Pancakes

There seems to have been quite a bit of enthusiasm for the scaled down scone recipe so I'm back with a bit less scaled down pancake recipe. Pre lockdown I never really bothered with pancakes at breakfast, and when I did it was the thin sort around pancake day.

For some reason I assumed the thick sort would be a pain to make first thing, but they're not, and are now a weekend staple (not that the day makes much difference right now, there's adequate time every morning). What I did make from time were drop scones (also known as scotch pancakes, or griddle cakes and probably by a whole lot of other names too) but always as an afternoon thing. 

After a bit of research it seems that drop scones recipes almost all have sugar in them, pancake recipes are less likely to include it - but essentially they're more or less the same thing. That said there's a lot of variation between recipes both in quantities and ingredients so I might as well throw my favourite into the ring as well. 

The great thing about these is that they're endlessly versatile, and that left over batter keeps well in the fridge for the next day. The basic recipe which makes 8 or so palm size pancakes (more if there's a lot of fruit in them and you like them small) is 150g of self raising flour (add a teaspoon of baking powder to plain flour if that's what you have), 1 medium egg, a knob of melted butter (the thing with pancakes is that you don't really need to be very precise, around 20g in weight should be about right if specifics are important though) a pinch of salt, and 225ml of milk.

Mix the flour and salt, make a well in the centre, crack the egg into it, then stir with a fork whilst slowly adding milk. About half way through the milk add the melted butter, and don't be heavy handed with the milk because you might not need all of it. When the consistency is like thick cream it's about right - pourable but not runny. If you're adding fruit now is the time to stir it in.

The hob wants to be a medium heat - erring on the side of caution because burnt pancakes don't taste good, they're ready to flip when bubbles start to form on the topside and shouldn't need more than a couple of minutes on either side. I don't think sugar is necessary and the pancakes are better suited to savoury toppings without it, but a tablespoon full will turn the batter into a more traditional drop scone recipe. 

The one thing that most instructions have, which I was taught was absolutely wrong (by a proper scottish great grandmother who made the best drop scones and welsh cakes I'll ever eat), is oil or butter for the pan. They don't stick to my griddle, or non stick pans, and they're lighter and fluffier without.