Sunday Morning Pancakes

It's easy enough to buy a box of Bisquick, add water, and make pancakes.  This is how I had homemade pancakes for my first 27 years of life.  I finally started making my own from scratch though and will not be buying the mix anytime soon.  

Since it's just the wife and me, I halve the recipe, but here is the full list of ingredients in case you are making pancakes for a crowd:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

4 eggs, separated

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons sugar

More melted butter or cooking spray (for the pan)

Maple syrup (it's a lot better if it's heated up)

This recipe is really easy and only takes a few minutes, the only down side is that you have to dirty 3 bowls.  I don't mind though since the wife gets stuck washing the dishes.  The key to fluffy pancakes is mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately, and whipping the egg whites.

Since it takes some time to cook the pancakes, turn the oven on to about 170 to keep the first batches warm while you make the rest.

First, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Separate the eggs and mix the yolks with the milk in a separate bowl.  

Combine the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk together.  Add the melted butter and whisk until batter is smooth.

Beat the egg whites in another bowl until soft peaks form, gradually add the sugar until stiff.  You can use an electric beater for this, but that just makes more mess and it's a good forearm workout doing this manually.  Add whites to batter in 2 additions.

Fold the whites into the batter.  You don't want to mix too much, otherwise you break down the whites and the pancakes will not be as fluffy.

Heat a nonstick griddle on medium heat.  If your stove is anything like mine, then heat management is going to be important.  The griddle can get really hot and the pancakes burn easily.  Melt some butter (or use a cooking spray) and add about 1/8 a cup of batter at a time.

When the pancakes start to show bubbles, you know it's time to flip them over.  

Once flipped, the bottom should be just golden brown and delicious.  If your pan is too high, then the outside will cook and the inside will still be batter.  It's better to cook on a lower heat just to be safe.

Once again, the wife woke up right as breakfast was ready, her timing really is impecable.