Jamie Oliver's Fluffy American Pancakes - My Gorgeous Recipes (2025)

FAQs

What is the trick to fluffy pancakes? ›

The secret is in the egg whites!

Yep, egg whites are THE determining factor here. To give your pancakes that fluffy text, beat only the egg whites for 3 minutes on medium speed. They'll start turning creamy, which means it's time to add them to the pancake mixture.

Don't over-mix your batter

It's fine if you have a few lumps. The more you mix, the more the gluten will develop, which will create tougher pancakes.

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

Lumps are just fine here! You want to stir until the batter is just combined, no more, no less. Overmixing leads to tough, chewy pancakes. Another step I like to take to achieve light and fluffy pancakes is to let the pancake batter rest on the countertop for 45 minutes to an hour before cooking.

Flour: This homemade pancake recipe starts with all-purpose flour. Baking powder: Baking powder, a leavener, is the secret to fluffy pancakes.

If pancake batter is left for too long, the raising agents become less effective, it loses those vital air bubbles which make the finished pancakes fluffy and the dry ingredients absorb too much of the moisture making the mixture heavy and dry.

In most cases, you can swap milk for water and vice versa using a 1:1 ratio. For example, if your mix or recipe calls for ½ cup of milk but you don't have it, add ½ cup of water. To err on the side of caution, try using half of the liquid in your recipe and go from there.

Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat. If you add too many eggs, you'll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes. When you don't add enough eggs, the cakes will be drier and tougher.

Here's why. Pancakes and waffles typically both contain baking soda, which causes them to rise. As soon as the baking soda is combined with the wet ingredients (which contain an acidic ingredient, like often buttermilk), it starts producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles that cause the batter to rise.

Does adding more baking powder make pancakes fluffier? ›

Baking powder (double acting) provides two rises: The first occurs when the baking powder comes into contact with a liquid, the second when it's exposed to heat. Too much baking powder will create a very puffy pancake with a chalky taste, while too little will make it flat and limp.

(Simply add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice to 2 cups milk and let that sit for about 10 minutes.) The acid in the buttermilk or lemon juice is the key to fluffy pancakes; when the acid reacts with baking soda, the combination forms bubbles, which create lighter, fluffier pancakes.

Vinegar—an acid—reacts with baking soda to produce carbon dioxide, which gives the batter a lift as it bakes. The acidity also causes the flour's proteins to gently unravel, producing a tender cake that is fluffy and moist.

Baking soda is essential for baked goods, but baking powder is really what makes pancakes and biscuits rise and become so super fluffy. Double-acting baking powder, which is the kind that you'll find in the grocery store, produces bubbles in two ways: when it is mixed with wet ingredients and then when it gets heated.