Buttermilk Pancakes

Tall, tender, tangy pancakes from one bowl in twenty minutes. The weekend one, and the recipe worth knowing by heart.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2½ cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for the pan
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Maple syrup and butter, for serving

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.
3. Pour the wet into the dry and stir with a spatula until just combined — about 12 strokes. The batter should be visibly lumpy with a few dry patches of flour still showing. This looks wrong and it is correct.
4. Rest the batter 10 minutes. Don't stir it again. It will thicken and you'll see bubbles form on the surface.
5. Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-low and brush with butter. Test with a spoonful of batter: it should sizzle faintly and take about 20 seconds to color. If it browns fast, the pan is too hot.
6. Pour ⅓-cup portions, leaving space between them. Cook 2–3 minutes, until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look dry and set.
7. Flip once and cook 1½–2 minutes more. Flip only once and never press down with the spatula.
8. Hold finished pancakes on a rack in a 200°F oven while you cook the rest. Stacking them on a plate traps steam and makes the bottoms soggy.

Substitutions

• No buttermilk: 2½ cups whole milk plus 2½ tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar, stirred and left 10 minutes. Works well. Do not skip the acid entirely — the baking soda needs it to lift.
• Blueberries or chocolate chips: scatter them onto each pancake after pouring rather than mixing them into the batter, which streaks it and makes them sink.
• Gluten-free: a 1:1 GF blend works; rest the batter 20 minutes instead of 10.
• Dairy-free: unsweetened almond or oat milk with the same vinegar trick, and oil in place of melted butter.
• Buttermilk waffles: same batter, add 2 tbsp more melted butter.

Storage and reheating

Refrigerate cooked pancakes up to 3 days. Reheat in a toaster — genuinely the best method — or at 350°F for 6 minutes. Freeze in a single layer on a tray, then bag them, up to 2 months; they go straight from freezer to toaster, which beats any boxed frozen pancake by a wide margin. Batter doesn't keep well; the leavening is spent within a couple of hours.

Serving suggestions

Real maple syrup and salted butter. Berries and whipped cream for a bigger brunch. Crisp bacon on the side, since a plate this sweet wants salt across from it.