I burned pancakes for years before I figured out what I was doing wrong. Boxed mix, flat results, my kid eating them anyway because he didn’t know better. Then one Saturday the mix ran out, I used buttermilk and baking soda because that’s all we had, and everything changed. This is that recipe.
How I Got Here
It started about four years ago. My son was three, the pantry was empty except for some flour and a carton of buttermilk that was about to expire. I Googled something like “pancakes from scratch easy” while the coffee was still brewing, eyeballed the measurements, and twenty minutes later I was staring at the first fluffy pancakes I’d ever made in my life. Light inside. Crispy edges. My husband looked at me like I’d been hiding a secret for years.
I wasn’t. I just didn’t know there was a difference.
Since then I’ve made this recipe probably every other weekend. Tweaked it a bunch. Ruined it a few times too, because that’s how you figure out what not to do. The version here is the one I’ve landed on. Works every single time as long as you don’t overthink it.
Quick Note on History (Because I Think It’s Cool)
Pancakes have been around forever. Ancient Greeks ate flat cakes off hot stones. Cowboys made them on cast iron over campfires. Lumberjacks ate stacks before dawn. Thomas Jefferson had his own recipe. Every culture figured it out independently because the concept is so basic: starch, liquid, heat. Done.
The recipe hasn’t changed in thousands of years. That tells you something.
Why I Use Baking Soda Instead of Baking Powder
Okay this is where I get a little intense.
Most pancake recipes use baking powder. Some use both. I just use baking soda. Only baking soda. Here’s why.
Buttermilk is acidic. Fermented milk, full of lactic acid. Baking soda is a base. Acid meets base, they react, carbon dioxide bubbles happen. Those bubbles get trapped in the batter while it cooks, and that’s what makes your homemade pancakes puff up instead of staying flat.
Baking powder already has acid mixed into it. So if you’re using buttermilk, which already has acid, the powder is doing extra work that doesn’t need doing. I dropped it and my pancakes actually got better. More rise, better browning, and the tanginess from the buttermilk comes through cleaner.
Soda also helps with browning. The alkaline environment speeds up caramelization on the griddle, so you get golden brown spots faster and more evenly. I noticed it the first time I switched and it wasn’t subtle.
One thing though. Too much baking soda and you’ll taste it. Soapy, metallic. I use 1 1/2 teaspoons for 2 cups of flour and that’s the line. I’ve gone higher. Regretted it.
Why These Ingredients and Not Others
Buttermilk. Beyond the acid reaction, it relaxes the gluten in flour. The acid softens protein strands, so your pancakes stay tender even if you mix a few strokes too many. Built-in insurance against overmixing. And the taste is just better. Mild tang that plain milk doesn’t have.
Real vanilla. Expensive, I know. Imitation works in a pinch but it has a sharp edge that gets worse when heated. Real vanilla adds warmth. You don’t taste “vanilla,” you taste a better pancake.
Melted butter in the batter. Not oil. Butter gives flavor that oil can’t. The milk solids brown on the griddle and create those golden spots. I tried oil once. Pancakes were fine. Just forgettable.
Room temperature eggs. Cold eggs make the batter tighten up and the soda doesn’t react as well. Pull them out while the coffee brews. Thirty minutes. Or warm water bowl for five minutes.
How to Make Buttermilk Pancakes: Ingredients
Makes about 12 medium pancakes:
Dry:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet:
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup melted butter, cooled a bit
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the griddle:
- Butter or oil for greasing
Add-ins if you want them:
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 sliced banana
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Zest of a lemon
When You Don’t Have Something (Substitutions)
No buttermilk? 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup, fill to 1 3/4 cups with regular milk. Stir, wait 5 minutes. It’ll curdle and look weird. That’s what you want. Not real buttermilk but the acid is close enough for the soda to react. I’ve used this dozens of times and nobody noticed. Yogurt thinned with milk works too.
No butter? Coconut oil is the best swap. Regular vegetable oil is fine but tasteless.
No eggs? Quarter cup of unsweetened applesauce per egg. A little denser but still good.
Gluten-free? 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend, splash more buttermilk.
What to Look For at the Store
Flour. Regular all-purpose. Not self-rising, because that already has leavener in it.
Buttermilk. Check the date. Old buttermilk loses acidity and the soda has nothing to react with. Your pancakes won’t rise and you’ll blame the recipe when it was the buttermilk.
Baking soda. It goes flat sitting in the cabinet, especially if the box has been open. Drop half a teaspoon into vinegar. Should fizz hard. If it just dissolves… new box. They’re a dollar.
Step by Step
Pull eggs and buttermilk out 30 minutes early. Use that time to measure everything.
Dry stuff in a big bowl. Flour, sugar, baking soda, salt. Whisk it. Make sure the soda is mixed in evenly because clumps mean bitter spots in some pancakes and flat spots in others.
Wet stuff in a separate bowl. Beat eggs, add buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla. Whisk smooth. Butter should be warm not hot or it’ll scramble the eggs.
Push dry ingredients to the sides, make a little crater in the middle. Pour wet stuff in. This is how my grandmother did it. The liquid starts in the center and you fold outward, less chance of overmixing.
Fold gently. Big lazy strokes from the bottom up. Ten, maybe fifteen. Stop while there are lumps. They cook out. Mixing too much is the number one mistake people make with pancake batter. The gluten develops and your fluffy pancakes turn into chewy frisbees.
Walk away. Five to ten minutes. Go finish your coffee. Little bubbles will appear on the batter surface. That’s the soda reacting with the buttermilk. That’s your pancakes getting ready.
Griddle or big skillet, medium heat. Flick water at it. Dances and evaporates in a few seconds? Good. Instant flash and gone? Too hot.
Grease barely. Butter on a paper towel, wipe the griddle. Too much fat means greasy blotchy pancakes.
Quarter cup per pancake. Pour from center. Don’t spread it. Don’t touch it. Wait.
Bubbles form across the top. When they pop and edges look set and dry, 2 to 3 minutes, flip. One confident move. Get the spatula all the way under. Second side is faster, a minute or two. Don’t press down. You’ll squeeze the air out.
Finished pancakes on a plate in a 200 degree F oven while you cook the rest. Parchment between layers.
Calories (Since Someone Will Ask)
One medium homemade pancake, about 4 inches, nothing on it: around 86 calories. USDA numbers. Stack of three with butter and real maple syrup, about 450 to 500. Bigger 6-inch pancake, closer to 175 before toppings.
I don’t think about this on Saturday morning. But there it is.
How Long Do Pancakes Last (Storage)
Fridge. 3 to 5 days sealed. USDA says 3 to 4 days at 40 degrees or below. Reheat in the toaster. Gets the edges crispy. Microwave works but they come out floppy.
Freezer. Cool completely, parchment between layers, freezer bag. 2 to 3 months. Reheat from frozen, toaster, two cycles. My son eats them this way on school mornings. Toaster, plate, syrup, out the door.
Batter the night before? Dry stuff, yes. But don’t mix the whole batter and fridge it overnight. Soda starts reacting with buttermilk the second they touch. By morning the gas is gone and you’re pouring flat batter onto a hot griddle wondering what happened.
When Things Go Wrong
Flat pancakes. Old soda, overmixed batter, or batter sat too long. New soda, fewer stirs, cook right after resting.
Burning outside, raw middle. Too hot. Turn it down. Medium feels slow. It’s supposed to.
Tough and chewy. Mixed too much or too much flour. Spoon flour into the cup and level off. Don’t scoop from the bag.
Soapy taste. Too much soda. Stick to 1 1/2 teaspoons. If you accidentally overdid it, a squeeze of lemon juice into the batter helps.
Toppings
Butter and real maple syrup. Real maple. Not the corn syrup stuff. Pat of butter between each pancake in the stack. Warm syrup over everything.
Fruit. Blueberries, strawberries, bananas. Simmer some berries with sugar and lemon five minutes and you’ve got a compote that looks like you planned ahead. You didn’t. But it looks like it.
Chocolate chips. Fold into batter before pouring. Or Nutella between layers, whipped cream, powdered sugar. My son’s birthday breakfast. He’s eight. He has opinions about whipped cream.
Savory. Scrambled eggs on top. Bacon. Fried egg with hot sauce. Sounds like too much. It is. Also one of the best breakfasts I make.