Pancake Recipe

I've been wanting to write about my pancakes for a little while now, and since I don't ever think I'll have them perfect, so timing this post with Ze Frank's "Pankegg" recipe seems as good enough.

Here's my current recipe:
Dry:
1 cup flour
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)*

Wet:
1 egg
2 tbs butter, melted
1 cup milk

Equipment:
Mixing bowl, microwave-safe cup, teflon pan, spatula, fork (or sifter), and spoon.

*Cinnamon is tasty, but not for everyone. Even if it's not your favorite thing, beginners who don't own sifters (much like me) may want to add it to help them see when all the dry ingredients have been reasonably mixed. Also, note that if you do choose to add cinnamon, your pancakes will end up noticeably darker. They should end up a brassy-brown instead of a golden-brown; a lesser metal, maybe, but certainly a tasty pancake!

Method:
FIRST melt the butter. You want as much time for it to cool down as possible. Personally, I should wait longer than I do, but I only cook when I'm hungry - things tend to get rushed. To melt the butter: put it in a glass and into the microwave for about 2 minutes.

In a dry bowl, dump in all of the dry ingredients. If you're a little more affluent than me, you can get a sifter and sift 'em together. I just stir it up with a fork for a bit.

For the first time tonight, I tried this method with mixing wet ingredients. It worked pretty okay.

Poor the milk into the cup with the melted butter. If your milk is cold (and it probably is,) much of the butter will clump back into solids and float to the top. This looks kinda disgusting, but is OK. You can think of those clumps as flavor crystals. Crack an egg into the cup, and mix it all up.

I like to add the wet into the dry in half-steps. I like to think that helps cut down on major lumps, but it probably just helps to keep me occupied during all the necessary stirring. Add half of the wet mixture, and mix in until it's mostly a doughy consistency and you don't see much try flour left. Then add half of what's left of the wet mixture. Stir until it's all an even consistency. It should become fluid in this step, but you'll probably say to yourself "Damn, this'll never become pourable batter with how little fluid I have left!" Then add the rest of the wet mixture. You'll quickly see that it's becoming a fine batter, and that you were wrong to think otherwise (yes, I think these same things every time I make 'em.) The batter should stay just on this side of "soupy," but if you like thinner 'cakes, feel free to add a splash more milk.

You should've been heating up the pan while you were mixing the batter, but if you're like me, then you either forgot or didn't read the recipe far enough ahead. That's okay, it only means that you'll be starving for a couple extra minutes. Grab a cookie.

After the pan is heated to medium heat, poor a glop of your batter no bigger than your spatula into the pan. If you pour out gigantic 'cakes, they can be hard to flip. Note: I don't add fat to the pan because I use teflon pans. I add the butter flavor in the batter, and clean-up is a lot easier when my pan isn't coated in grease.

When you see bubbles appear near the center of your 'cake, it's time to flip. Flip quickly, because the top will still be a little wet. If you get some splash, just scooch the batter back towards your 'cake with the spatula. If the top wasn't wet, you may need to turn up the heat or flip a little sooner. If the pancake solidifies before it's flipped, it'll still taste just fine, but it'll be a little ugly on one side.

After forty seconds (?) or so, take the pancake off and start again. I've never actually timed these things, and the first one is never perfect. You'll be doing it several times, so you should have the hang of the timing before you're done.

Makes 7-8 pancakes, and serves 2. I wrap the second serving up in plastic wrap and throw it in the fridge, to heat up in the oven and eat later in the week.

I wrote a lot of words, but they're really pretty simple to make, and kinda hard to screw up. If you want to experiment with the basic recipe, try getting the butter in there in different ways, or adding more or less baking soda. Of course, you can also experiment by adding blueberries or chocolate chips or whatever you like. I hope you enjoy 'em.