Growing up I was mostly aware of only one kind of pancakes – American pancakes. I knew about crepes, but I didn’t put them in the same category. Living in Europe, I realize the definition of “pancake” varies widely. Every culture has their own version. Some are thinner (e.g., French crepes), many are denser. After a few disappointing experiences at restaurants and cafes, I realized that if I want super fluffy dessert-like pancakes, I better make them myself.
![](http://maggieats.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pancake-2.jpg)
Luckily, making the perfect pancake is not so difficult after all. The secret ingredient is vinegar. Curdling the milk makes buttermilk, which makes your pancakes super fluffy. The recipe also uses a mix of baking soda and baking power to give it the airy texture.
Ingredients Mix until lumps are gone
![Fluffy Pancake](http://maggieats.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pancakebatter-1.jpg)
Tips:
- To scoop the batter, I use a big ladle. In the past, I have used ice cream scoops before too, and that worked well.
- Any white vinegar will work for making buttermilk. I used rice vinegar, and have tried lemon juice in the past with success.
- Make sure to grease the pan well so the pancakes are easy to flip.
- You can separate the batter and add different toppings to each based on your preference. The base batter doesn’t change.
![](http://maggieats.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/0E905B22-8D00-4472-9246-29A56B7F4669-3.jpg)
![Blueberry pancakes](https://maggieats.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pancake-3-500x500.jpg)
Super Fluffy American Style Pancakes
Ingredients
- 90 g milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 65 g all-purpose flour, (1/2 cup)
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- optional blueberries
- optional chocolate chips
Instructions
- Make the buttermilk – combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle
- Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix to combine
- Whisk egg and melted butter into buttermilk mixture
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until there are no more lumps.
- OPTIONAL: Add any mix-ins you want to the batter. Blueberries, chocolate chip, you name it!
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and cover with some oil or butter so the pancakes don’t stick to the pan. Scoop a ladle of batter into the pan – the size of the ladle doesn’t matte much, it’ll just determine how big your pancakes are.
- Cook on one side until bubbles start to appear, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Continue with rest of batter, and add more oil to the pan as needed.