The Year of the Pancake

Some recipes come in a flash. Others take a little longer. I’ve been working on this one for more than a year. Then again, usually when I’m developing a recipe, it’s for work. This one was a labor of love.

For some time now, it has been my habit to rise early on the weekend, walk the dogs and read the paper in the garden over a cup of coffee. Thus civilized, I’m able to mix up a batch of pancake batter, which is usually just about when my wife wakes up. Even my 17-year-old daughter seems to rouse about then--when there are pancakes.

I cook the pancakes on the center griddle of my ‘40s-vintage O’Keefe & Merritt stove and then we sit at the kitchen counter and eat them, usually with just butter and syrup. My daughter then heads back to bed while my wife and I begin our day.

When I started this ritual, I used the pancake recipe from the 1975 edition of the “Joy of Cooking.” But before long, I began messing with it and, in my tinkering, I learned some things.

Cooking pancakes is simple, but to understand how they work--and to get the best pancakes--you have to know a little about how baking works. When flour is moistened and stirred, gluten strands form. When leavening is added, carbon dioxide bubbles form and are trapped by the gluten strands. When these bubbles are heated, they puff even more.

That outline, of course, fits everything from the lightest cake to the densest bread. Pancakes, essentially a griddle-baked quick bread, fall somewhere in the middle. You want enough gluten structure that the cakes will be light but not so much that they’re tough.

The most basic way to avoid overdeveloping the gluten is to avoid stirring, or at least over-stirring. Cut the liquid ingredients into the dry ones with a large flat spatula and do it in as few strokes as possible. It’s better to have some lumps (they’ll bake out) than it is to have an overworked batter.

There are other things you can do to make a more tender cake as well. Sugar will help, though if you add too much, it throws off the balance of flavors.

More effective is some kind of acidity, which retards gluten development. In the case of pancakes, that doesn’t mean adding lemon juice or vinegar; it means adding an acidified liquid. Most pancake recipes (particularly older ones) call for buttermilk. Perhaps at one time buttermilk was a staple in most homes, but it never has been in mine.

Yogurt, which is certainly found in more modern households than buttermilk, has the same effect. Stir a couple of tablespoons of yogurt into regular milk and it will dramatically improve the texture of the pancakes.

If a little is a good thing, a lot is not. Too much yogurt--or any other acidified liquid, for that matter--makes pancakes that are gooey. What happens, essentially, is that there is so little structure to hold the air bubbles that the pancakes collapse.

Which brings us to leavening--baking soda and powder. Baking soda is the original quick leavening agent, but it requires the presence of an acid to produce carbon dioxide. Baking powder is a more modern product that consists of baking soda plus an acidifier.

Since we’re already using an acidified liquid, we can use baking soda as the primary leavening agent. This is good because in addition to providing a burst of bubbles, baking soda adds an interesting bitter complexity to the batter, kind of like the malt in a good shake.

Again, a little is good, a lot is not. When baking soda leavens, it leaves behind a mildly alkaline substance. Probably the most familiar alkaline substance in most homes is soap. Remember when you first used a bad word? That’s what too much baking soda tastes like.

When it comes to baking the batter, there are a couple of things to watch. First, initial temperature is important. The griddle or pan should be hot enough that the gluten network will set quickly. But it should not be so hot that the pancake scorches before it cooks through. This will take some adjusting, but as countless cookbooks point out, the griddle is ready when it is just hot enough that a drop of water dances across its surface.

Also, the surface should be just barely filmed with butter. In fact, after many years of use, the griddle on my old stove is so stick-resistant I don’t add butter. I don’t like true nonstick surfaces for pancakes, though; they seem to come out with an unnaturally slick surface.

As the pancakes cook on the first side, you will see bubbles rise through the batter to the top. This is the leavening working. When the batter becomes set enough that the bubbles can no longer work their way through, they are done on that side. (The top will also take on a dry, almost matte-like texture as well.)

Flip them and cook them on the second side just enough to brown it. When you press in the center, it should feel moderately firm--neither squishy nor hard.

These pancakes need to be eaten as soon as they’re cooked. If they get cold, they get tough. If absolutely necessary, you can arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet and keep them warm in a 250-degree oven up to 10 minutes.

But really, these pancakes are essentially a last-minute thing, even if it did take a year to figure them out.

PERFECT PANCAKES

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup yogurt

2 eggs

Butter for greasing griddle

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar into large mixing bowl and stir together.

Measure milk into 4-cup measuring cup, then add yogurt and eggs. Mix well to combine liquid ingredients. Make well in center of dry-ingredient mixture. Add all but 1/2 cup liquid mixture to dry mixture and in 3 or 4 quick strokes, mix to combine. Mixture should be thickness of sour cream. If too thick, add remaining liquid bit by bit until texture is correct.

Grease griddle with thin film of butter and heat until drops of water dance across top. Using 1/3-cup measuring cup, ladle mixture onto griddle. Cook until top appears dry and bubbles stop appearing, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook on second side until pancakes feel firm and dry when pressed, about 2 minutes.

6 servings. Each serving:

310 calories; 251 mg sodium; 80 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams protein; 0.17 gram fiber.