BEST Paleo Pancakes Recipe, soft, light and fluffy!! (2024)

FAQs

What makes pancakes light instead of dense? ›

Too much egg, however, will make the pancake dense and custard-like; not enough will make it drier and more biscuit-like. Baking powder and baking soda are the chemical leaveners typically used in pancakes. They are responsible for the bubbles in the batter, and for making the cakes light and fluffy.

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.

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.

Flour includes glutenin and gliadin proteins that, after exposure to moisture, mix to produce gluten. Gluten is useful as it helps provide the 'bready' structure that holds the gas bubbles inside for a fluffy pancake.

The procedure I use is combine dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda), then mix milk and egg yolks in a small bowl. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Then add the milk/egg mixture and lastly add the egg whites. This should result in a fluffier pancake.

The secret is in the egg whites!

To give your pancakes that fluffy text, beat only the egg whites for 3 minutes on medium speed. They'll start turning creamy, which means it's time to add them to the pancake mixture. Use a wooden spatula to incorporate everything. There you have it!

How does IHOP get its pancakes so fluffy? The secret to creating IHOP's cloudlike fluffiness in its pancakes is the dual action of baking soda and baking powder.

Restaurants use better quality ingredients

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.

When cooked, the chemical leaveners (the baking powder and baking soda) in the pancakes created large air bubbles. The loose gluten network captured the air bubbles and maintained the each pancake's shape while still keeping it fluffy with air.

Baking soda is essential for baked goods, but baking powder is really what makes pancakes and biscuits rise and become so super fluffy. Double-acting baking powder, which is the kind that you'll find in the grocery store, produces bubbles in two ways: when it is mixed with wet ingredients and then when it gets heated.

Why aren't my American pancakes fluffy? ›

If your pancakes aren't fluffy, it may be time to get new baking powder. If you're making buttermilk pancakes, the key is in the reaction of buttermilk to baking soda.

Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes.

Make sure that your recipe DOES have baking powder and/or baking soda, and if you're not getting enough fluffiness for your liking, considering adding another 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the batter. Play around with amounts of the powder or soda to see how puffy it gets.

First and foremost it that the pan or griddle has to be HOT. Hot and greased, even if it's a non-stick pan a coat of some type of cooking spray or oil is a must. You can tell if it's hot enough by letting a small droplet of water fall on it. It MUST dance around on the surface.

Dense pancakes, this is different than thick and fluffy, happen because the flour was improperly measured and the batter has too much flour. When the pancake batter is too thick without enough baking powder to help it “lift” you will have dense, thick pancakes as the outcome.

Don't overmix the batter.

Over-mixing the batter means that the raising agent won't aerate properly. Pancake batter should be mixed until just combined. Go against your gut instincts and don't worry about a lumpy batter if you want to avoid stodgy pancakes.