Cooking For Engineers

[Michael Chu]

[tomfy]

My experience with buttermilk has been that it keeps very well in the fridge, much longer than the date printed on carton, maybe one month more. Even so we get a quart, and use about 1/2 or 1 cup for pancakes each weekend and it is hard to use it up. But I agree I wouldn't use milk soured by whatever organism happened to be in your milk (and which had survived pasteurization), and using vinegar or lemon juice, although it works well is not really the same...

[Chris PP Jr]

I used it in Denver, which we cool high altitude. It worked great. They were on the thin side but very tasty.

It makes about 12patties 6" Inch in Diameter Pancakes

[Naomi]

Almost my recipe. I have developed a pancake recipe that my family and friends covet. The Basic Pancake recipe you used would be altered a bit.

Increase the Baking Powder to 2 teaspoons
Add 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

Do use 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk

Add 2 Tablespoons of Real Sour Cream. Do Not use low/non fat versions
Instead of the butter use 3 Tablesppons of vegetable oil

I always have all my dry ingredients in one larger bowl and mix all the wet ingreients in another bowl thoroughly then pour all at once into the dry, then blend well and let sit about 3 minutes. The batter will kind of fluff and get a touch airy, don't stir it down. Just ladle out the batter on your griddle and cook as usual.

These pancakes properly made are fluffy and light with a wonderful flavor.

[toshiro]

Things I found while making pancakes using this recipe (about 20 iterations so far, no precise notes, I have to admit, much to my shame):

I use less milk and more flour (200g flour, 0.33l milk, last step in my iteration, worked out pretty well so far), but very large eggs (53g+). If I use 190g flour, 0.355l milk, the batter gets a bit too runny and produces too large pancakes for my taste. I also use twice as much baking powder (the little envelopes over here hold exactly twice as much, and I'm somewhat loathe to leave them open, since I suspect them of reacting with the water in the surrounding air).

I usually use powdered sugar or, if unavailable, I dissolve the sugar in the milk, together with the salt, to achieve a more even distribution.

I add the melted butter last (on the danger of overmixing the batter), since it hardens and does not mix as well if I put it into the milk/egg mix directly, which usually come straight from the fridge and has lower heat than the batter without the butter.

I use very high heat, which does not allow the pancakes to cook through; but I leave the pancakes in the oven at 120°C for a bit, on a plate. The top pancake dries out a bit, but the ones below cook through nicely and have added fluff.

White flour is better than whole-grain flour, since the latter produces overly moist pancakes that take too long to cook through. Or maybe I added too many blueberries.

Personally, I prefer blueberries the most as filling, since they have a consistency very similar to the pancake body, especially if frozen and thawed (the cell walls are already broken by the ice crystals).

/rant

[hopensmiles]

Just made those blueberry pancakes and they came out delicious. Thanks!

[neeki]

if you're having problems with the blueberries or other fillings burning or sticking, then pour a circle of batter first, immediately put the fillings in, then cover lightly with some more batter. i've done this with bananas and cinnamon apples, and it creates a nice little pocket of flavour in the pancake. the extra bit of batter protects the fillings really nicely.

[Majesty]

COOL! I finally, for the first time in my life, made the American pancakes that I have eaten so often in the US and Perú. With the variation of putting a tablespoon of vinegar through the milk, less sugar (which I slightly regret), whisked egg-whites and sliced apple.
When you're used, like I am, to making the normal Dutch pancakes, it's psychologically weird to this time nót whisk it well, but just let the batter be lumpy. I have to admit though that the resulting pancakes have no lumps at all. It makes about 6 pancakes with a diameter of about 14 centimeters.
Of course I'm a day to late making them: yesterday was Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), today is Ash Wednesday.
Next time I want to make it with ginger. Does someone know if that involve real ginger lumps, or just the ginger syrup?

I do have to admit though that Dutch pancakes are slightly more practical when you want to combine sweet and savoury. There is nothing better than a Dutch pancake with cheese (Gouda of course) or bacon.

[neeki]

hi, another way of storing these in the freezer is to use one large sandwich bag that fits all, or half, the batch, and placing cut up pieces of baking (parchment) paper to put between them. it saves a lot of little sandwich bags, and you can just save used parchment paper from when you bake cookies to use as pancake liners.

[jenis]

LOVED these pancakes. Forgot what good pancakes tasted like

[ddmcc]

I got tired of searching for buttermilk for pancakes, but I love that tang. Even after the effort and success, the only time I used buttermilk was to make a few pancakes. The remainder would sit around until I have to dump it out.

So instead of a cup of buttermilk, I sub with 1/2 cup half & half, half cup of sour cream. I have many more uses for those two ingredients.

[Guest]

When using frozen blueberries in pancakes it is better to thaw them first, contrary to what a previous poster wrote. Depending on the concentration of blueberries in the pancake, frozen ones can sometimes result in undercooked pockets of batter in the middle, even if the pancake looks golden and done. I usually thaw mine in the microwave and then drain them well before using.

[Anita]

This is a fantastic recipe - I have been using it for years and it does truly make some of the best pancakes I have ever tasted.

Just ensure you seperate the eggs and make sure the whites are ultra glossy before adding them to the mixture bit by bit at the end.

Thumbs up!

[Scott Brown]

Just for grins, I've been toying with survival recipes...stuff you can make mainly out of storable basics like dried goods hoarded for survival over the long haul. I've focused upon ingredients with high protein (legume/grain complementarity), omega-3s (chia & flax), minerals (molasses & mined sea salt), and dried fruit (raisins, cherries, apples).

I used Mr. Chu's excellent basic recipe, here, to see what I could manage assuming I was stuck with only a frying pan and a cookfire (and a farmer-neighbor's egg supply, but you could probably substitute for egg with a little more milk/water), and also assuming I was physically dependent upon the highest quality balanced nutrition obtainable from a pancake under rigorous survival circumstances. My personal survival stash obviously spares little room for sugary breakfast treats, bleached flour and other empty calories.

Raisin/cherry/apple Protein Brancakes

Premix:

Lentil flour cups....................1/3
Multigrain flour cups..............2/3
Oat bran cups.......................1/4
Chia seeds cups....................1/4
Mined sea salt tsp..................3/4
Baking powder tsp. rounded....3
Ginger tsp. rounded................1
Cinnamon tsp. rounded...........1

Have on hand as needed:

Molasses tbsp.............3
Olive oil tbsp..............3
Powdered goat milk....1 1/2 (cups liquid)
Eggs..........................2
Raisins (or etc.) cups......1/2

The quantities are mainly based on Mr. Chu's basic recipe, except the baking powder--I'm tinkering upward with that, owing to the heaviness of the other ingredients.

The lentil/grain ratio here gives a good 1:2 digestible protein mix, and a surprisingly un-beany taste. I cheated and used my electric coffee grinder to make the lentil flour, but this can also be done with a mortar and pestle. You can use the chia seeds whole, or grind them into flour (but use flour before the omega-3 oils turn rancid). The multigrain flour can be a mix of just about anything from wheat to masa (mine had quinoa and oats in it, as well). All ingredients are organic where possible.

Result? Assuredly not what my grandmother used to make, but surprisingly edible (and filling). I've read many of the comments here, and plan to see if use of some of them help make these hi-pro healthfood pancakes even better. (For you Tolkien fans, no, this stuff is not lembas, but it certainly makes for a good, sustaining trail bread.)

[Scott Brown]

Where it says 1 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger...sorry, THAT SHOULD READ 1/2 tsp.

These are, of course, optional, but there are actually nutritional benefits to be gained from using either or both.