9 Secrets To Make Pearl Milling Pancakes Fluffy
NOTE: If you still have a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix and you are confused, all these tips apply to that mix, too. In fact, it is the same mix, only the name has changed.
Pearl Milling pancake mix is a great solution to make pancakes when you don’t feel like making the entire thing from scratch. However, Pearl Milling pancakes can sometimes turn out flat, and that’s not what we want. So how to make Pearl Milling pancakes fluffier?
Adding extra baking powder, sifting the mix, separating the white from the yolk, and using buttermilk instead of regular milk are good ideas to make Pearl Milling pancakes fluffier. Adding extra flour to the mix will definitely dry up the batter if it’s too wet and make the pancakes fluffier.
Fluffy pancakes are everyone’s favorite. Airy, light, and full of flavor, they are a true delight, sweet as well as savory. Still, as simple as it seems, making fluffy pancakes, especially using a ready pancake mix, such as Pearl Milling, can be challenging. In the following paragraphs, I will share some ideas on making Pearl Milling pancakes fluffier and why they turn out flat.
How to make Pearl Milling pancakes fluffier?
For the pancakes to be fluffy, the batter should not be overly wet; you should stir it gently and mix until everything homogenizes. If you do all of this, you will have fluffy pancakes, but you can make them even fluffier if that’s not enough.
Essentially, the more air it has, the fluffier the pancake is. Therefore, you should make sure not to make the batter overly dense and let the air bubbles do their magic.
1. Sift the Pearl Milling pancakes mix
Sifting the pancake mix before mixing it with the rest of the ingredients is often overlooked, while it should be a mandatory part of the pancake-making process. Sifting makes the pancake mix softer; it helps dissolve the rougher parts, making the mixture smooth and airy.
Moreover, the softer the mix is, the easier it will be to homogenize it with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add sparkling water
It is sufficient to mix Pearl Milling pancakes mix with still water, but replacing it with sparkling water will make all the difference in the world when it comes to making them even fluffier.
The air bubbles contained in the sparkling water will make your pancakes as light and fluffy as a cloud.
3. Stir gently
If you want to get rid of all the lumps, you should do it gently and carefully. Stirring the ingredients roughly will make the bonds break, which means that your pancakes will fall apart in the pan, and you won’t be able to turn them over. Also, stirring too rough and too long could make the batter too runny, which means your pancakes will turn out crispy and dry instead of soft and fluffy.
4. Add flour
Even though you made your pancake batter perfectly, and your pancakes will probably turn out fluffy, it is always a good idea to add some extra flour to make them even fluffier. Before cooking them, sift a quarter of a cup of flour and mix it in the batter.
This extra flour will absorb any excess moisture from the batter and make the pancakes even lighter.
5. Separate the yolks from the whites
Although your pancakes will be fluffy if you add the egg white and yolk together, separating them will make them even fluffier. Separate the white and yolk, and beat them separately. Whites should become foamy and light.
You can mix egg yolks together with the rest of the wet ingredients, but egg whites should be beaten alone. You can easily then mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients.
Once you get a nice, even texture, use a wooden spoon to gently stir foamy whites into the rest of the batter.
Because the yolk is heavier and denser than the white, it won’t allow the formation of as many air bubbles. Therefore, beating them separately and then together will result in a much foamier consistency of the eggs, contributing to fluffier pancakes.
6. Use buttermilk instead of regular milk
Since it isn’t liquid but creamy, buttermilk will make your Pearl Milling pancakes even fluffier as it won’t add moisture to them. It is good to whip the buttermilk before adding it to the batter to make it lighter and airier.
7. Use oil Instead of butter
As pancakes don’t contain any natural oils, they contain flour, which is very oil-absorbent; they tend to dehydrate and stick if you use butter. Butter is excellent for cooking, but it tends to burn very quickly, and therefore, it isn’t recommended for cooking food that doesn’t contain natural oil.
The oil doesn’t burn as quickly as the butter, and it creates a protective barrier between the pancakes and the pan, allowing them to cook without sticking.
8. Don’t make the pancakes too big
Pearl Milling pancakes tend to be a bit denser than regular batter pancakes, and therefore making them too big won’t allow for the center to cook at the same time as the edges. So to avoid having burnt edges or uncooked center, try making the pancakes a bit smaller than you usually would.
9. Add baking powder
If your pancakes don’t rise enough, add some extra baking powder. If your Pearl Milling pancakes mix has been sitting in your pantry for a while, it would have probably lost some of its features.
The baking powder will leaven the batter, meaning that it will allow more air inside it, which will make your Pearl Milling pancakes as fluffy and airy as a cloud.
Why do your Pearl Milling pancakes turn out flat?
Your Pearl Milling pancakes can turn out flat because your batter is overly wet. Pearl Milling mix is denser than regular pancake batter, which is more absorbent. Adding too many wet ingredients will result in a wet batter, which in turn will give you flat pancakes.
Another reason why your Pearl Milling pancakes turn out flat could be the lack of leavening agent. Sometimes the baking powder consisted in the mix could lose its potency if the mixture has been sitting in your pantry for some time.
However, that doesn’t have to be the case. Sometimes, the ingredients themselves neutralize the leavening agent’s action, and your pancake batter won’t rise as much as it should. In this situation, you should add some extra baking powder.
How to keep pancakes from going flat?
Your pancakes can go flat for several reasons. Overheating the pancake batter is the most common factor. When you overbeat the batter, you tear the bonds and get runny, sticky, and flat pancakes. To prevent this from happening, go easy on the batter and stir until it homogenizes, not more, and not less.
Another reason is making the batter too early. If you make the batter a few hours before cooking the pancakes, it will turn soggy, and you won’t be able to repair it. Therefore, you should make the batter and cook the pancakes soon after.
You should, however, let the batter rest for about 15 minutes before cooking. During this time, the starch granules in the flour will expand through the batter, which will even out its consistency.
Using old baking powder is a substantial contributing factor for flat pancakes. Whether it has been open or not, if your baking powder has been sitting in your pantry, it will have probably lost its leavening potency to some extent. Always use fresh baking powder to avoid flat pancakes.
Flipping your Pearl Milling pancakes too early also results in flat pancakes. Even though your pancakes don’t stick and you think it’s time to flip them, they may not be ready. Let the color be your guide. We’re going for golden brown.
Flipping the pancakes roughly could be the reason your pancakes turn flat. You should always be gentle when you flip your pancakes and see that they are fully separated from the pan before you flip them.
