seriously, the best pancake recipe
they're almost nutty? almost healthy? and the most delicious
I’m back in D.C. and I couldn’t be happier about it, despite the ridiculously dreary days and dark nights. I just love my own kitchen, I love D.C. restaurants, and I love my friends who will cook for me. (Cook for your friends!)
Today’s newsletter is really just a pancake recipe (if that’s what you’re here for, scroll down). I’ve gotten requests for this recipe too many times to count. Having just made them this morning and once more promised to share — everyone thank friend of the newsletter Maya — here we are.
Many of you know that my love for food, my inspiration, and most of my cooking knowledge comes from my dad, who should really be writing a newsletter of his own (he’s spent the last two months on a pâté-making journey that deserves its own Youtube series). He cooks incessantly, adores cooking for others, and expected me and my brothers to cook well from a young age.
But all of the credit for this recipe goes to my mom. My mom is also a great cook, and she loves food almost as much as my dad. She’s got exceptional taste and VERY strong opinions. But when you’re in a relationship with my dad, your cooking doesn’t stand much of a chance. He just wants to cook so badly, and does it so well, that why would anyone who doesn’t feel that same drive really bother? It became mutually agreeable to them both to allow him inspirational reign in the kitchen.
I had a conversation last night with two friends in a relationship that’s panning out much the same way. (You know who you are.) And what has naturally evolved for them — and for my parents, and for what I assume to be so many other partnerships — is that the person who cooks less also develops some very specific specialties. They bake pretzels. They bake carrot cake. They make the best goddamn rice bowls.
Or, if you’re my mom, you figure out how to make unbelievable pancakes.
The original recipe comes from the 1962 edition of Joy of Cooking (a seriously great cookbook that I will wax poetic about in a future missive). I have a couple of blurry photos of the “Whole Wheat Griddle Cakes” section saved on my phone, from back before I had this recipe memorized. It became my mom’s recipe because she is an endless fiddler, and she spent the course of my childhood perfecting this one.
If you’re questioning the presence of oats, whole-wheat flour, or cornmeal in this recipe — just trust me. They add a texture, nuttiness, and depth that most pancakes are missing. These aren’t health food pancakes, they are just unusually tasty pancakes that happen to be slightly less like dessert. I personally don’t love the sort of sweaty, nauseous feeling you can get after eating a massive stack of regular pancakes, and I promise this will not induce that kind of food coma.
One more final note: This recipe really is adaptable. You can play with the quantities of any of the flours or oats. You could add more sugar, if you prefer something sweeter. Different-flavored yogurts can be great. Any add-ins work beautifully (bananas, blueberries, chocolate chips). I’m consistently out of one ingredient or another and have never had an issue just upping the quantity of something else to compensate.
The Best Pancakes
Ingredients
1/2 cup regular flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup oats (heaping! extra oats are delish)
2 tablespoons sugar (or honey, or maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups yogurt, buttermilk, or a mix (whole fat is preferable. If using Greek yogurt, be sure to add some buttermilk or regular milk in a pinch to thin it out to the consistency of traditional yogurt. I prefer plain yogurt, but vanilla can also be delicious and adds some additional sweetness to the batter).
1 large egg
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Directions
Whisk together the dry ingredients — regular flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, oats, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. (If you’re using honey or maple syrup instead of sugar, save those for the wet ingredients). Use a bowl large enough to eventually hold all of the batter.
In a separate bowl (I like to use a 4 or 8 cup glass pyrex for this), whisk together the yogurt and/or buttermilk, the egg, the melted butter, and the sugar if you’re using a liquid.
Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and use a rubber spatula to fold it all together. Make sure everything is evenly mixed, but don’t keep mixing after it’s nice and smooth, because eventually the final pancakes will come out tough if you overdo it.
A quick note here: If you’re using Greek yogurt, the batter might look unusually thick to you. As long as it doesn’t have visible dry spots, that’s really okay. The thick batter will eventually create a really fluffy, thick pancake. If you still think it might be a little bit too dry or too thick, you can always add a little more buttermilk or yogurt at this step to get the consistency you want. But you’re not going for something terribly sloppy, unlike many other pancake recipes.
To cook the pancakes, heat a skillet or griddle over high heat with some unsalted butter (if you’re feeling fancy) or any neutral oil until it feels quite warm. Cast iron pans work especially well here, but nonstick will do fine if it’s all you have. Once the pan is very warm, lower the heat to medium or medium-high.
I’m being very specific about this because I find actually cooking the pancakes to the right degree to be annoyingly tricky. It’s almost guaranteed that your first few will come out either over or under-done, so do a couple of small sacrificial ones to get a feel for your pan’s heat and adjust accordingly.
Take a couple of spoonfuls or a quarter cup measure to spoon the batter onto the pan, and let it spread out naturally to the size you want. Don’t hesitate to add a little more to the middle if they are too small for your taste. They should sizzle just the tiniest bit upon contact if your pan is hot enough.
Knowing when to flip them is a little bit of an instinctual thing, but a few tips. If you gently prod underneath with your spatula, the pancake should come away very easily from the pan. You can even sort of peek underneath the edge of one to get a sense of whether they are browned to the degree you want. The very edges of a pancake ready to be flipped will look different from the middle, almost shinier and smoother.
If they’re taking several minutes and are still pale on one side, up the heat. And if they are turning very dark brown or black within the first minute or two, turn it down because you won’t cook through the middle by the time the outsides are done.
Once they are flipped, DO NOT PRESS THEM DOWN WITH THE SPATULA. I do not know why people do this, aside from a sheer need for a sense of control? Why would you press the fluff out of a pancake? This is not a smashburger. You are going for fluff.
Take them off when both sides are the color you like. Feel free to flip a couple of times to get them where you want them. If you’re making a lot at once, you can store the ones that are finished in a low-heat oven to keep them warm.
One final note re/ serving: These really are better with real maple syrup. Because there’s so little sugar in the dough itself, you need a flavorful sugar for anyone who isn’t craving an almost savory pancake.
If you try this recipe, I want to know how it goes! Let me know in the comments or by replying to this email.
Restaurant notes this week
(this really will become a more regular recurring feature, now that I’m back in D.C.)
Best Indian food I’ve had in this city: Daru. H Street. This place is seriously not overrated. Worth the fight for the reservation. Chillest vibes, yet impeccable service. Surprisingly affordable. Get the Murgh Makhani, I can’t stop thinking about it.
Takeout fried chicken: Doro Soul Food. Shaw. Ethiopian-inspired spices. Cheap, great, exactly what you imagine. No place to sit down, so be sure you have a plan to take your food somewhere else.
And finally, because apparently the only time in my life I’ve photographed these pancakes was for brunch on a spring break trip to my ex-boyfriend’s Florida condo five years ago… here is that picture. They do not look attractive here, but I promise they can be!
seriously so yummy