Fluffy Pancakes

My search is over.

The secret is ... self-raising flour.

I normally make pancakes from scratch but no matter how magnificent the picture is in the cookbook, the magazine or the internet, the final product is never quite as fluffy.

I like FLUFFY pancakes. I just do. (Of course the children are somewhat partial to the crepe-like pancakes. But that is another story.) The ones in the likes of Pancake House are always light and fluffy. Even McDonald's can make fluffier pancakes that I can. (Oh dear, I am taken back to McDonald's for breakfast. Hotcakes and hot chocolate. LIKE!)

Anyway, a couple of weeks back, an officemate of mine gave me a piece of her pancake. It was nice and fluffy ... and homemade. When I commented that her pancakes were extraordinary, she said it was so simple to do. She mentioned that she used self-raising flour AND baking soda.

So my quest (for fluffy pancakes from scratch) was revived. I said to myself, if she can do it, so can I.

I got this recipe off the internet and tried it out this morning.

FLUFFY PANCAKES

(Makes 10 x 11" pancakes)

1.5 c milk

2 t lemon juice

2T sugar

1.5 c self-raising flour

1/4 t baking soda

1 egg

1.5 T melted butter

Combine milk, lemon juice and sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Combine flour and baking soda in a large bowl.

Add egg and melted butter to the milk mixture . Whisk to combine.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until almost smooth.

(Do not over beat. Leave batter a little lumpy.)

Let batter sit about 2 minutes while preheating a non-stick pan.

Scoop 1/4 c of batter and spread to make 11".

Cook until bubbles burst (about 2 minutes).

Flip and cook the other side (about 1 minute).

I LOVED IT!

My next experiment would be to see if this recipe would work as well without the secret ingredient. You know ... 1 cup of self-raising flour = 1 cup all-purpose flour + 1 t baking powder + 1/2 t salt + 1/4 t baking soda.

Yes, I know I said that my search is over ... but that doesn't mean I stop experimenting. Don't worry, if my experiment fails, then you can expect self-raising flour to be added to our regular grocery list.