Mom told me my pancakes were too dense and I finally figured out the buttermilk trick

My mom visited last month and said my pancakes were like hockey pucks. I've been making them the same way for years, using regular milk and a bit of baking powder. She pulled out her old buttermilk and showed me how the acid reacts with baking soda to make them fluffy. I tried it the next weekend and the difference was crazy. They came out light and airy, not heavy at all. Now I keep buttermilk in my fridge just for Sunday breakfast. Has anyone else had a family member call out something you thought you were doing right?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee8471mo ago

Wait wait wait... you LEFT pancake batter sitting out for an HOUR by accident and it made them better? That sounds so wrong but I kind of want to try it now. I've always been paranoid about leaving dairy out too long because my grandma drilled it into me that everything spoils in ten minutes flat. But honestly the gluten relaxing thing makes sense if you think about it, like how bread dough needs to rest. I'm also kinda shook about the cake flour thing - I didn't even know there was different flour for pancakes, I thought flour was just flour. My mom would probably lose her mind if I told her I was using cake flour AND letting the batter sit out, she's real strict about kitchen rules. Might have to experiment this weekend though, you got me curious.

skyler_jackson271mo ago

The buttermilk trick really is a game changer (and I say that as someone who stubbornly made flat pancakes for years). I actually started using cake flour along with the buttermilk, which makes them even softer since it has less protein than all-purpose flour. My sister finally admitted my pancakes were better than hers last Christmas after I switched, which felt like a small victory. It’s funny how one little ingredient swap can make you rethink everything you thought you knew about breakfast.

sean_cooper581mo ago

Well I'll be, thats a good point about the cake flour. Never thought of that angle. What I found works even better than just swapping flours is letting the batter sit in the fridge for a full hour before cooking. Something about the gluten relaxing and the buttermilk doing its work really changes the texture. I tried it one Sunday morning when I was distracted cleaning my gutters and forgot I had batter sitting there, and honestly those were the fluffiest pancakes I ever made.