The Best Pancake Recipe - The Wholesome Dish (2024)

FAQs

What makes restaurant pancakes taste so good? ›

Restaurants tend to use real, farm-fresh eggs and real milk when making their pancakes, which as you might guess, adds to a richer, higher-quality eating experience.

The secret is in the griddle

So how are IHOP's pancakes perfect every time? For starters, that griddle is set to a very specific temperature — 350 degrees to be exact — and, believe it or not, it is not slicked with oil or butter, or any other fat, for that matter.

Can I Use Water Instead of Milk in Pancakes? Milk adds both flavor and texture to pancake batter, so if you are looking to make pancakes without milk, a simple swap to water doesn't always do the trick. For pancakes made without milk, you'll want to add some flavor through melted butter and vanilla extract.

At the end of the day, diners get the job done like no one else because they are professional cooks using commercial-grade equipment to prepare flavorful batters that are the product of intense research and development — and which probably share more ingredients with a birthday cake than with the box of powdered ...

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla. Pour ¼ cup of pancake batter for each pancake onto the griddle. Cook until the edges start to set and the pancakes are golden-brown underneath.

However, it's not as tasty as you think, as they add small objects (after they've been thoroughly cleaned of course) such as buttons, rings, and coins. Each object has a special meaning, for example, if you find a shiny coin in your pancake, you're deemed very lucky and will end up rich!

Three French crepes filled with sour cream, topped with powdered sugar & sour cream.

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

Why do restaurant pancakes look different? ›

The Grease

Instead, they make sure to use nonstick appliances so no extra fat is needed for the pancakes to lift off the hot pan. Why? Because cooking fat is what creates that marbled, bubbled look on the surface of your home-cooked pancakes.

Pancake lovers' biggest complaint when adding water instead of milk is that the flavor seems to change. Pancakes aren't as richly flavored with water. There are a few ways to improve your batter when you've used water, including: Add extra butter.

Chef and writer Shani Fryer explains, "Recipes call for both when an acid-based chemical reaction is necessary to provide rise. Baking powder does most of the heavy lifting in the rise department and while baking soda aids in leavening, it also helps neutralize the acid." Take buttermilk pancakes, for instance.

Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.