Buttermilk Pancakes & Homemade Dry Mix

Every Saturday, we have pancakes for breakfast--light, airy, fluffy buttermilk pancakes. This is something Billy and I used to do back when we had first moved in together, but after the baby, it since became a rare practice simply because cereal or eggs were faster and required less cleanup. After establishing our meal schedule, though, I decided to renew the tradition of Saturday morning pancakes and am so happy for it! It's a relaxing treat to look forward to after a week of waking up early for work and tiring oneself out from morning to bed with the daily responsibilities of life, especially parenting life.

I first published this recipe in my previous blog, Bee Sweet, but after years of working with it and trying new things, I find I have more to say on the subject. So, this may be a bit of a repeat for some, but bear with me. 

When we moved in together over three years ago, I decided to carry on the tradition of weekend pancakes that I had grown up with. Every Sunday, my dad would make thin, delicate Jiffy Mix pancakes and boy were they good. I believe he had actually grown up with the traditional thick, fluffy variety, but thin is how my mom liked them best and, so, that's how he made them and they grew to be my favorite too. I always thought those thick, fluffy restaurant pancakes were too dry and tough, but I would later find out that's likely because of their own recipe and mixing methods, not because of the size of the pancake! Remember this when making your own...mixing is key.

Bruce Paltrow's thin, delicate buttermilk pancakes

Anyway, every weekend I'd make Jiffy Mix pancakes until, one morning, we found ourselves with an empty box! I did what any determined pancake lover would do...sucked it up and made them from scratch. All I have to say is thank goodness we ran out of Jiffy Mix! I made Martha Stewart's buttermilk pancakes and never knew that thick and fluffy could be so good. I was a total convert; thin, delicate pancakes no more! And definitely never restaurant pancakes for as long as I shall live...Call me snobby, but I don't ever want to feel excited for something, order it, and then miss my own because I know very well that it's better.  

Of course, I still adore my dad's pancakes. I tried a recipe by Bruce Paltrow, which resulted in the most delicate pancakes that have ever touched my palate and actually found it extremely difficult to choose between them and Martha's fluffy ones, so it's really about your own tastes! Billy outright prefers the thick and fluffy, so I stick with Martha's recipe, but if you're a bigger fan of thin and delicate, even almost crepe-like, by all means, stick with a recipe for those. Absolutely, though, find yourself a tried-and-true, from-scratch recipe and you will never turn back! 

On the left are Bruce Paltrow's pancakes and on the right, Martha's. Both amazing...

Now, I've been making these buttermilk pancakes for years and I never thought they could get better. I will preface this by saying that I did slightly alter the recipe. Martha calls for buttermilk and melted butter...I used powdered buttermilk (because it keeps for eons in the refrigerator) with soy milk and vegetable oil. For three years, this is how I made the pancakes and they were out of this world. In my opinion, they could not be beat! But then I bought Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook, My Father's Daughter, in which she touts her father's pancakes as the ultimate best anyone could ever eat; challenge on! And you know the results...amazing, amazing pancakes that I could not choose as first nor second because there was just no comparing. I imagine they may very well be the best of the thin and delicate while Martha's are the best of the thick and fluffy (from what I've tried!)...but this is all beside my point. I wanted to make Bruce's authentic recipe and test it against Martha's authentic recipe, not against my slight alterations. How could I truly know whose is better if I change the original? So, we bought real buttermilk and I couldn't believe my eyes or my mouth. 

I had never considered the difference that could exist between fresh and powdered buttermilk. It seems obvious that the texture could never be the same, but as I'd never really used it before, I hadn't realized that there's a big difference between the consistency of buttermilk and your everyday cow's milk that we dip cookies in or pour into our bowl of cereal. I thought it was a taste thing...but buttermilk is more along the lines of heavy cream; it's very, very thick. The pancake batter I started out with, using powdered buttermilk, had a medium consistency that got thinner as I got to the bottom of the bowl. The second I mixed the batter with real buttermilk, though, I could tell the difference. It went from a pourable liquid to what looked like incredibly wet, yeast bread dough. There is no pouring this batter! You must scoop it and you may even need to shake it out of the measuring cup or scrape it with a spatula, that's how thick it is. And it does not thin as you get to the end; it's as thick as ever. I never knew! So, while substituting the buttermilk will still result in crazy delicious, light and fluffy pancakes, there's really no replacing it. You wouldn't think they could get lighter and more airy, but boy can they.

If I still haven't convinced you to ditch your generic dry baking mix or bottle of pre-made batter in favor of one hundred percent homemade, let me point this out to you...any homemade baked good can start out from a homemade dry mix! And how much time is it going to take you to make more than a box's worth of pancake mix? Five minutes? I've always been of the opinion that homemade doesn't truly take much longer than a store bought mix--you have a few extra measurements, but that's all; you still have to measure and mix in the wet ingredients that aren't included in the box! But I can admit that pulling out and putting away even a few extra ingredients can feel like so much more, especially when your life so often feels busy and hectic. You don't want to have to pull out flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder when you could just pull out one box alongside your wet ingredients. So...make a dry mix and you've just solved the problem. Once every few months you make this mix and it will feel like nothing, trust me!

So, for all the busy people out there whether it be from work, children, or just life in general, here are Martha Stewart's delectable Buttermilk Pancakes along with my dry mix version for easy, effortless Saturday mornings :)

Because I want to give you Martha's original recipe as well as my dry-mix adaptation, I'm going to post the ingredients for each before the directions. 

Barefoot Momma's Buttermilk Pancake Mix adapted from Martha Stewart's Buttermilk Pancakes

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until very well incorporated. I like to take my largest balloon whisk and set it rather horizontally into the mixture, spinning it so that it drags the ingredients from the bottom up to the top and vice versa. I do this all around the bowl until it appears to be well-incorporated and then I switch to a common whisking motion, just to be sure. This should only take you a minute or two. Once everything is clearly mixed together, pour it into a storage container and your dry mix is ready for homemade pancakes at any moment!

Martha Stewart's Original Buttermilk Pancakes (makes nine, 6-inch pancakes)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups buttermilk (fresh, not powdered)
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (or your choice of fat replacement--I use safflower oil)

To make Martha's original recipe, for nine, 6-inch pancakes...

Just as in the dry mix above, whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. 

Add the wet ingredients and very lightly mix together. When I say very lightly, I mean to use the strength of a 1-year-old. I take a thin whisk and carefully and slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry--you bring the whisk to the bottom of the bowl and slowly bring it up the opposite side, dragging the ingredients from the bottom over onto the top, all the while slowly spinning the whisk round and round. Mix until everything is just incorporated and wet. Your batter should be very thick and lumpy. If you overmix, your pancakes will be tougher rather than light and airy. This should be your method with any pancake mix whether you want thick or thin. Lumps are a good thing!

To make Martha's recipe using Barefoot Momma's Dry Mix, for nine, 6-inch pancakes... 

Measure 2 1/2 cups plus a heaping tbsp (or 4 tsp) dry mix into a medium-sized bowl. 

Add the above wet ingredients from Martha's original recipe (2 large eggs, 3 cups buttermilk, 4 tbsp melted, unsalted butter) to the dry and follow the remainder of the above directions, mixing very slowly and carefully until just incorporated, resulting in a very thick, lumpy batter.

To cook either recipe...

Heat an electric griddle to 350-375 degrees or a heavy skillet until very hot. Test it by sprinkling a few drops of water onto it; if the water bounces and spatters off the griddle, it's hot enough. If desired, drop 1/2 tsp clarified butter onto the griddle and evenly coat with a pastry brush or thickly folded piece of paper towel (so as not to burn yourself).

Using a 4-oz ladle or 1/2 cup measure (or whatever other size you prefer--I use 1/3 cup), pour pancake batter onto the hot griddle in pools 2 inches away from each other. When it starts to bubble on top and is slightly dry around the edges, flip over. Cook until golden on the bottom.

Repeat with the remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes warm in the oven (175 degrees) or a container of your choice. 

I stack my pancakes in a casserole dish and keep the lid on top so they stay warm. They do end up steaming each other a bit, but that just seals in the moisture more :) If you can find a pancake warmer, it's like a casserole dish with holes in the sides so they don't steam, but stay warm! 

Optional additions: chocolate chunks; dried cherries or raisins plumped in fruit juice; chopped toasted nuts; granola (I like to use Gwyneth's seed mix for Gia); sliced bananas; sliced peaches or pears and ground cardamom; apples and cinnamon; fresh raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries; poppy seeds and lemon zest...whatever you can think of! 

For best results, add toppings to the pancakes once they've been poured onto the griddle. Nut and granola toppings will lose their crunch while resting in the batter and chunkier toppings won't be evently distributed, while fruit juices will bleed into the batter, thinning it out and dying it with their color (especially blueberries!).  

Enjoy!