How does the varying amounts of ingredients in an English pancake affect its outcome?
Background Information
It is Shrove Tuesday, also known as pancake day! And I am planning on making pancakes. However, my little brother made pancakes at school and he used a different recipe to what I normally use; it was still composed of the three basic ingredients: flour, egg and milk, but he used different quantities. Also, the website that I had previously gotten my pancake recipe from also changed its recipe and I have seen other websites use different quantities as well, which has caused me to wonder what the best quantities actually are.
Recipes I have encountered
Recipe | Flour (g) | Egg | Milk (ml)
---------------------|-----------|-----|----------
Website's old recipe | 200 | 2 | 350
---------------------|-----------|-----|----------
My brother's recipe | 115 | 1 | 300
---------------------|-----------|-----|----------
Website's new recipe | 100 | 2 | 300
Question
How does the quantity of different ingredients affect the properties (such as thickness, frailness and taste) of an English pancake?
Best Answer
More flour: Thicker, cakier
Less flour: Flatter, more custardy
More egg: Chewier
Less egg: Breadier
More milk: Flatter
Less milk: Thicker
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What does each ingredient do in pancakes?
All these ingredients work together to create fluffy pancakes. The baking powder, a leavening agent, causes the formation of CO2. This gas, in turn, creates bubbles in the batter. The gluten molecules in flour and elastic, giving baked goods their chewy texture.What happens if you add an extra egg to pancakes?
Too much egg, however, will make the pancake dense and custard-like; not enough will make it drier and more biscuit-like. Baking powder and baking soda are the chemical leaveners typically used in pancakes. They are responsible for the bubbles in the batter, and for making the cakes light and fluffy.What is the function of flour in pancakes?
Flour contains a protein called glutenin (or gluten), which is crucial for the formation and structure of pancakes and baked goods. Gluten also provides the "chewy" texture in pancakes and breads. When the flour is dry, the gluten molecules are nearly immobile, which means that they do not move much.What is the purpose of milk in pancakes?
Flavor aside, the purpose of milk in a pancake recipe is to dissolve the flour and other ingredients and to provide the liquid structure. This means that any liquid will do the trick.Traditional English Pancake Recipe
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Answer 2
Not a fully comprehensive nor completely scientific method of evaluation, but let me pass on some brevet learning I did last night ;)
I usually make pancakes using the same proportions as I do for Yorkshire Pudding batter, just slightly thinner. When I say "usually" I mean about every 10 years or so, if we decide to have them on that one day a year & if it's me that volunteers… so, not all that practised really...
- 3 oz plain flour
- 3 fl oz milk
- 3 fl oz water [2 for Yorkies]
- 1 large egg.
Imperial measurements because that's what we had when I first made them nn years ago ;)
Let it stand for 2 - 4 hours before cooking.
So, last night I realised as I was making the first two, that because I'd chosen two 30cm pans I wasn't going to get the quantity I'd been hoping for. I'd normally use 20cm pans, but I only have one at the moment so it wasn't an option to swap.
These came out …edible - slightly doughy, cakey as they were too thick & just a tad rubbery. A good colouration, light crackly browning to the edges, slightly robust texture with plenty of stretch, quite crêpe-like. I don't think I had the pans quite hot enough overall, so I turned up a bit for the next batch.
In a flat panic as I was getting the first two going, I threw more flour, milk & water in on top of my last quarter of remaining batter. I really had badly underestimated quantities, so this second batch with approximately the same proportions of flour & milk, now had far less egg & a fair amount more water.
I'd estimate my initial 3:3:3:1 ratio was now more like 3:3:5:¼. Also, only part of the mixture had been rested.
Still had some of the stretch of the first batch, better edge browning, thinner so felt more lacy & delicate. Overall, less 'defined', more likely to break when flipped. Less successful, but still edible.
You guessed it - in my panic, I'd still not made enough batter, I'd seriously underestimated how much bigger a 30cm pan is compared to a 20, so I went all in for mix three, having learned a lot from the first two.
3:3:6:1 - twice as much water to get the thinness I'd got in the second batch, another whole egg, but my pans were completely settled at temperature & I'd also turned both up a bit to get these last ones out quicker.
This was the perfect batch.
Light, airy, crispy, slightly bubbled edges. They cooked quicker, were easier to spread the batter in the pan. They were quite delicate; a result, imo, of being thinner & not having had the resting time before-hand.
As a result of that field testing whilst under fire, I now know my recipe for next year…
- 3 oz plain flour
- 3 fl oz milk
- 6 fl oz water
- 1 large egg.
Let stand for one hour.
This should regain some of the elasticity I was missing from the last batch, but retain the airy crispness I was getting round the edges.
So, egg gives robustness & some elasticity. Resting gives more elasticity still. Lots more water means they'll spread much thinner in the pan, cook faster & have a better 'crust'.
Let's see if I can live up to that estimate next year.
Answer 3
I have noticed that more eggs you have the tougher the pancakes would be. and majority of people likes them fluffy and light.
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