English Pancakes
An easy, traditional British pancake recipe using just flour, milk and eggs. These thin English-style pancakes are perfect for Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) and delicious served with lemon and sugar, golden syrup or your favourite sweet or savoury toppings.
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Servings: 12 pancakes
INGREDIENTS
- 220 g Plain Flour
- 400 ml Milk (dairy, soya, oat...)
- 100 ml Water
- 2 Free-range Eggs (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Sift the flour into your bowl, holding it at a bit of height to allow some air into the flour.
- Mix the milk and water together. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs & a little of the milk mixture. Whisk until combined. (It will initially be thick and lumpy - don't panic!) Gradually add the remaining milk mixture, whisking as you do, until you have a smooth, runny batter - you may not need all of the liquid.
- Set your batter aside to rest whilst you prepare your pan(s).
- Place your pan(s) on your hob over a medium heat and allow them to warm up. After a few minutes, brush a little butter/margarine onto the pan to grease.
- Using your ladle, spoon the mixture into your hot pan, tipping it from side to side to spread the batter into a circle that reaches the edges of your pan.
- Let your pancake cook until it appears dry on top and the edges have begun to crisp a little. Then flip your pancake with a spatula, or the fun way!
- Allow the underside to cook for a minute or two more before removing from the pan and serving straight away with your favourite toppings.
- Repeat with the remaining mixture.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Egg Size: When it comes to eggs, I always buy mixed-weight free-range eggs. Generally speaking, egg size doesn't make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean towards the extremes. If you're unsure which eggs to use, I recommend medium eggs in the UK, which are roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US. That's what this recipe has been tested with.
Substitutions:
- Milk: You can use all milk instead of milk and water if preferred - the water simply keeps the pancakes lighter and more delicate. Milk alternatives, such as soya or oat, also work well in this recipe if you want them to be dairy-free.
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