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Chemistry

The science behind fluffy pancakes and using the right raising agent

Tired of your American-style pancakes looking flat and anaemic? Catherine de Lange finds the secret to thick, pillowy perfection

By Catherine de Lange

24 January 2024

Tasty pancakes with blueberries and honey on a plate. Grey background; Shutterstock ID 1784577482; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Vladislav Noseek/Shutterstock

OVER the holidays, I went to visit my brother-in-law, who wowed us with some exceptional American-style pancakes. Thick and fluffy, airy and nicely browned, they were a triumph, after which my children have never looked at my own pancakes the same way.

Usually, I mix up a batch of dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda – and store until a pancake emergency arises. I then whisk in the wet ingredients: an egg, milk and some melted butter, and off to the pan we go. They taste good enough, but are flat compared with my brother-in-law’s…

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