111: Alton Brown’s Buttermilk Pancakes

I wanted pancakes on Sunday morning. I’m really not much of a pancake person. Syrup makes pancakes soggy if you pour it directly on. Pancakes are too soft in general, and have none of that crispy deliciousness that you get from waffles.

Thus, when I actually wanted pancakes, I had to make some.

[This post contains affiliate links. I may make a commission for purchases made through links on this post.]

I decided to make the Buttermilk Pancakes recipe from Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here for More Food (affiliate link).

I got tired of buying buttermilk to have around just in case I needed it, so I have buttermilk powder that I decided to try out. [I know I can substitute soured milk for buttermilk, and I often do, but I wanted to try out the powder since I felt like actual buttermilk trumped soured milk.] I sifted the appropriate amount of buttermilk powder together the dry ingredients. I mixed the melted butter and eggs with the water needed for the buttermilk powder. I added the liquid to the dry ingredients, combined it, and let it set for 5 minutes before making pancakes on my electric griddle (affiliate link).

Alton doesn’t specify what size “disher’ he uses to scoop the batter, but the recipe was supposed to make 12 pancakes, so I used a third cup measure. Using this, I think I made about 16 pancakes. I cooked them for about 3 minutes on the first side, and 2 on the second.

I think these are the prettiest pancakes I’ve ever made. I love my griddle, and the recipe cooked well. I liked these, with a few caveats.

First, I’ve decided I don’t like butter in my pancakes. The butter taste is too strong for me. I wish Alton hadn’t used so much butter in all his baking/bread recipes!

Second, I suspect these would have been better with actual buttermilk, and they may have been better if I had used soured milk as well. I need more practice with the buttermilk powder, in recipes where I can actually compare it to the real deal. We all know that powdered milk (affiliate link) can’t equal real milk, even 1% or skim – it’s there for convenience and shelf-stability. I’m wondering if buttermilk powder functions the same. I’ll have to do some comparisons between buttermilk powder and soured milk to see if one clearly bests the other.

I really enjoyed my pancakes, once I was able to embrace the taste of butter in them. This recipe cooked up very well, so I do recommend it. I’m just really wondering how much my buttermilk substitution altered the recipe. I’ll be sure to update whenever I try this again.

Want different pancakes? Try these brown sugar oatmeal pancakes are some of my favorite. Easy Pancakes are my absolute favorite, and take only 20 minutes to make!

📖 Recipe

Print

Alton Brown’s Buttermilk Pancakes

adapted from I'm Just Here for More Food (affiliate link)

Author: Leona Konkel

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt (I may have used less, since I was wary of salty pancakes)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Instructions

1. Stir together dry ingredients (through sugar). Whisk in eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter. Set aside for 5 minutes while you heat the griddle.
2. Scoop ⅓ cup batter per pancake onto the griddle. Cook for 3 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for 2 minute on the other side, until golden brown.