Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
This 1970s old fashioned buttermilk pancakes recipe has been fantastic for decades. See expert tips from a former restaurant manager, including good substitutions for buttermilk and flour types. See this in our Breakfast, Fast Food, Stove Top Recipes, and Main Dishes categories.
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe
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Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ Tbsp sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 1 lge egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil consider peanut oil or olive oil
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil for cooking only
Instructions
- Mix together dry ingredients very thoroughly.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda, 1½ tsp baking powder, ½ Tbsp sugar
- Mix together wet ingredients (except oil for cooking) in a separate bowl.1 lge egg, ¾ cup buttermilk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Pour a little over HALF web mixture into dry mixture bowl. Stir together and add in more as needed to ensure it stays thick & lumpy. Don't mix beyond 15-20 stirs.
- Let is rest uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Bubbles will form as it rises. Don't remix.
- A little before end of batter resting time, heat up skillet, fry pan, or griddle to medium-low heat. When hot, add about 1 Tablespoon oil (or bacon drippings but not butter) for cooking each batch of 4-inch pancakes.2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Scoop to lift out each pancake batter into oiled fry pan, trying to retain bubbles. Repeat until filled pan.
- Usually after about 2-3 minutes, turn over pancakes when edges start to show some drying and bubbles have formed across surface. Flipped side takes about ½ the time as original side.
- Remove each pancake to serve on plates or stack on serving dish.
Nutrition
Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes Ingredients
Old fashioned buttermilk pancakes ingredients contain both dry and wet items. Also, while they’re popular, keep reading to see some good substitutions when you’re out of one of them.
Buttermilk in Pancakes
When you get buttermilk, I’ve tried both regular whole fat and the low fat buttermilk. The flavor and texture is a whole lot less desirable when using the low fat. But, either one is still much better than regular milk.
No Buttermilk Pancakes Ingredients Substitution
Sometimes you might be low or out of buttermilk. So, a good buttermilk substitution is to use your regular milk and add in a tablespoon of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. However, know that you do need to reduce the amount to about 1/2 cup regular milk instead of the 3/4 cup buttermilk.
All Purpose Flour or Buttermilk Pancakes With Self Rising Flour
If you don’t have all purpose flour you can still successfully make buttermilk pancakes with self rising flour. Basically, if using self rising flour, just don’t add any baking powder and cut the salt amount in half.
How To Make Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
- Mix together dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Mix together wet ingredients in a smaller mixing bowl.
3. Add a little over half of the web mixture into the dry ingredients bowl. Mix it up adding more of wet mixture as needed to end up with a thick batter.
4. Let it rest for about 5-10 minutes until it’s risen well and shows bubbles.
5. Heat up a pan to medium heat. After it’s hot, reduce it to medium-low, and add some oil for cooking.
6. After oil’s hot, scoop to lift out a proper amount of batter for a single pancake. Add it to the pan and repeat until pan’s filled.
7. After about 2-3 minutes, edges start to show drying and surface shows popped bubbles. Turn each one over.
8. Flipped side takes about 1/2 as long as first side.
9. Stack ’em on a platter, in a bowl, or serve ’em on plates.
Finally, here’s another way to make old-fashioned buttermilk pancakes recipe from Lane Bakery site..
Buttermilk Pancakes for 2 or 1
When you want buttermilk pancakes for 2 or 1 person, just use my “Recipe Resizer” feature. You have several options to modify the recipe ingredients’ amounts. If you tap “Servings”, this is asking how many pancakes you want to make, which is usually 2 per person. Another option is to tap the “1/2” button and it will show ingredients for 4 pancakes.
Leftover Buttermilk Pancakes
Sometimes I have leftover buttermilk pancakes. So, I’ll separate them with some patty papers and put them in a plastic food baggie. Then, they go into the fridge or freezer. When it’s time to use them, I’ll either thaw them out overnight in the fridge or I’ll use the defrost cycle of the microwave. However, my favorite and easiest method is to simply place a frozen pancake into the toaster.
Buttermilk Pancakes Nutrition
Homemade buttermilk pancakes nutrition is much better than store bought premade ones or those made from a packaged mix. There’s no additives or preservatives. The recipe has a detailed set of nutritional values, using whole fat buttermilk, but keep reading to see some of the values below.
How Many Calories in Buttermilk Pancakes?
In this recipe, there are about 122 calories for each buttermilk pancake, which is using whole fat buttermilk. This also includes 1/4 tablespoon of oil per pancake for cooking.
Buttermilk Pancakes Carbs
Buttermilk pancakes carbs are about 14 grams each. That’s about 4/10 gram for fiber and about 2 grams for sugar.
Buttermilk Pancakes Protein
Protein in buttermilk pancakes can vary. The percentage of protein in all purpose flour is generally higher compared to self rising flour. In this recipe, there are about 2 grams of protein, using all purpose flour. You can read more on the comparing self-rising flour vs. all-purpose flour from Bob’s Red Mill site.
What Does Buttermilk Do To Pancakes?
Buttermilk is acidic and it enhances the baking soda reaction. This helps tremendously to make the pancake batter rise. Think of it as the similar action that yeast does in bread dough. Read more on the science of buttermilk pancakes from Chemistry in the Kitchen out of Dickinson.edu educational site.
Expert Tips for Buttermilk Pancakes
After lots of experience from managing restaurants, here are some valuable tips I’ve learned over the decades. I’ll change out my kitchen’s baking powder and baking soda close to or just their expiration dates. This impacts the rising action to make fluffy pancakes.
Regarding buttermilk, I use whole fat buttermilk. I’ve tried low-fat buttermilk but there’s a huge flavor difference on using whole buttermilk, which I stay with. Also, I’ve used it in cooking (not for drinking) after it expires. However, I always check it by smelling. If rancid odor, I toss it. I also never go past 3 months after an expiration date regardless. In my experience, it turns too bad to use after 5-6 months past its expiration date.
Finally, I cannot emphasize the importance of letting the buttermilk pancake batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes. This is what makes them lighter and very fluffy. Also, don’t over mix the batter; this is critical too. The intense mixing comes only with combining the dry ingredients together.
What Goes With Pancakes?
As a common main dish for breakfast, there are actually a few other mains that can go with pancakes, like eggs. However, the amount is lessened if adding extra breakfast mains. Regardless, here are some great mains and sides that pair well with these flapjacks.
- scrambled eggs
- fried eggs, sunny side up
- fried eggs, over easy
- fried bacon strips
- sausage patties
- sausage links
- leftover ham
- little smokies
- kielbasa
- hash browns
- tater tots
- fruits
- beverages like coffee, milk, orange juice
Conclusion of Old Fashioned Buttermilk Pancakes
Now you’ve seen how to make a great, old fashioned buttermilk pancakes recipe. Also, you’ve learned of some substitutions when needed like for buttermilk. And, you read how to adjust the recipe if using self-rising flour. Plus, you saw the expert tips like letting the batter rise a bit. Now, with all these, make you own EASY buttermilk pancakes for all to enjoy. And, don’t forget to share it because this is a generational recipe!
I’ve never had my pancakes this thick before! Everyone was so surprised. Thanks for all the easy to follow tips.