Pancake troubles

corblimey

Did a dry run for tuesday last night, first time making pancakes. Everything seemed to go ok, except for one glaring fault. When I poured the batter each time, because it started to cook immediately in the hot oil, I ended up with a very lumpy top most of the top. Then when I tossed it those lumps remained and got pretty much burned while the rest of the pancake turned golden. Not a deal breaker by any means, but how do you get a smooth top?

I suspect it's all in the pouring, I was just pouring the batter straight into the middle of the pan and then trying to 'pour' it around the whole pan by moving the pan from side to side.

(PS I'm quite proud that by the third pancake, I had this tossing lark down, is that sad? )

Mr Magnolia

Maybe turn your pan down a little, it may be too hot.

Samurai

i'd imagine the batter itself wasn't beaten well enough, my pancakes are always lump free thanks to my electro beater!

gollyitsolly

If your batter is lumpy,pour it through a sive first. As soon as you put the batter into the pan turn down the heat a bit to cook it.

corblimey

It's definitely not lumps in the batter per se, but it's difficult to describe any better. What seems to happen is imagine a spot in the middle of the pan. A bit of batter hits that spot and it immediately starts frying. Now another little bit lands on top, and because of the heat, it starts to fry aswell "through" the bottom layer. So when I move the pan around, it stays put. This is repeated several times around the "initial drop area".

Perhaps it's the heat of the pan. I'm used to frying meat, etc and getting the pan as hot as possible before doing that. Also, I suspect I'm using too much oil in the pan, a spray might be better? On occasion, the batter would mingle with the oil as I moved it around the pan, I think this is a sign I put too much on.

Samurai

ah right for pancakes i use butter/marge instead of oil give it a shot!

Mr Magnolia

Yeah, I use a butter/oil combo, doesn't need very much though. A non-stick pan is also essential. Turn the heat down too, you can ramp it up a little when the mixture is spread evenly acorss the pan.

corblimey

Samurai wrote: »

ah right for pancakes i use butter/marge instead of oil give it a shot!

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

Yeah, I use a butter/oil combo, doesn't need very much though.

I assume you both also replenish in between each pancake?

Mr Magnolia

corblimey wrote: »

I assume you both also replenish in between each pancake?

You barely need to, a little maybe and run it round the pan with a piece of kitchen roll, careful not to burn the fingers!
I have some batter resting in the fridge now, remember to stir it between pancake pours too.

Samurai

yeah i do! I use quite a bit each time probably too much melts all around the pan and mixes with the batter and tastes gorgeous better buy some eggs today

gollyitsolly

Maybe you need a new pan:D!

eamon234

seperate the egg yellow and white, whisk the white and fold it back into the mix at the end - makes it lovely and fluffy and cooks more evenly. I'm hungry now:mad:

Faith

I'm assuming your making thin crepe-style pancakes, not think American style ones?

Firstly, I'd prepare the batter a day in advance and leave it in the fridge over night. It has to be perfectly smooth, with no lumps at all.

Next, I'd only use a medium heat under the pan. I'd also use a very good non-stick pan. I too use butter, and only add more after every 3 or 4 pancakes.

I'm really not able to visualise what your problem is because I very rarely make that style of pancakes (American-style is so much easier!). But you shouldn't have more than one "layer" of batter on each go, as it were. They should be very thin, so I'd just ladle the mixture onto the pan once, into the middle, and tilt the pan around to get it to spread out.

I'm not sure that this helps at all though! But you definitely shouldn't have the pan as hot as possible, that'll just make them burn.

I made pancakes this morning for brekkie, a regular occurance in the whoopsadaisydoodles household just because I always have eggs, flour and milk even if the fridge is otherwise empty!

I good tip is put a tiny amount of oil into the mixture, this will prevent sticking, spray oil is great imo, and remove the pan from the heat while pouring the mixture,then return to heat to cook. Get yourself a ladle you'll figure out very quickly how much mixture it takes to make one pancake, and you should put it all in at once, not bit by bit.

And ask other posters said, make sure you have a non stick pan!

Magic Monkey

corblimey, it sounds like your pan is too hot and you're using too much oil. To ensure a smooth batter, sift your dry ingredients first, and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours, to ensure maximum flour hydration. Thin it down with more milk until it's the consistency of single cream. Ideally using a 9-10" crêpe pan, you don't want a visible layer of fat as you're not shallow frying them, just a smearing to ensure the crêpe doesn't stick. Use a neural oil or clarified butter on a piece of kitchen paper.

Heat the pan over medium heat; it shouldn't be smoking - you want your batter cold and your pan hot to get best results, so use batter straight from the fridge. Remove the pan from the heat, tilt at a slight angle, and using a ladle or a jug, pour onto the top part of the pan, so the batter falls into the lower part, and then rotate the pan around, swirling the batter to coat the entire base of the pan (avoid the sides). You want just enough batter to coat the base, no more no less. Place the pan back on medium heat and cook for about 1 minute, until the sides look slightly crisp. Flip over using a spatula or by flipping the pan, and cook the other side for about 30-45 seconds.

The Sweeper

As others have said, use the butter/oil combo. Melt some butter in a hot pan and then pour it off into a ramekin, pouring about a tablespoon of it into your pancake batter and stirring it in. Add some oil to the ramekin and stir. This is now your cooking fat mixture.

Electric whisks work well to smooth out pancake batter.

The best way to heat a pancake pan is to heat it as hot as you can get it, and then turn it down. Depending how hot your hob gets, two thirds to three quarters heat is enough for pancakes. Always use a non-stick pan too if you can.

Lastly, it is a given fact of physics and the universe that the first pancake is always a crap write-off, given to dog/chickens/compost heap/bin.

kerash

I would also make sure your batter isnt too thick

Eviledna

Is it possible to cook pancakes and then let them go cold, and then reheat them for later, and them still be as tasty?

'tis!

yum yum - can't wait for tomorrow!

Eviledna

How so? Do you separate them with parchment? Wrap them in clingfilm?

the beer revolu

My mother who (naturally) made the best pancakes ever always used a well seasoned cast iron pan and that's what I use too - when you get the heat right, it stays at a very constant temperature.

But if I lacked a good, well used cast iron pan, I'd use a nonstick too!

Anyone ever make buckwheat galettes?
Thinking of doing them on Wednesday (don't ask) but some recipes call for all buckwheat flour and some half/half with plain flour.
Wondered if anyone had any experience here

ambman

Best pancakes of all are

8ozs of plain flour
1 egg
1/2 pint of milk
Pinch of salt

Could'nt be easier get about 5 decent pancakes from that mix.

Enjoy;)

Eviledna

Eviledna wrote: »

How so? Do you separate them with parchment? Wrap them in clingfilm?

yeh baking paper would be best, allow them to cool before separating them as they will sweat and go soggy otherwise. Probably actually best to cover them and put them in a warm oven for a few mins but the microwave would work too (I don't own a microwave so not sure!)

Magic Monkey

the beer revolu, Bretons traditionally use all buckwheat flour for their galettes, but you can use half plain flour for a less instense flavour, and easier workability.

And for anyone that's tired of a squeeze of jif lemon and a sprinkling of sugar on their pancake Tuesday pancakes, there's a decadent Hungarian recipe called Gundel Pancakes (Gundel Palacsinta), which is walnut-filled pancakes with warm chocolate sauce

corblimey

Ok, here's one thing that happened on Tuesday and I'm wondering if the top chefs we have here could help. I was happily making my non-burned pancakes (tks for all the tips ) and flipping away, but the last one I made, when I flipped it, I messed it up. The pancake basically folded in half on itself like an omelette. The outside was the cooked side, so it was the uncooked batter on the inside. I figured the 2 sides on the inside would be permanently fused and tryign to tear them apart would have ruined the pancake, so I immediately called it a failure and chucked it, but was there anything I could have done to save it? I really wanted that one last pancake

Mr Magnolia

While we're waiting for the top chefs to arrive..... :pac:

Yeah, you could have fixed it. It's happened me a few times, I use a spatula and slip it into the fold to pry it apart. You need to use your fingers too so be careful.

If you pour your batter and wait for the bubbles to start rising* before your flip then you should have no problem opening it back up.

*this is the indication I use that it's time to flip it.

the beer revolu

Magic Monkey wrote: »

the beer revolu, Bretons traditionally use all buckwheat flour for their galettes, but you can use half plain flour for a less instense flavour, and easier workability.

And for anyone that's tired of a squeeze of jif lemon and a sprinkling of sugar on their pancake Tuesday pancakes, there's a decadent Hungarian recipe called Gundel Pancakes (Gundel Palacsinta), which is walnut-filled pancakes with warm chocolate sauce

Made them with 4:1 Buckwheat:White flour.
They turned out really good.
Will definitely try them again!

Filled them with a chicken and leek mixture.

Galette Recipe was:

200g Buckwheat Flour
50g White flour
Pinch salt
2 Eggs
50cl milk/water mix