Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Pancake Disaster



What is it with pancakes? What's this trick that I haven't yet discovered in making pancakes?!! I tried frying some pancakes the other day and the first one got stuck on the pan - (which, by the way, has only been used twice and just for pancakes only)!!! I tried frying another one in another pan but I got the same results!!! I used to blame my pans but when I watch chefs on TV preparing their pancakes in old pans I realised it's not the pan which is causing the problem but rather ME. At the end I cooked my pancake mixture in my waffle maker but I kind of lost appetite after doing them all. I just can't understand what I'm doing wrong. Does anyone have any tips???

10 comments:

Cola said...

When doing pancakes you should first warm the pan and put salt on it. Leave it the salt in the pan on heat and after a minute or 2 wipe it with a kitchen towel. This really cleans the pan.

Now you're ready to start to cook the pancakes. For better results cover the pan in buttery oil. This will mean that your first pancakes won't be great, however the rest will be.

For pancakes you have to make a quite thin layer on the pan quickly, so have a spoon to smear the pancake mixture across the pan if it's not smooth enough to move by itself.

Hope this helps!

p.s. I always let my boyfriend heat up the pancakes since my always come out crappy!

Sue said...

Hi Zen... your post put a smile on my face, I remember my very first pancakes were a disaster too.
What ingredients are you using? Maybe it's one of the ingredients that's causing them to stick to the pan.
Sue.

Angela said...

I melt butter in the pan before frying pancakes. Also I've found that making the pancakes smaller rather than large is the best way for them not to break apart when flipping them too. I made some a few weeks ago, and ended up having to throw it all out because for some reason that morning I just couldn't make a decent pancake if my life depended on it! So disappointing lol. Practice makes perfect though ;o)

Oh and no hidden room at the new place, a weird somewhat hidden staircase though, very narrow and tight- wont get used- but still a cool feature!

Juniper said...

Hi Zen, don't worry, the first pancake always is a dud. Make sure the pan is hot and there is butter on it when you begin. The batter I usually make is along these lines,
3 eggs, 3 cups milk, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 White flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, pinch salt, 3 tbs oil, cinnamon, tsp vanilla and if you have on hand soft or brown bananas mash and add them, they make the batter moist and light. Mix all the dry things together and the wet things separately together, pour the wet into the dry and whisk very briefly ( never over mix, the batter should be lumpy) good luck!

Loree said...

I find that you have to make sure one side is done before trying to flip it. If it doesn't lift easily, it's not ready yet. I am not sure if that will help.

Nick Phillips (15/03/1967 - 04/11/2022) said...

LOL! I can't even boil water properly so I don't have any tips for you.

Hope your future tries will be perfect :D

Cola said...

To flip pancakes I use the cover (l-ghatu) of the pan. I place it on top of the pan with the pancake that needs to be flipped over and then gently tilt the pan sideways. The pancake can then be slid back from the cover to the pan.

Dina said...

Every Saturday for lunch I make pancakes with the children. My first pancakes were not the best pancakes one could eat but now I have a good mixture a good pancake pan (not necessary... but I am a sucker for gadgets :) this is my mixture for approx 10 normal sized pancakes .... 1 egg, 300ml milk enough self raising flour to make mixture slightly thick but pourable ! Heat up the pan first with a little oil or butter. Also if you are doing sweet pancakes add sugar, I don't because my kids spread thick layers of nutella on their pancakes. As soon as you pour the mixture into the pan watch for bubbles.... once you see the air bubbles you need to turn the pancake around. Hope that was of some help :))

Joey said...

I'm laughing because I have never been able to make round and perfect ones either.

You can do it. You can do anything!!

Joey

Suki said...

Hey thank you guys for your tips.
@Sue - I used a ready made mixture of the Cameo brand.
@Cola - thank you so much for your helpful tips. Never heard of using salt before!
@Juniper and Dina- thanks for sharing your recipes - I'll definitely save them in my recipe folder for future experiments!
@Angie - will try making smaller ones - safer that way I guess : )
@Nick and Joey: Let's hope I'll do better in the next pancake trial!