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Doesn’t it rise, add, go flat, or maybe it’s just rubber? As the biggest pancake festival of the year, Mardi Gras, approaches, it’s time to train your pancake baking skills – expert Sonata Šalkauskaitė shares tips and the most common mistakes of the perfect pancakes.
Badly selected flour
When baking pancakes is rare, which takes into account the type or type of flour, common wheat does its job. However, here we can also look for differences – for the perfect pancake texture, look at the letters and numbers on the flour package.
“You will need some flour for American pancakes, and completely different for pancakes. Here, baking and cookie flour (type 405D) is perfect for soft pancakes as it makes them light and fluffy. Stronger flour ( type 550D) used for baking is more suitable for pancakes. The gluten they contain helps to bind the dough, which becomes strong but elastic, “says S. Šalkauskaitė.
Whole wheat flour is perfect for those who want to bake healthy pancakes. You can mix them with the highest quality wheat flour for a lighter texture. S. Šalkauskaitė also invites you to experiment with spelled flour: both light flour and spelled flour from all parts of the grain are perfect for all pancake recipes, because it is easier to change them and integrate them into your flour recipes. wheat already dear.
Inadequate dough consistency
Proper consistency is the secret to delicious pancakes. Overly runny batter will easily come into contact with the pan, so your pancakes will be thin and won’t rise. Too thick a batter will result in hard and crispy pancakes.
“To bake fluffy pancakes, you need to make them” thick enough. “You can make a thicker batter with less liquid, but don’t overdo it with flour to keep the pancakes dry. You can also replace some of the liquids listed in the recipe (such as milk) with Greek yogurt. This will make the batter thicker and the acidity of the yogurt will increase the chemical reaction of the baking powder, giving even more fluff. Note that a thicker batter will bake longer, so adjust the fire accordingly, ”says the Malsena expert.
The proportion of liquid in pancake batter is higher than in other types of pancakes. When using just water the pancakes can sag a bit, and when using just milk they can be heavy and less light. For the best texture, use a mixture of both fluids. Kefir and vegetable milk can also be used.
One of the most common mistakes is intense mixing.
According to S. Šalkauskaitė, do not mix the pancake batter in any way, it is better to leave small tubers in the batter.
“Excessive and intense mixing of the batter will form a strong web of flour gluten, which means only one thing: crispy, hard pancakes, which have no room for air bubbles. If you mix the batter too much, the pancakes will be flat and rubbery, ”says the expert.
Incorrectly selected ingredients
Although sugar and salt appear to be important only for the flavor of pancakes, they actually play an important role in the raising and dough forming processes as well.
“As with many sweet cakes, sugar is not just for the sweet taste! It binds to the water in the dough and therefore slows down the development of gluten in the flour. This means that pancakes with a tablespoon of sugar will be softer, more elastic. Due to the sugar, the edges of your pancakes will turn nice and brown, that’s what creates this effect. Salt also plays an important role: it not only balances the flavor, but also improves the structure of the dough. Adding a pinch of salt will ensure that the dough is stronger. Fat also inhibits the development of gluten, which makes pancakes fluffier and softer. The stronger the gluten-free net, the stronger the cakes will be (like pizza or bread). We don’t want to create such an effect for pancakes, therefore we add fat to the dough, which does not absorb all the liquids and gluten cannot develop as well ”, says S. Šalkauskaitė.
Products with wrong temperature
As with many other baking recipes, it’s a good idea to get your ingredients out of the refrigerator beforehand before making the pancake batter. At room temperature, butter, eggs and milk allow the dough to come together better, it becomes more uniform. These ingredients typically take about 30 minutes to warm up to room temperature.
Unexpected moment
The time of fermentation will also depend on how you plan to ferment your pancakes: with yeast, baking powder, or natural yeast.
“When you lift yeast pancake batter, it is very important to recognize the right time when the batter is ready. If the dough does not rise enough, the pancakes will not rise, they will not be fluffy or melt in your mouth, but if you lift the dough for a long time, you will feel the aftertaste of yeast, bitterness, they will no longer have their soft and sweet taste, because the yeast will eat up all the sugar. A similar observation should be made with the pancakes with natural yeast, but here we will obtain the best results when raising the pancakes overnight ”, says the expert.
Lack of patience
If you are baking flat pancakes – pancakes or so-called “Dutch”, which do not require additional sprinklers in the batter, let the mixed batter rest. Your patience test should last at least 30 to 60 minutes.
“This time is very important to the flavor, texture and success of your pancakes. Letting the dough rest allows the flour to completely absorb the liquid. You can also keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight so it is ready for the next day, ”says the expert in a press release.
Flip
Flip the pancakes carefully! When preparing fluffy and plump pancakes, the main goal is to keep air bubbles in them. By twisting them tightly or tossing them into the air, we “release” the air from the pancakes, which is the secret to fluffy, squishy pancakes.
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