Superior pancakes are never the result of inferior ingredients. Make sure that you use the best ingredients that you can get your hands on, such as fresh flour, excellent baking powder, eggs with the sunniest yolks, and full-fat milk and yogurt.
2nd Commandment: Thou shalt not mix excessively.
Breakfast should never be a substitute for a workout session. In order to make sure that there aren't any dry ingredients lurking in your mixture, all you need to do is to mix the dry ingredients and the liquids separately. Then, just add the dry ingredients over the liquids. When whisking, you should do it quickly and not too thoroughly, as this could develop the gluten far too much.
Now that you've introduced the ingredients, go off and have a drink, leaving them to get to know each other. In order to make your pancakes as tasty as can be, you need to give the flour enough time to absorb all the liquids. Five minutes is the bare minimum, but ten minutes is ideal.
4th Commandment: Thou shalt befriend the butter.
Pancakes aren't really the same without butter, and it's really the only thing that you should consider using to grease your griddle. Oils break down at high temperatures, and tend to give pancakes an undesirable taste. The taste of butter will complement practically any pancake, so it's clearly the obvious choice.
Unless you opt for a non-stick surface, you'll have best results when using a cast aluminium griddle. This is because cast aluminium distributes heat far more evenly than stainless steel or cast iron pans. Additionally, make sure that your spatula is thin and flexible to help you get under your pancakes without any fuss.
6th Commandment: Thou shalt flip only when the time is right.
Making pancakes requires your full attention, and flipping too soon or too late could cause disaster. Once your pancake has puffed up and the shiny batter starts looking matte, then it's time to flip it over. Flip once and only once, and you shouldn't have any trouble.
Once you've flipped your pancake, please don't ever affectionately pat it down. A pancake has almost nothing in common with a hamburger, and doesn't require anything to be pushed out of its sides. The only thing you'll achieve is the destruction of a perfectly good pancake.
8th Commandment: Thou shalt not beat a single egg.
There's absolutely no reason to separate the eggs and whip the whites. Doing so is generally just a waste of time and effort. If you're using good quality baking powder, and don't unnecessarily stir down well-risen batter, then you should achieve excellent loft without beating a single egg.
When making use of extra ingredients, it's important to add them on top of the batter once it's already on the griddle. Adding extras on top of hot batter can result in caramelization of the sugars, creating a wonderful fusion of taste. However, mixing any extras into the batter itself could end up altering the pancake's color or texture, often with hit-or-miss results.
10th Commandment: Thou shalt not abuse maple syrup.
While maple syrup is a legendary pancake topping, it's definitely not the only one you should consider. Yogurt and applesauce go really well together, as do salami and cheese. Have fun trying creative combinations, and you'll often be pleasantly surprised with the results.
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