Buttermilk Pancakes
Overview
Fluffy, tangy, golden. Makes about 9-10 pancakes — enough for 2 guests + you with seconds. Extras freeze beautifully. Banana and blueberry both work; instructions for adding either.
Yield: ~9-10 pancakes (serves 3)
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoons baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1.5 cups buttermilk (or 1.5 cups whole milk + 1.5 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar, sit 5 min)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 tablespoons additional butter for the griddle
- 1 ripe banana, sliced into thin rounds (OR 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen)
Equipment Needed
- Lodge griddle (2-burner)
- Large mixing bowl + separate bowl or measuring cup
- Whisk and wooden spoon or rubber spatula
- 1/3-cup measuring cup
- Wide spatula
- Wire rack + sheet pan (for keeping warm in oven)
Instructions
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Buttermilk substitute (if needed): Pour 1.5 cups whole milk into a measuring cup, add 1.5 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar, stir. Let sit 5 minutes until slightly curdled.
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Preheat the griddle: Preheat the Lodge griddle across both burners on medium-low heat for 5 minutes. (Stovetop griddles need real preheat time — if you start cooking on a cold griddle, the first pancakes get soggy and pale.)
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Whisk dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly combined.
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Whisk wet ingredients: In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted butter (make sure butter has cooled slightly so it doesn’t cook the eggs).
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Combine, then rest: Pour wet into dry. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Stir gently until just combined — maybe 12-15 strokes. LUMPS ARE FINE. Stop the moment you see no dry flour. Let the batter rest 5 minutes while the griddle finishes heating.
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Test griddle temperature: Flick a few drops of water on the surface. They should sizzle and dance, evaporating in 2-3 seconds. If they pop violently or burn off instantly, too hot — reduce heat, wait 1 min. If they just sit there, too cool — bump heat up slightly.
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Butter the griddle: Rub about 1 tbsp of butter across the hot griddle with a paper towel — you want a thin film, not pools.
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Pour and add fruit: Using a 1/3-cup measure, pour batter onto the griddle, leaving 2 inches between pancakes. (Three pancakes at a time on a 2-burner griddle is usually right.) Immediately press 4-5 slices of banana into each wet pancake top, or scatter 8-10 blueberries.
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First side: Cook 3 minutes. Watch for: (1) bubbles forming AND popping on top — not just forming, but popping open and leaving little craters, (2) the edges look set and slightly dry, (3) the bottom is deep golden when you peek with a spatula. All three = ready to flip.
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Flip ONCE: Flip with a confident motion — one fluid lift, not a hesitant push. Flip ONCE. Resist the urge to peek and re-flip. Cook 2 minutes more until the second side is golden and the pancake springs back when lightly pressed in the center.
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Hold warm, repeat: Move pancakes to a 200°F oven on a wire-rack-lined sheet pan to stay warm. Wipe the griddle quickly with paper towel between batches to remove any burnt fruit bits, butter it again, repeat with remaining batter.
Half Batch (serves 1)
¾ cup flour, 1 tbsp sugar, ¾ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp salt, ¾ cup buttermilk-or-substitute, 1 egg, 2 tbsp melted butter. Makes 4-5 pancakes.
Notes
Test your baking powder/soda: Both lose potency after 6 months. Drop ¼ tsp baking soda in vinegar — should fizz aggressively. Drop ¼ tsp baking powder in hot water — same. If either is a slow weak fizz, replace it. This is the silent killer of flat pancakes.
The lumpy batter rule: Mix wet into dry just until no dry flour is visible. Lumps the size of peas are fine, even desirable. Smooth batter = overworked gluten = tough pancakes.
Frozen blueberries: Don’t thaw. Add directly to wet batter on the griddle — thawed blueberries will bleed and turn batter purple.
Keeping warm while you cook the rest: Preheat regular oven to 200°F. As pancakes finish, place on a sheet pan with the wire rack, single layer, in the oven. They’ll stay hot and crisp-edged up to 30 min.
Troubleshooting
- First pancake comes out weird: It always does. It’s calibrating the griddle. Eat it as cook’s privilege.
- Pale and dense: Griddle wasn’t hot enough. Bump heat slightly between batches.
- Brown outside, raw inside: Griddle too hot. Drop it down a notch, the next batch will recover.
- Pancakes spreading too thin: Batter too thin. Add 2 tbsp more flour, stir gently.
- Pancakes too thick to spread: Batter too thick. Add 2 tbsp more buttermilk.
Storage
Cool pancakes flat on a wire rack. Stack with parchment between each, freeze in a zip-top bag up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen: 30 sec each side in toaster, or 1 min in toaster oven at 350°F.