How do I keep from burning my pancakes?

Griddling your pancakes right away will yield much lighter, fluffier pancakes. In pancake making, the sloped sides of a pan are not your friends. If you have a griddle, definitely use it. Otherwise, use a wide heavy-bottomed pan—if your pan is too thin, your pancakes will burn.

Why are my pancakes not cooking through?

If the pan is too hot, your pancakes won’t get done in the middle because they’ll burn too quickly. Make sure you lower the temp on your skillet. I’ve made lots of pancakes in my lifetime, and my biggest problem is having a too hot skillet. Once that happens, the cakes become twice as hard to make right.

Why do my pancakes burn on the edges?

Here are the most common mistakes that yield burnt pancakes: The heat is too high. The pan got too hot / preheated too long. The oil/spray or butter got burnt.

Why is the bottom of my pancakes hard?

You actually want some lumps in your pancake batter. I mean, it should be combined, and there shouldn’t be any flour lingering on the bottom of the bowl, but too much mixing will overdevelop the gluten in the flour, and that will make for tougher pancakes.

What makes pancakes fluffy and rise?

When flour is mixed with water, gluten proteins loosen from one another, stretch out and begin to rearrange. When chemical leaveners, such as baking powder, create bubbles in a cooked pancake, the gluten network traps these bubbles and allows a pancake to rise and stay fluffy yet still keep its shape.

Should you leave pancake batter to rest?

You should. Resting pancake batter for at least 10 minutes (or even overnight) does two key things, both of which help the batter rise better and cook to a more tender finish in the pan. Resting the batter gives the milk (or water, or buttermilk) time to soften the flour and dissolve any remaining lumps.

What causes rubbery pancakes?

The most common mistake is overmixing. The perfectly mixed batter does not look perfect. It should appear very lumpy, and even a few bits of unmoistened flour are OK. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour that will make pancakes tough and rubbery.

What should pancake batter look like?

BATTER The batter should be slightly lumpy (image below) and should pour easily but should not be runny.

• If it’s too thick add milk a tablespoon or two at a time.
• If it’s too runny or you’ve accidentally added too much liquid, you can add a bit of flour to get the right consistency.

Why do we add salt to pancakes?

The main function of salt in cake recipes is to enhance the flavor of the other ingredients. Its presence perks up the depth and complexity of other flavors as the ingredients meld. Salt also provides a balance to the sweetness of cake batters—but a salty flavor should not be discernible.