You’ll never reach for a box of pancake mix again after making this easy pancake recipe from scratch. Requiring only a handful of pantry staples and 20 minutes of your time, these homemade pancakes are as simple, fluffy, and delicious as breakfast recipes get. To make the batter, simply whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and a pinch of sugar) in one large bowl or large measuring cup and your wet ingredients (whole milk, eggs, some optional melted butter) in another, and then gradually combine the two.
Pancakes are forgiving and flexible, so you can adjust the consistency of the batter with either more milk or more flour as you see fit. And, if you’re a sourdough lover who keeps a starter at home, we even have directions below for adjusting the recipe to yield a tangy batch of sourdough pancakes. If you’re looking for buttermilk pancakes, though, click through for that recipe.
You can store this pancake batter, covered, in the refrigerator for up to two days, or enjoy immediately by ladling the mixture onto a skillet or griddle with some butter or neutral oil until golden brown on both sides. Want to take them beyond basic pancakes? Sprinkle a handful of blueberries or chocolate chips on top of each pancake before flipping them over to cook the second side. As for serving, a drizzle of maple syrup is compulsory, but if you’re feeling indulgent, a dollop of whipped cream, or even a scoop of ice cream, wouldn’t be amiss.
Editor's note: This recipe was originally published in ‘How to Cook Everything’ by Mark Bittman and first appeared on Epicurious November 3, 2016.
Recipe information
Total Time
20 minutes
Yield
Serves 4–6
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you make the batter.
Step 2
Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs into 1½ cups of the milk, then stir in the 2 tablespoons cooled melted butter if you’re using it. Gently stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to moisten the flour; don’t worry about a few lumps. If the batter seems thick, add a little more milk.
Step 3
Use a little butter or oil each time you add batter, unless your skillet is truly nonstick. When the butter foam subsides or the oil shimmers, ladle batter onto the griddle or skillet, making any size pancakes you like. Adjust the heat as necessary; usually, the first batch will require higher heat than subsequent batches. The idea is to brown the bottom in 2 to 4 minutes, without burning it. Flip when bubbles appear in the center of the pan-cakes and the bottoms are cooked; they won’t hold together well until they’re ready.
Step 4
Cook until the second side is lightly browned, a couple more minutes, and serve or hold on an oven-proof plate in a 200°F oven for up to 15 minutes.
Sourdough Pancakes: This requires a sourdough starter, but if you have one this is a good place to take advantage of your foresight. Substitute 1 cup sourdough starter for half the flour; reduce the milk and salt by half, the baking powder to ½ teaspoon, and the egg to 1. Mix the starter, flour, and ½ cup of the milk to a medium-thin batter; let sit for an hour. Just before cooking, stir in the salt, sugar, and baking powder; then beat in the egg.
Leave a Review
Reviews (24)
Back to TopI like the size of this recipe (2 cups flour) and the use of 2 eggs. But this is not successful. Not enough baking powder to cook the interior. Took a long time to cook and still had a gummy interior
Gailsin
San Francisco Bay
5/7/2022
Super easy to make. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out great.
Oiboi
1/1/2021
It comes out really well, with one caveat: the recipe here seems to use way too much milk. The first time I made it, I split the difference between the 1 1/2 - 2 cups specified, using 1 3/4 cups. That created really watery batter, and pancakes that were basically thick rubbery crepes. Attempt number two, I was a lot more careful, and added milk until I got the right consistency. 1 1/4 cups was perfect. Once that was adjusted, they came out beautifully fluffy. With the milk adjusted to a reasonable level, I'd say this is a solid 3.5 star recipe.
leicanthrope
Atlanta, GA
4/5/2020
A truly awesome recipe! The pancakes came out golden and fluffy, and could even be reheated (though that's probably not recommended). I would suggest turn you heat up very high for this recipe to ensure that rise.
elineli
London, UK
5/19/2019
This recipe has worked out great for me! I add some vanilla extract and sometimes cinnamon when I'm feeling like an especially dessert-y breakfast. :)
Anonymous
NYC
4/21/2019
lousy recipe. I am a lover of pancakes but this one is the worst I have ever tried. they came out flat, did not rise, were tough to eat, in fact I ended up feeding them to my dogs, they didn't like them much either. I checked the recipe twice to see if I had missed something, but no, I followed every thing as stated in the recipe. One thing I don't agree with is the heat as stated. I always want my heat to be a little hotter than that stated. It should not take two to four minutes to cook a pancake.!!!!!!!
ddc
Beverly Hills Fl.
2/17/2019
Quick, easy, and tasty. I used the "optional" sugar and butter for more flavor, I also cut the recipe in half (for two people), it yielded 6 large pancakes. Perfect with local organic maple syrup!
zenchari
Burlington, CT
2/8/2019
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