Why should you avoid over mixing your pancakes?

Overmixing pancake batter can cause your flapjacks to deflate, for two main reasons. The stirring or whisking motion may cause the batter's air bubbles to pop, and can also cause too much gluten to develop . Air and small amounts of gluten are both essential in developing the ideal pancake texture.

What does adding an extra egg to pancakes do?

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat . If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

What goes bad in pancake mix?

Additionally, if the mix smells soured this means the powdered milk in the batter has gone bad. A pancake mix with a strange color can also indicate that mold is growing in the mix and it should be tossed in the garbage.

What is the key to a perfect pancake?

Making good pancakes depends on three key factors: mixing the batter to the right consistency, heating the griddle properly and recognizing when to turn the cakes .

Why do you always throw away the first pancake?

Why is the first pancake often so ugly that it gets tossed? Pancake experts say that there are some possible reasons, including the amount of butter being used, the temperature of the heating surface , and so on. Perhaps the first one is a "tester." Once it is made, the next batches will be fine.

What is the best pan to make pancakes in?

Cast iron is the best when it comes to even and consistent heat distribution. Heating up a cast iron skillet or griddle takes a little longer than an electric griddle, but a bit of patience goes a long way; cast iron simply makes the best pancakes.

Why do I always mess up pancakes?

Pan temperature is really everything : too hot and you've got scorched cakes; too cool and they can turn out flat and tough. The surefire way to a perfect pancake is to use an electric griddle set to 375 degrees, according to The Great American Pancake Company.

Why aren't my pancakes cooking properly?

If the pancakes are too floppy to flip, they aren't cooked enough . If they are getting brown before they're ready to flip, turn down the heat. Try making one test pancake first to see if the griddle or skillet is the right temperature. Invariably, the first pancake ends up being the worst one anyway.

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Making Pancakes (2024)

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Kelli Foster

Kelli FosterSenior Contributing Food Editor

Kelli is a Senior Contributing Food Editor for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals. She lives in New Jersey.

updated May 1, 2019

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1. Overmixing the batter.

You know that urge you get to keep mixing that batter until the lumps are gone and it’s totally smooth? Fight it as hard as you can. In fact, avoid it entirely.

When you mix the wet and dry ingredients together, gluten starts to develop. And the more you mix the batter, the more the gluten continues to develop. So what happens? The result of overworked batter is a stack of tough and chewy pancakes instead of the light and fluffy ones you were probably dreaming about.

→ Follow this tip: Mix the batter just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined, and there are no more visible wisps of flour. The batter will likely be lumpy, and that’s okay.

2. Not resting the batter.

You’re so close to a blissful pancake breakfast, it seems like a cruel joke to wait a little longer. It’s a small step, but a crucial one, and one that should not be skipped over. No matter how hungry you are.

3. Not starting with a hot-enough pan.

A sign of a good pancake, in my opinion, is one that is delicate and buttery-crisp around the edges with a soft, fluffy interior. But if you start with a pan that’s not quite hot enough, instead of forming a lightly crisped exterior, the batter will start to soak up the butter or oil that’s in the pan and get greasy.

→ Follow this tip: Give your pan some time to get good and hot evenly. Before adding the batter the pan, the butter or oil should be very hot but not smoking. If you’re not quite sure if the pan is hot enough, don’t be afraid to make a small test pancake first.

4. Setting the heat too high.

High heat doesn’t cook pancakes faster, it cooks them unevenly with burnt outsides. The pan needs to be hot, but make the mistake of setting the temperature too high and the bottoms are likely to burn while the inside remains raw and doughy.

→ Follow this tip: Setting your stove to the right temperature is one of the keys to great pancakes. The pan needs to be hot, but that doesn’t mean the heat needs to be cranked up to high. For a well-cooked pancake with a golden-brown outside, and an inside that’s soft and cooked through, keep the heat set to medium.

5. Flipping your pancakes too soon and too often.

You might be tempted to flip once the bubbles start to appear, but it’s not quite time. Give it another minute.

Pancakes should be flipped once, and only once, during cooking. And as long as you didn’t flip them too soon, you won’t need to flip them any more than that. Flipping pancakes too many times causes them to deflate, losing some of that wonderful fluffy texture.

→ Follow this tip: Wait to flip the pancakes when the bubbles on the surface burst, and not a second sooner.

Essential pancake recipes!

Lofty Buttermilk Pancakes
Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
Big Pancake (Dutch Baby)
Savory Vegetable Pancakes

What are your best tips for making pancakes?

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