Anne BralyPancakes are very personal thing in the food world. Some people like their pancakes thin, while others prefer small, silver-dollar-size pancakes. I guess it has something to do with the kind of pancakes you grew up with, those your mama used to make.
Every Saturday morning, my mother would treat us to her pancakes, and they were always so big and fluffy I just wanted to fall right into them. To make them even better, she’d make the pancakes in the same skillet she’d used to fry bacon minutes before. She’d pour off 95% of the bacon grease, but what was left gave a little more deliciousness to the pancakes.
For me, the perfect pancake is thick, not flat – and it has to have some flavor on its own. Anything’s good when it’s drowned in syrup, but that’s all you taste with some pancakes. And texture? They must be tender.
I know that’s asking a lot from a pancake, but these pancakes melt in your mouth and still have enough sturdiness to be claimed as hearty. The secret is using vinegar in the batter. It may sound like an odd pancake ingredient when you’re used to sweet, not sour, but it works. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda in the dry ingredients, creating all kind of little bubbles, which makes for fluffy pancakes.
Jona Lockhart sent me the recipe, saying that it was a favorite of hers as a child. Now, she makes them for her grandchildren.