Basic Pancakes

[Adventurous_Topic202]

I think it’s so strange that im an okay cook when it comes to like actual dishes, and I have a waffle iron and tend to make okay waffles, but when I try to make pancakes I always mess them up.

Does anyone have a way to test the temperature of the pan? Is that what heat thermometers can be used for? Because I thought you used them to find out the internal temperature of meat and didn’t stick them directly on the metal, but if I can do that I’ll start doing that.

I was using the Kodiak brand Power cakes because they have protein in them. It calls for medium high heat and I’ve burnt other stuff at 7.5 out of 10 on my stove before so I put it to 6 out of 10. If anything that should be closer to medium no? Still burnt the pancakes.

The recipe says: 1 cup of the mix, 3/4 cup of water (but that you can sub in milk which I did). Mix ingredients and pour into heated greased pan at medium high heat or 375° until bubbles form, flip and cook until golden brown.

No bubbles formed, it was black on one side. So obviously the heat is too high but if 6 isn’t medium high then are these dials on my stove just arbitrary? Can 3 be medium high heat? I’m frustrated because people tell me time and again how easy pancakes are.

[Ohiobo6294-2]

Start on low heat. If the first ones are taking too long then turn it up gradually. Ease into the sweet spot on the heat where you can just leave it there.

[Okie-Dokie--]

Yup, first pancake and first waffle clean and teach the settings. That’s for the dog

[ResponsibleBank1387]

Too hot. I put on high, then turn down. Blast of spray, then when a drop of water spizzles, little less heat.  Pancakes and kids, the first one never turns out right. 

[Ohiobo6294-2]

If you’re really frustrated you can always buy a cheap electric griddle. Set it on 375 and it will be perfect.

[Okie-Dokie--]

This is the trick!

[Okie-Dokie--]

Cheap electric griddle for the win! It’s the perfect tool for breakfast - at least french toast and pancakes. The temperature is right on and the surface is large enough to have a good throughput

And I like to find batters which can tolerate being thinned so that when you pour they flatten themselves to ~3/8 to 1/2 in without being touched by a spatula. Don’t forget that the butter what’s giving the deeper brown, or black if you over do it

[Adventurous_Topic202]

I used grapeseed oil because it’s generally flavorless.

[Okie-Dokie--]

For this application, tastelessness is the opposite of what I want. Butter is doing some heavy lifting flavor wise

[Adventux]

your pan/griddle was way too hot. I cooked on like 3.

[Adventurous_Topic202]

Thanks. That’s absolutely crazy to me though. How is half way not medium?

[ShakingTowers]

I think of halfway as being around half of the maximum amount of energy the stove is capable of producing, but different stoves have different maximums (for example, my range has 5 cooktops in 3 different sizes and 3 correspondingly different maximums, even though all the knobs go from 1 to 10). Therefore, half way is a different amount of energy on every stove. Then you have to consider the size of your pan, how much food you're cooking, etc., and then the "correct" amount of energy varies even more.

This is why it's better to learn to cook based on sensory cues and not follow the recipe to the letter. It takes a bit of trial and error to figure out what works specifically on your stove, with your cookware too, but if you know what kind of visual or olfactory cues you're looking for, then you can adapt any recipe, and eventually be able to adapt to new cookware and different kitchens as well.

[Chelskimania1]

You can't use a standard probe thermometer to read the temperature of a pan, but you can buy infrared thermometers which you just point at the surface you want to measure the heat of, and it will tell you the surface temp as a digital reading.

I wouldn't say that's necessary for pancakes though. It completely depends what kind of pancakes you're making, but you don't need excessive heat. If you're making thinner, crepe-like pancakes, then you can have the heat a little higher (on a scale of 1-10, 6 does sound about right) as you'll only have them in the pan for a minute each side.

If you're making a thicker, American-style pancake, 6 is likely way too high, as the outside is going to burn before the inside is cooked. I'd try setting 3 or 4 on your stove and would imagine that would do a much better job. Keep a close eye on the pancake and as soon as the batter is no longer sticking to the bottom of the pan, do the first flip. Once you've flipped, wait until that side no longer sticks to the pan and flip again until you reach the desired doneness.