Secrets and tips for the perfect pancakes

Something you’re often messaging me about is that your pancakes trap moisture inside, don’t come out uniform, or never rise, and you ask how I’m making them! So, let me reveal to you all of my secrets (some of which I’ve already shared in my article about the tsoureki pancakes) and I’ll give you my tips for the perfect pancakes!  

What pancakes are

Pancakes are known as “tiganita” in Greek, and as “tiganitis” or “taginias” in ancient Greek, from the Greek word “tigani” which means frying pan. Yes, we’ve been eating pancakes for that long. Of course, not in the form we know them today, even the Greek word has been slowly going out of use. They’re essentially a treat usually eaten for breakfast created by a mixture of mainly flour and water, and sometimes eggs, milk, and butter. In ancient Greece, according to documents from the 5th century BCE, it was made with wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and milk. The English word “pancake” appeared much later, during the 15th century CE. Pancakes have existed in various countries around the world with small variations but almost the same base. We usually enjoy our pancakes sweet but there are savoury versions as well.

Why I should make pancakes

Because they’re quick, easy to make, and usually much beloved by children. For me, it’s a way to take advantage of fruits or vegetables that haven’t been used, and I always try to make them as nutritional as possible. If you believe that the word “pancake” can’t be in the same sentence as the word “nutritional,” then I’d say that they’re almost synonyms to me! And yes, a nutritional, healthy pancake can also be tasty and fluffy. Additionally, they’re easy to store in the freezer and quick to defrost, so you’ll always find a food bag with pancakes in our freezer. That way, we have breakfast or snacks ready for the hard days when there’s no time or will to cook.  

Secrets and tips for the perfect fluffy pancakes

Regarding the ingredients

• First, select a recipe and follow it to the letter.
• Don’t mix the mixture too much. If the mixture is overmixed, your pancakes will be harder, rubbery, and flat. This is due to the activation of the gluten protein, and mainly concerns recipes that use flour with gluten.
• On the other hand, gluten, and pancake recipes with flours with gluten (like all-purpose flour, emmer wheat flour, whole wheat flour, self-rising flour, and more), make fluffier and puffier pancakes. This doesn’t mean that there are no pancakes with alternative flours that aren’t delicious and as fluffy as the other ones, though! See the fig pancakes, the cherry pancakes, or the pomegranate pancakes.
• Something you might not have considered is that baking powder, like most foods, degrades after opening. If you’ve opened the packaging months ago (and you don’t use the single-dose packaging), its rising property may have lessened, and your pancakes or cakes may end up never rising. The same applies to baking soda.
• If you have no baking powder, you can substitute it with 1/3 of the quantity in baking soda plus something acidic in a very small quantity (if the recipe doesn’t call for it anyway) like yogurt, vinegar, or lemon. And if you want to do it the other way around, add triple the baking soda quantity as baking powder.  
• Ideally, ingredients should be at room temperature.

Regarding the cooking

• Very important is the cooking temperature, too. You shouldn’t cook them over high heat because the pancake will be cooked before the rising agents have time to act, so they’ll never rise nor become fluffy. Additionally, that way, there’s a high chance it will get cooked on the outside while trapping some moisture inside, something that you don’t want. You need to be patient, cooking over low to medium heat. My stovetop goes from 0 to 9, and I cook pancakes over 4. It’s also important to preheat the pan over low heat as well, and this is the most basic mistake that most people make, resulting in a ruined first pancake. So, have PATIENCE, because good things take time.
• When cooking your pancakes, wait with patience (again) until little holes appear­­—little bubbles, or any other way you may call them—on the surface of your pancake. Turn it over to be cooked on the other side as well. That’s when it’s ready to be turned over. Don’t get too excited with that, you don’t need to turn it over for a second time, once is enough.
• You can make the mixture the day before, to cook it the next morning. This is mainly true for recipes that use all-purpose flour or self-rising flour. Of course, as you’ll let it wait in the fridge from the night before, it would be best to let it come to room temperature in the morning before cooking. In general, regarding pancakes with these flours, it’s best to let the mixture rest for 5 to 10 minutes. For the rest, prepare the mixture and bake it right away, unless the recipe says otherwise.

Regarding the frying pan

• If you have a non-stick frying pan and you have preheated it well, you don’t need any fat (oil, coconut oil, butter), since with a good mixture and correct, patient cooking, your pancakes will never stick. If you don’t have a non-stick pan, use a brush or a piece of tissue paper to spread very little fat of your choice—but don’t overdo it. Don’t forget that with a non-stick frying pan, you should always use a silicone spatula, and only that, and in no case a metal utensil, to avoid scoring the pan.

My secrets

• For the pancakes to be in uniform shape, you should use an ice cream spoon or a crepe ladle to spoon the mixture or even a measuring cup.
• To cook our pancakes, I use either a non-stick frying pan, or an electric griddle. When I want to make many at the same time to save time, I use the griddle or a larger non-stick frying pan. That way, I can cook at least 4 pancakes at the same time. 
• As you’ve probably noticed, most of my pancake recipes have a relatively thick mixture. When the mixture is not too runny nor too thick but instead flows slowly when being spooned, then you know you’ll get really fluffy pancakes. The runnier mixtures won’t give the same fluffy result.

In summary

Even though the pancakes are considered an easy treat, their success is hidden in small details. You could also add your own tips, and you’d be right. In closing, I’d like to highlight the 3 most important ones. If I had to write just 3 tips for the perfect pancakes, then they would be:

• Patience. I’ve written many times over on @littlehands_blw that cooking needs patience and low heat.
• The cooking utensil. A non-stick frying pan that hasn’t been preheated at too high temperatures will be your ally for the perfect pancakes.
• The recipe. The tips I shared with you aren’t just for the perfect pancakes, but for the perfect and fluffy pancakes! We love our fluffy pancakes, and I think that’s quite obvious!

Our 5 most popular pancake recipes

You’ll find over 20 different pancake recipes in Little Hands, most of which have fruits and vegetables as bases. According to your own clicks, though, these are the 5 most popular pancake recipes on our website:

1. Αφράτα pancakes μήλου
2. The tastiest beetroot pancakes
3. Pancakes βρώμης με μπανάνα
4. Pancakes φυστικοβούτυρο γεμιστά με σπιτική μαρμελάδα φράουλα
5. Easter tsoureki pancakes

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