how do you get pancakes really fluffy?

[whatinthewhatnow]

i can never make american style pancakes properly, they always end up heavy. How do you get them nice and fluffy? Have tried a few recipes for american pancakes and scotch pancakes and they're always rubbish. Help appreciated for a happy breakfast!

Another egg and a spoon of baking powder in the mix.

dont over mix.

I tend to do my american style ones on a slightly lower heat for a bit longer than normal crepe types.

Also I read a recipe the other day that called for the mix (which had baking powder in) to be left for 30mins before cooking. I didnt have the time but I think that would have given the baking powder time to put air into them.

My new yorker auntie says to whip the egg whites.

I find using oil instead of butter gives a good texture, and as gross as it sounds this is quite common in a lot of american baking.

I whip the egg whites till soft peaks and then fold in gently. Very fluffy!

Try this from an American cookery book that was given to me.

2 cups self raising flour
1 and a half cups of buttermilk (buy in Tesco)
pinch of salt
quarter teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons corn oil for greasing griddle

Mix all together then beat. Drop with large spoon on hot greased iron griddle. Cook until light brown, turn and brown other side.

definitely whip the egg whites and fold them in gently. Much nicer, but more of a faff, regrettably.

brillo, thanks. my love of fluffy pancakes means I won't mind whipping a couple of egg whites one bit.

they were awesome btw! 2 eggs, whipped whites. fab.

Oooh, I'll try the whipped eggs white .

I use Self Raising flour and melt a spoonful of butter into the batter.
My DC love pancakes .

Use a recipe that has buttermilk and canola oil (think it might be rapeseed in the UK?). Let the mix sit for 1/2 hour. Baking powder or soda is a must and the griddle (or pan) heat must be about 4...not too low, not too hot. You must top with real maple syrup and butter. None of this lemon juice and sugar or jam business. Try Epicurious.com for a recipe. If you can't find buttermilk, you can easily make it yourself.

don't some people put fizzy water into the mix?

@economy that's for crepes. I don't think it would work with the raising agent.

A lot of people in America just buy pancake mix from the store. If you want to try it there are a lot of great american suppliers online, the pancake mix is called Bisquick. I personally don't think it tastes that great though. If you want to try to find an american recipe, buttermilk pancakes is what you should search for. southernfood.about.com/od/pancakesandwaffles/r/buttermilk-pancakes.htm is a pretty standard one, but you may have trouble with the measurements. Anyway, I hope this helps :).

I did a tempura batter with sparkling ice cold water. It was very nice, crispy.

But not a pancake batter type batter.

this stuff is ace for instant mix. I made them for lunch!