In this article, you will learn how to make pancakes in different ways and also learn about the history of pancakes.
Pancake is also called hotcake, griddlecake, blini, bannock, flapjack, and so on. A pancake is a flat cake, and it is usually round, but you can do whatever shape you can imagine. Scientists have found some results showing that our ancestors were also eating pancakes. They think that pancakes were first eaten more than 30,000 years ago. They found that in the Stone Age, cooks were making flour out of cattails and ferns. Scientists think that our ancestors mixed it together with water and cooked the mixture on a rock. They said that it wasn’t the same pancake that we eat nowadays, but the idea behind it was the same. It is believed that pancakes originated in ancient Greece and Rome; they used to eat them, and for sweetening, they used honey. The first written records of pancakes are from Athens around 500 B.C.E. It was written down by the poet Cratinus, and he described it as a hot flat cake. 600 years later, a Greek physicist named Galen even wrote down a recipe, and these pancakes were similar to Russian blinis. Pancakes were traditionally eaten before the beginning of Lent, so they used to eat them in large quantities on Shrove Tuesday, or what is even called Pancake Day. In America, they made the pancakes with buckwheat or cornmeal, and they called the pancakes Johnnycakes or flapjacks. Pancakes are now eaten across the globe. Pancakes can be eaten as a sweet or savory dish.
Pancakes are made with a starch-based batter. The base pancake recipe is almost the same around the globe, but every country has made some adjustments to the recipe to make it more their own. In America, the pancakes are usually really fluffy, and they are eaten with maple syrup. In France, they are really thin, and they are called crapes. There are various types of pancakes all around the world, such as Ethiopian injera, Korean buchimgae, Chinese jianbing, North Indian cheela, Venezuelan cachapas, South Indian dosa, Dutch babies, and Moroccan msemen.
Here are four different ways to make pancakes. For making pancakes, you should memorize these things. Pancakes are best when you use fresh ingredients, don’t overstir the batter, let the batter rest for at least ten minutes, start with a hot pan, and it is good to make a test pancake. Pancakes are usually served with butter, maple syrup, honey, jams, preserves, powder sugar, whipped cream, fresh fruits, or you can add whatever you desire.
The easiest and fastest pancake recipe:
For this recipe, you will spend a total of 20 minutes, and you will get four servings.
You will need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for frying
You also need a smaller bowl, a bigger bowl, a whisk, a skillet, and a spatula.
First, you have to gather all the ingredients. Then, in a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and then combine them together. If that is done, then heat the pan and oil it. For the next step, you have to spoon the batter onto the skillet (you will need around 3 tablespoons of batter to make smaller pancakes. For bigger pancakes, you will need more batter, and you have to spread it evenly on the skillet). Cook until the surface of the pancake has some bubbles. It takes around one to two minutes. Then you have to flip the pancake and cook it on the other side for 1 minute. Serve them warm.
The American pancake recipe:
For this recipe, you will spend 30 minutes, and you will get four servings.
You will need:
200 grams of self-rising flour
1 to 5 teaspoons of baking powder
1 tablespoon of golden caster sugar
3 large eggs
pinch of salt
25 grams of melted butter and extra for cooking
200 ml of milk
for frying vegetable oil
for serving maple syrup and cooked bacon
large bowl, whisk, jug, and frying pan
First, mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle of your dry mixture, and then add there the three eggs, 25 grams of melted butter, and 200 ml of milk. Whisk it all together until smooth. Then pour the batter into a jug, which makes it easier to pour it onto the pan. For the next step, heat up the frying pan or skillet and melt the butter with oil on medium heat. When that is done, pour the batter onto the pan; the diameter of the batter should be around 8 centimetres. Don’t pour the batter too close to each other, because they will spread during cooking. Cook the pancakes for around one to two minutes on each side. Do it until the batter is all used up. Enjoy the pancakes with your favourite droppings. In America, they usually use maple syrup and bacon.
The Russian Oladi:
These pancakes are also called buttermilk pancakes. For this recipe, you will spend 30 minutes, and you will get around 20 pancakes.
You will need:
2 cups of white all-purpose flour
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2/3 cups of kefir or whole-fat milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
½ cup canola oil
jam to serve
large bowl, whisk, large skillet, and soup spoon
First, you have to mix together in a large bowl the dry ingredients. Then add the eggs and mix well. Start slowly adding kefir to the mixture and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla extract. Place the large skillet on the stove at medium heat, add the oil to the pan, and wait around 30 seconds. Use a soup spoon to scoop the pancake mixture into the pan. One spoonful is one pancake. When the skillet is filled, cover it with a lid. Cook until golden brown. Serve the pancakes warm.
The French crape:
From this recipe, you will get 15 crapes.
You will need:
250 grams of all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
10 grams of sugar
3 large eggs
600 ml of whole milk
50 grams of unsalted butter
45 ml of cooking oil
large bowl, whisk, towel, and crape pan
First, you have to mix together the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the eggs. To prevent clumps in the batter, you have to add the milk in three parts. First, add 250 ml, then mix it well. After that, add another 250 ml. Now you have to cover the bowl and let it rest, at least for an hour. When the dough has rested, add the remaining milk. Melt the butter and add it to the mixture as well. Heat a crape pan over high heat. Use 45 ml of batter for each crepe, and you have to spread it evenly in the skillet. Cook for 40 seconds on one side and 30 seconds on the other side. For topping, you can use whatever you desire!
In conclusion, pancakes are one of the easiest foods to cook, and it doesn’t take you long to make them. You just have to take some wheat, spelt, barley, or whatever kind of flour you desire, add some milk or even water, and beat some eggs in there and mix it well. After that, you have to fry them on both sides, and then just enjoy your dish. Pancakes can be eaten as breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/hot-off-the-griddle-heres-the-history-of-pancakes
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-brief-history-of-pancakes-180981667/
https://www.marthastewart.com/338185/basic-pancakes
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/american-pancakes
https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/mini-russian-pancakes-oladii/
https://www.thefrenchcookingacademy.com/recipes/french-best-recipe-for-crepes