1
Mix the Dry Ingredients
0:38
Whisk together all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. The baking powder and baking soda are what make the pancakes rise. Make sure there are no pockets of any single ingredient.
How to Make the Best Pancakes from Scratch
Box mix pancakes are fine. Homemade pancakes from scratch are better, and you already have every ingredient in your kitchen. Flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, butter.
Chef Frank Proto from Epicurious nails two things most people get wrong: he barely mixes the batter (lumps are good), and he cooks in enough salted butter to crisp the edges. The result is thick, fluffy pancakes with a golden crust that tastes like brown butter.
Step-by-Step Guide
2
Mix the Wet Ingredients
0:59
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, combine milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and eggs. The vinegar reacts with the milk to create a quick buttermilk without buying a separate carton. Whisk until the eggs are fully broken up and everything is smooth.
3
Fold the Batter Together
1:50
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a spatula. About 20-25 folds and stop. The batter should still have lumps. Overmixing activates too much gluten and pushes out the bubbles from the leavening, making the pancakes flat and tough.
This is the last time you touch the batter. Put the spatula down.
Tip
Thicker batter makes taller pancakes. If it seems too thick, resist the urge to add more milk. That thickness gives you the height.
4
Heat and Butter the Griddle
2:37
Heat an electric griddle, cast iron griddle, or non-stick pan over medium heat. Spread a generous amount of whipped salted butter across the surface. If the butter gets a little brown, that is a bonus - it adds a nutty flavor to the pancakes.
The salted butter gives the pancake edges a salty crispiness that regular oil or spray cannot match.
5
Scoop the Batter
3:21
Use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to drop batter onto the hot griddle. Scoop from the side of the bowl without stirring the remaining batter. Every stir pushes out the air bubbles you need for fluffy pancakes.
Space them so they have room to spread a little. Do not worry about making perfect circles.
6
Wait for Bubbles and Flip
4:14
Watch the top surface of each pancake. When bubbles start popping through and the edges look set, slide a spatula underneath with a quick push and flip away from you. Flipping toward you splatters hot butter.
Do not press down on the pancake after flipping. That squeezes out all the air you spent the last five steps building up.
7
Stack and Top with Butter and Syrup
5:52
Pancakes are done when they spring back when pressed gently. If batter squishes through, they need more time. Stack them on a plate with a knob of salted butter between each layer.
Use real maple syrup. The melted butter mixes with the warm syrup and runs down through the stack. That is the whole point of making these from scratch.
