Aunt Jemima Can Suck It!

I will never understand why people waste their money on boxed pancake mix for the purpose of making pancakes only. Most of you probably buy a box of it, sit it way in the back of your cupboard, and completely forget it’s there until that one random day comes that you want some pancakes. It is so simple and easy to make them with ingredients you already have lying around in your kitchen. There are tons of different recipes out there for making awesome pancakes that you should never find the need to buy this stuff. Since today I’m off of work and in need of a tasty breakfast I’m going to share with you one of my favorite pancake recipes that I have been whipping out since I was little. You can find the same variation of this recipe here, but for the sake of time I will help you skip a click and add it below (less a few of my secrets) for you to try on your own.

Ingredients

· 3/4 cup milk

· 2 tablespoons white vinegar

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 2 tablespoons white sugar

· 1 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1 egg

· 2 tablespoons butter, melted

· cooking spray

Recipe on the site says is serves 8 but I always get a serving of 4 out of this.

Directions

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

First you want to start heating your griddle. I use a good old fashion cast iron pan when making pancakes, but go with whatever works for you. When using a cast iron keep a close eye on your pan. Cast iron tends to heat up fast and retain more heat than an everyday pan. You can easily burn your pancakes (like I did my first one) if you do not pay attention. I also like to pre-oil my pan with a tiny bit of vegetable oil or cooking spray to coat the pan during the heating process and before I start cooking. If you’re like me and you add butter to your pan for pancakes this helps to keep the butter from burning.

The next step is to sour the milk. Do not be afraid of this term your pancakes will in no way taste like gross 5 month old milk. (Unless for some silly reason you decide to actually use 5 month old milk, and in that case I have no way of saving you.) Also, this version of sour milk is just a substitute to buttermilk. In a small bowl just pour your required amount of milk in with the vinegar. Mix it a little and set it to the side for five minutes. You will see that your milk has become a little thick don’t be alarmed this is what helps makes your pancakes nice and fluffy at the end. While that sits start to combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

(Tip: Now this is completely up to you, but for an extra light mixture I like to sift my dry ingredients together before adding the wet. It helps to lighten the final product and to combine the ingredients a bit better than just taking a quick stir. For the sake of sticking to the recipe I did not sift my dry ingredients while making this particular batch and this is not something that has to be done.)

When that’s done combine your melted butter and your eggs with the sour milk, give it a quick whisk. Next pour your wet mixture into your dry ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

(Tip: Do not go overboard with your mixing. The recipe calls for mixing until the lumps are gone, but I like to very lightly mix until the wet and dry are just combined. Over mixing will give you a tough pancake.)

Place a nice slice of butter on your griddle and then pour some of the mixture into the pan. You will need a spoon or a cup for this because the mixture will be thick. If you’re overly anal about making the perfect pancake circle you can spread the mixture out in the pan with the back of a spoon. (You only have a 5 sec window in which to do this.) Or you could buy one of those fancy smancy pancake rings. After that LEAVE IT ALONE!!! Leave it!! … ah I see you glancing at it. Don’t you move that thing until bubbles start to appear on the surface. Once that happens then you can flip it with a spatula and wait until the other side is golden brown.

Now take a look at what you’ve done. Pro-style pancakes with no silly add water only box in sight. Pancakes so good I guarantee they will have that special someone you’ve been looking at begging to stay over at your house every night. Next thing you know that punk will be moving in, leaving socks on the floor, and stealing your last cup of pudding… Oh I got off track didn’t I? Anyway, this recipe can be changed to suit your taste with just a few extra ingredients as seen below.

I see you eyeing my container of hot chocolate and you’re probably asking yourself why the hell this chick is suggesting hot chocolate for pancakes. Hmm…. Well that’s one of my little secrets and I’m not sharing. ^_^ Hope this helps you stay away from that pancake mix box.

(Small print: Shellby actually does suggest using pancake mix for other quick recipes just not for pancakes.)

Baltimore Beer Week!

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http://www.baltimorebeerweek.com