Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

 

True story: on a recent Sunday I “slept in” until 8am.  In my state of awakening I thought it was likely 2pm, because it felt like I had slept for ages.  I know lack of sleep is such a cliche “new parent” thing to write about, but I’m doing it anyway.  Everyone wants to ask you “Well, are you sleeping much?”  And I’ll admit that’s a question I would often ask as well.  What sucks about our current state of not sleeping is that in the last weeks before I returned to work, Elliott was sleeping GREAT.  (And by great, I mean he only woke up once, around 2 or 3am.)  So I had a taste of what it felt like to sleep more than a few hours at a time.  Let me tell you, it was fantastic.  Unfortunately, since my return to work (and Elliott’s need to eat from a bottle at daycare), he wakes to eat at least twice a night.  But that’s ok, I’d rather lose a little sleep, than him go hungry!

On a different Sunday morning than the one I began this post with, Elliott woke to eat at 11pm, 2am, and 5am.  And he decided 5am was a great time to STAY AWAKE!  (He also did something else that included lots of Biz and a bath, by the way.)  So, what else is there to do when you’re wide awake in the wee hours, and you have half a carton of buttermilk in the fridge?  Make pancakes.  A quick google revealed this Martha Stewart recipe, and away we went.  I love that this recipe doesn’t involve any crazy shenanigans like separating and beating egg whites.  I’ve done that in the past, and let me tell you, that s–t is for the birds.  It also tends to dirty up way too many dishes.  This recipe is a one-bowl winner.  These pancakes were so fluffy, moist, and superbly satisfying.  I seriously thought Nathan & I might devour this entire stack.  Luckily we didn’t, and I ate leftovers for work breakfasts, slathered with peanut butter.

Now for some tips.  From the recipe source: “The key to fluffy pancakes is not to overmix the batter; it should not be beaten smooth.”  Always remember that one.  Also, because I think it’s totally unfair if Nathan were to eat his pancakes while I was standing over the hot griddle cooking the rest of them, we waited until all the pancakes were done to eat.  To keep the pancakes warm, I placed an oven proof plate in the oven set at 200 degrees.  Then I just kept adding to the stack!  What you see is the entire yield of my batter.  I made mine a bit smaller, using a 1/3 cup scoop to ladle the batter instead of a 1/2 cup.  I prefer to eat 3 medium pancakes as opposed to 2 large.  As another piece of advice, I’ve since made these with lowfat buttermilk, and they were still delicious, just not quite as thick and fluffy as when I made them with regular buttermilk.

These were nothing short of fantastic, and I’m glad I managed to snap a photo & find time to share them with you.  This recipe is definite keeper, and I can’t wait till Elliott is old enough to SLEEP IN and wake up to me making these for him at, oh say… 10am?

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Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Directions:

Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess.

Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

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