Pancakes, Buttermilk

Few people are even aware of the fact that buttermilk may be used for things other than pancakes. Let me assure you that buttermilk pancakes can hardly be better by any other form of flapjack, but if you ever plan to make wings at home, please please PLEASE soak those bad boys in buttermilk for 24 hours beforehand. The buttermilk breaks down all the tendons and muscle fibers and makes them fantastically more delicate, moist, and chewy. The meat falls off of the bone with but little effort. It is well worth your time.

Don't be intimidated by the name either. It's the stuff that's leftover after one makes butter from fresh cream. Next time you want butter (i.e. ALWAYS), have a cup of cream and a Mason jar, pour part A into part B, seal, and shake for 45 min. Toss it back and forth with friends. Shake it high, shake it low. Shake it like a salt shaker. It'll be soft, then hard, sloshy, then thick. After your time's up, get a cheesecloth and drain that baby for a good hour. The liquid that'll've drained out is essentially buttermilk. The gorgeous and pale ball in your cloth will be BUTTER! I don't salt mine until I've spread it on whatever. Make sure to get out as much water as possible (manipulate it while it drains) or it'll really shorten the life of your butter. It's that simple.

Cultural fact: In Morocco, buttermilk is served post-couscous to wash everything down.

Now, buttermilk pancakes are a bit higher than the bee's knees on my list of grand things (but not as high as butter, haha). The fluff and chew is just impeccable. If you throw in some lemon zest, you've really got something to wake up to. If olfactory stimulation just isn't good enough, the gustatory sparkle and shine of these pancakes will bring absolutely anyone out of bed (I recall a time when my sister, so reluctant to leave her covers, forced my dad to carry out the ever-present threat of pouring syrup in her hair!).

This is the recipe that I always have gone to. I tried altering things, and the only good options I found were subbing almond extract for vanilla and orange zest for lemon.

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
2 tbs white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (or almond)
1 tsp lemon zest (or orange)
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
3 tbs butter, melted

Put your griddle/pan on medium heat and have the Pam at the ready.

Sift the dry ingredients together in a big bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet together. Usually, I have let my buttermilk and egg sit for a half hour or so at room temperature to get slightly warmer, as this binds things together better.

Add the wet to the dry and stir together being careful not to overmix. Having lumps is totally okay.

I use either a 1/4 or 1/3 cup to measure out my pancakes. It takes out the guess work of pouring and creates a pleasant uniformity. Cook about two minutes on each side. Slide off onto a warm plate and either serve in batches or put the one plate of pancakes in the microwave between batch preparations to keep them warm. Be sure to spray that cooking spray between every batch or two.





If you want to put any berry fruit in your pancakes, rinse and dry them off and toss them in some flour. You'll want to drop them into your pancakes after you've poured them out. Adding them this late ensures that all the fruit doesn't sink to the bottom of your batter. The flour coating helps the berry to "float" in your pancake, so they're not all on one side or another.

Lindsey and I have quite a table setting for these guys. There's butter, maple syrup, honey, blackberry jam, Nutella, sliced almonds, and walnuts. Try out whatever toppings you feel like!