Could the atmosphere be really humid meaning that less liquid was needed? Can he add flour to make it thicker?
If you want me to leave, you can put your hands on my hot, tight little body and make me.
Spike ,'Get It Done'
Natter 67: Overriding Vetoes
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, nail polish, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
sumi - Jan 23, 2011 8:59:16 am PST #18418 of 30001
Art Crawl!!!
DavidS - Jan 23, 2011 9:02:23 am PST #18419 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Assuming he followed all the steps of the recipe correctly, any hypotheses on why the batter would remain incredibly watery, instead of thick and batter-y? Could it be bad baking powder?
Huh. I wouldn't attribute that to baking powder.
My first assumption would just be that he used too much liquid.
However, you have to be careful not to overstir pancake batter. That's why they're always yammering on about leaving it with a pebbley texture, or "mix with a few quick strokes."
Also the batter will sit up and be thicker if you leave it alone for a while before you cook. So leaving it for half an hour will change the texture of the pancakes, usually making them fluffier.
bon bon - Jan 23, 2011 9:11:22 am PST #18420 of 30001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Not humid; I assume he measured the ingredients correctly because he is usually overly cautious about ingredient measurements. Even letting it sit with cornstarch didn't help. In the end I added a cup more of flour. Also, being a CI recipe, they emphasized the stirring rule, which he repeated to me.
Jesse - Jan 23, 2011 9:11:23 am PST #18421 of 30001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
If the pancakes are thin, but bubbly, the batter was too thin, but the baking powder was good. If they are just flat, old baking powder. I don't think pancake batter needs to be overly thick to make good pancakes.
erin_obscure - Jan 23, 2011 9:13:49 am PST #18422 of 30001
Occasionally I’m callous and strange
also depends on what kind of "pancakes" the recipe was for. british pancakes are more like crepes (very thin batter the consistency of skim milk) while american pancakes tend to be very thick and fluffy (thick batter more the consistency of yogurt)
Jessica - Jan 23, 2011 9:28:23 am PST #18423 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
The CI pancake recipe makes very thin pancakes. I prefer Joy of Cooking's sour milk pancakes (buttermilk to us moderns) for nice thick fluffy ones.
erin_obscure - Jan 23, 2011 9:30:49 am PST #18424 of 30001
Occasionally I’m callous and strange
what is CI?
Jessica - Jan 23, 2011 9:32:19 am PST #18425 of 30001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Cook's Illustrated.
bon bon - Jan 23, 2011 9:34:06 am PST #18426 of 30001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
This batter was crepe-style thin; it completely spread unappealingly in the pan. If I had a current guess it would be using skim milk to make mock buttermilk instead of regular.
CI = Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen
Consuela - Jan 23, 2011 9:43:57 am PST #18427 of 30001
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
I prefer Joy of Cooking's sour milk pancakes (buttermilk to us moderns) for nice thick fluffy ones.
JoC has a recipe for cornmeal pancakes that I just love, and I make it whenever I have to cook for lots of people (which is generally no more than once a year). They have a lovely crunchy texture to them.
I had an 11AM appointment for a Skype chat, and I was sitting on my computer wondering why nobody was signed in yet, and then I rechecked the email and discovered it was for 2PM Central time. D'oh! So that gave me time to change my sheets and mop the kitchen floor. Woot for productivity?