Flipping Delicious

The simple ratio of pancakes

One of my favourite parts of culinary school was the stories told by our Chefs.  While there was almost always a lesson (or a slightly risqué joke) at the root of the story, some of the Chefs were excellent story-tellers and their yarns gave us insights into what awaited us in professional kitchens.

One story I remember was from a new Chef who joined the school when I was in the Intermediate Level class and it was about a restaurant (or was it a hotel?) where he worked before becoming a teacher. It went something like this:

Some of the cooks came to me and said, hey Chef, piece of equipment X isn’t working; we can’t make the lunch today.  I told them “I don’t see how those two things are related.”

The show must go on.  Lunch must be served and you’ll have to figure it out.

I’ve been having a moment like this all week.  Last Saturday morning the oven stubbornly refused to heat and while parts have been ordered it’s taking a few days.  Talk about taking something for granted! Everything I want to do seems to involve the oven.

So, like a good Chef, I know the show must go on.  Forget giving me lemons – life gave me a broken oven, so I made pancakes.

Is there anyone who doesn’t like pancakes? Pancakes are not only delicious, but fast, thrifty, and a great way to use up what I call the “little bits of shit” around the kitchen.  The last couple of teaspoons of nuts or dried fruit, a few stray berries, half a bruised banana?  Pancakes.

Pancakes are more of a ratio than a recipe, so once you have the general idea you can make them anytime and anywhere:  on vacation, at the cottage, camping, at a friend’s house, in a crummy Airbnb, etc.  And if you can get the texture of the batter right, you can pretty much dispense with the measuring cups and spoons.

(And while, in almost all circumstances, I much prefer to measure by weight, I’m usually making pancakes with one eyeball half open and before the coffee has kicked in.  Measuring cups and spoons it is!)

The ratio I use comes from an old cookbook (and you know how I love old cookbooks) dating back to the late 1950s/early 1960s.  The book “Handbook of Home Economics” was produced for Ottawa Public Schools and was my Mom’s middle school home economics textbook. The sections on clothing, grooming, and the role of women are hilariously outdated, but there’s some seriously solid advice on cooking, including flour mixtures and pancakes.

This book has been through a lot, as you can see.

The ratio is sound.  Equal parts flour and liquid, 2 teaspoons baking powder per cup of flour, and ½ teaspoon less per each egg added.  A bit of sugar and a bit of fat.  A little salt because almost everything needs a bit of salt.

This recipe is pretty darn basic, but that’s the point. Think of pancakes as blank canvas and your freezer and pantry staples the paints.

This morning I had a few thawed blueberries and some white chocolate chips so in they went. I subbed about half the flour for whole wheat all-purpose, and swapped melted butter for melted coconut oil. I also doubled the sugar since my kiddo doesn’t like maple syrup (!) and I added a couple of tablespoons of my pancake secret ingredient: malted milk powder. Seriously people, try this. It’s like the sweet version of umami and I’m pretty much at the point I won’t make pancakes without it. You can get this stuff at almost any grocery store - it’s like nostalgia in a jar.

And that’s just one option. How about some of these ideas?

Oatmeal raisin: sub part of the flour for oat flour (or oats ground in the food processor), raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla

Tropical: the blackened banana from your fruit bowl (mashed), coconut oil, toasted coconut flakes, pineapple preserves and some crushed macadamia nuts

Spring rhubarb: Sub some of the flour for buckwheat flour, serve with rhubarb ginger compote and toasted flaked almonds

And here’s my super pro-level tip: make your pancake batter the night before and stick it in the fridge. Seriously. Your baking powder won’t deflate: most all commercially-available baking powder is double-acting, meaning it reacts once with liquid, then again with heat. The overnight time in fridge will give your flour extra time to fully hydrate, giving you more tender and delicious pancakes. And you get more time to sleep in. It’s a win-win. But just wait to add your mix-ins until morning - berries can bleed, nuts will get soggy, and dried fruit will suck the moisture out of your batter. Not cool.

But if your pancake craving doesn’t hit until the sun comes up, never fear. Make your batter when you wake up, then wait to heat the pan until your second cup of coffee. Even a little rest makes a big difference. And in minutes you’ll have these. Fire up your oven (if it’s working!) on the heat/hold setting and pop them on a rack as you cook them - you should be able to sit and eat with your family and guests, not slave over a hot stove making a few at a time.

Pancakes are perfect example of what you can do when you focus on technique and ratio rather than a specific recipe. Many a brunch special has been made from a glut of seasonal produce or to use up something in the pantry with the “recipe” as merely a starting point. So whether you’re planning a fancy brunch or your oven is broken pancakes are a flipping delicious idea.