Ingredient

Pancakes

Thin pancakes and thick pancakes are made of nearly the same things and behave in opposite ways. One wants a slack, rested batter and a thin film of fat; the other wants a lumpy, just-mixed batter and no delay at all.

The two batters

Thin (crêpe)

Flour, egg, milk, a little melted butter. Slack enough to run. Rested. Cooked in a very hot, barely greased pan.

Thick (American, Scotch)

Flour, egg, milk, sugar, and a raising agent. Thick enough to hold a mound. Used at once. Cooked on a moderate heat.

The rest matters for one

A crêpe batter rested 30 minutes hydrates fully and relaxes its gluten, giving tender, hole-free pancakes.

And harms the other

A raised batter left standing loses its gas. Mix it, then cook it.

Thin pancakes

1. Whisk flour and eggs to a thick smooth paste first, then let the milk down into it gradually. Adding all the liquid at once is what makes lumps.
2. Rest the batter for at least half an hour, covered. It will thicken slightly; let it down with a splash more milk to the consistency of single cream.
3. Get the pan properly hot before the first one. The first pancake is traditionally a failure because the pan was not there yet.
4. Wipe the pan with oil on kitchen paper rather than pouring it in. You want a film, not a puddle.
5. Pour in just enough to coat and swirl immediately. Too much batter gives a thick, floppy pancake.
6. Flip when the edges lift and look lacy and the underside is patchily brown. The second side takes half as long and never looks as good — serve it downward.

Thick pancakes

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together first so the raising agent is evenly distributed. Pockets of it taste soapy.
2. Combine the wet ingredients separately, then tip them into the dry and stir just until no dry flour remains.
3. Leave the lumps. A lumpy batter makes a light pancake; a smooth one has been over-worked into toughness.
4. Cook on a moderate heat in a lightly greased pan. Too hot and the outside browns before the middle sets.
5. Turn when bubbles rise across the surface and the edges look dry and matt.
6. Keep them warm in a low oven in a single layer, not stacked, or the steam softens them.

What goes wrong

• Sticking — the pan was not hot enough, or it is a pan that sticks. Get it hot, then oil it.
• Tough and rubbery — over-mixed, or too much flour. Thin pancakes need a rest; thick ones need less stirring.
• Pale and flabby — the pan was too cool, or the batter has no sugar. A little sugar helps browning even in a savoury batter.
• Holes everywhere in a crêpe — batter too thin, or the pan too hot. Both are fixable mid-batch.
• Raw in the middle — heat too high for thick pancakes. Turn it down and give them longer.

Common questions