Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I'm a big pancake person. I love waffles, and french toast, and every other dessert-like breakfast food ever doused in butter and syrup, but pancakes are still on top.

A big stack of (slightly overbrowned) pancakes!

I think it's their versatility. Pancakes are really nothing more, by definition, than any sort of doughy disk cooked in a pan- so there's room for an incredibly diverse range of variations. You've got savoury and sweet, thin and thick, quick-rising, yeasted and unleavened, not to mention the almost infinite flavour and ingredient combinations. Even if you don't change up the pancakes themselves, there's also the huge amount of options for things to top them with. Pancakes of some sort exist in about every culture on Earth, and are all differently delicious.

These, however, are probably the closest thing to the American "default" pancake. When I was a kid I never had fluffy, American-style pancakes unless they were from a box in the freezer section- ours were almost exclusively thin and crêpe-like nalesniki rolled around a filling, or maybe some kind of banana fritter if we had too many brown ones. But the light, syrup-sponging pancakes I'd see on TV as part of the all-American breakfast seemed very exotic.

Needless to say, these are much, much better than any frozen boxed pancake. It took me many attempts to experiment with the much-exalted Martha Stewart recipe for the quintessential buttermilk pancakes until I got just what I was looking for- fluffy, light, tender and ready to absorb insane amounts of maple syrup.

I would recommend looking for "real" buttermilk for these pancakes- not regular milk that's been cultured or curdled with an acid. It really does make a difference, in my books. I used whole fat buttermilk from Organic Meadows, which is my absolute favourite buttermilk available, but use whatever looks to be the highest quality and fat content. I would even try thinning out a good organic sour cream with milk if I couldn't find good buttermilk- the important thing is that the acidity helps leaven the dough (by reacting with the baking powder) and tenderize it by preventing gluten networks from forming. This is also why you need to sift the dry ingredients- to minimize lumpiness, since overmixing the batter to make it completely smooth isn't an option.

You naturally don't need to use blueberries, if they're out of season or you want something different. You can also omit them and make plain buttermilk pancakes, or use chocolate chips. Still, when blueberry season finally hits Southern Ontario, I'm going to be collecting large bagfuls to freeze so that I can make these babies all through the winter. Fresh is obviously better since you can reserve some as a garnish, but you can throw frozen ones into the pancakes just as easily.

I would really, really recommend a nonstick skillet for these if you have one- for ages I suffered with pancakes that stuck regardless of how much oil I used or what the temperature was, or didn't want to cook through properly- a combination of a nonstick pan, medium heat and small pancake size fixed all these issues. You could also use a griddle if you have one, obviously- I didn't. And remember, flip frequently! They cook quickly, and nobody likes a burned pancake. If the surface is cooking faster than the inside, cover the pan with a lid after the first flip.

Lastly, use maple syrup. Not pancake syrup, not "butter-flavoured" syrup. You made these fantastic pancakes, so you deserve the best. And maple is the best.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

2 C. All purpose flour
3 TBSP Sugar
2 1/4 Tsp. Baking powder
1/4 Tsp. Baking soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 C. Buttermilk
2 Large eggs, yolks and whites separated
2 TBSP Butter, melted
1 TBSP Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla extract
1 C. Blueberries, fresh or just out of the freezer
Oil or butter, to fry

Mix the flour, salt, baking powder and soda and sift into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, buttermilk, yolks, butter, oil and vanilla extract- it's alright if it's a bit lumpy.

Beat the whites until firm peaks form and fold into the batter.

Heat a frying pan or skillet (nonstick works best) on medium. Add Use a ladle or 1/4 Cup scoop to dispense batter onto the pan. Drop a few blueberries onto each mound of batter.

Fry about 30 seconds on each side (in the beginning it takes longer since the skillet isn't hot yet) or until golden brown. Keep warm in an 80℃ oven until all the batter is used up.

These are best served with extra fresh blueberries (in season), maple syrup and pats of butter.