EQUIPMENT
A griddle or shallow frying pan ideally made from well-seasoned or non-stick cast iron is perfect for frying pancakes. Some people believe you need a specialist crêpe or omelette pan for thin and lacy French-style ones, but you don’t. What you want is a solid flat base that distributes heat evenly, ideally with shallow sloping sides. Most of the recipes in this book are made in a frying pan with a base measuring 16cm (6in) in diameter.
A large, flat heatproof spatula, like the kind used to flip fish or eggs, is pretty much essential for turning large pancakes over. A palette knife is also useful for getting under the edges.
A whisk is perfect for stirring together ingredients and removing lumps, but a wooden spoon is fine.
A sieve is commonly used to sift flour and other ingredients for pancakes, but it’s debatable whether doing this makes much difference to the end result. It’s easier to use a whisk to combine and aerate the dry ingredients, but the choice is yours.
A 60ml measuring cup (2fl oz/¼ cup) is useful for scooping out just the right amount of batter to make pancakes of perfect equal size.
Mixing:
Don’t over mix pancake batter: it will develop gluten and the pancakes will be tough. The best way to avoid this is to whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl first and mix the eggs and other wet ingredients in a jug. Pour the wet ingredients into a well in the centre of the dry ones, stirring as you go to slowly incorporate the flour mixture from the sides. This way, much of the combining has already been done by the time the wet and dry ingredients get together, and avoids beating. A few small lumps are fine in thick pancake batter, but crêpe batter should be smooth.
Resting:
Resting crêpe batter for 30 minutes or so before cooking definitely yields a lighter, more even texture. This is because resting allows the starch molecules to swell, air bubbles to disperse, and any gluten formed while mixing the batter to relax. That said, your crêpes will still be perfectly okay if you omit this step. Don’t rest batter for thick American-style pancakes, as the raising agents start working as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, and your pancakes might not rise well.
The fat:
Adding melted butter or oil (not olive oil!) to the batter isn’t essential, but imparts flavour and helps to make pancakes tender and prevents them sticking to the pan. Choose whichever you prefer: butter is tastier but tends to burn more easily. When frying crêpes, use only a tiny bit of melted butter or vegetable oil in the pan – a wodge of kitchen roll is ideal for applying and wiping out any excess. Thicker pancakes can do with a bit more fat for frying to ensure they’re golden.
The heat:
Finding the correct heat to fry pancakes takes practice, depends on your hob and pan, and how you prefer your pancakes cooked. However, for thick pancakes, a medium heat works well: this ensures the bottom doesn’t burn before the inside is cooked. Spoon a little batter into the pan and if it sizzles immediately, the temperature is about right. When bubbles start to form on the top of your pancakes, take a peek at the bottom and if golden, flip. Crêpes are best fried more quickly over a medium–high heat; the bottom should be golden just as the top is set.
Flours:
Different flours impart their own textures and flavours, so experiment. Start by substituting 25 per cent of the standard wheat flour in a recipe with options like coconut, buckwheat, wholemeal, rye, polenta, and gluten-free, and go from there. You might need to add a little more liquid to your batter.
Try mixing a small handful of berries, dried fruit (chopped if large), chocolate chips, sliced banana, grated fruit (pear, apple, peach, and the like) into plain batter for extra pancake joy.
Keeping them warm:
Pancakes are best eaten warm, straight from the pan. However, if you’re making thick American-style pancakes in a batch, you can stack them between layers of greaseproof paper or kitchen roll, and keep them in a low oven. Avoid keeping crêpes in the oven as they tend to dry out.