occurs better in alkaline environments, which means that once you’ve ...

Baking soda affects pH, which in turn affects browning. The pancake all the way on the left is inordinately ac ...

problem. It browned far too quickly, lending it an acrid burnt flavor tinged with the soap ...

get a light, tall, fluffy interior. Let the batter sit for half an hour, and you get a dense, gumm ...

Double-acting baking powder gives you a second rise when cooked. The Whites Are Light So what if baking soda ...

bubbles are broken into smaller and smaller bubbles, becoming so small that they are nearl ...

Whipped egg whites. Plain eggs. Pancake Flavor As far as flavoring buttermilk pancakes go, there are a few givens: ...

development, it also ensures that your pancakes remain tender. Eggs help set the pancakes as they ...

immediately starts bubbling and fizzing (if it doesn’t, throw out your baking powder and buy a new c ...

It’s important not to overmix a pancake batter. Just as with the batter on a good onion ring ...

True buttermilk is the liquid whey left after cream has been churned to create butter. Traditionally this whe ...

(full-fat or skim) whisked together with ⅓ cup milk Sour Cream ½ cup sour cream whisked together with ½ cup mil ...

browning reactions, adding color (and thus flavor) to things like pancakes, cookies, and muffins. Baking ...

BASIC DRY PANCAKE MIX Why buy a store-bought mix when homemade pancakes are so easy and so much ...

LIGHT AND FLUFFY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES NOTE: The sour cream can be replaced with more buttermilk. ...

MAKES 16 PANCAKES, SERVING 4 TO 6 1 recipe Basic Dry Pancake Mix (above) 2 large eggs, separated 1½ cups ...

Place the dry mix in a large bowl. In a medium clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks for ...