… I’ve been invited to join BBC Lincolnshire and Humberside Radio presenter James Hoggarth on his new daytime show on Tuesday to celebrate Shrove Tuesday… or Pancake Day as it has lovingly become known here in the UK… they’re going to set-up a special sound booth in the radio station kitchen so that I can make the pancakes live on air… yes, you will be able to tune in to hear me toss… and maybe toss along with me!
… to make sure I don’t make a total fool of myself I thought I ought to have a little practice and share with you my learnings… and much like my little omelet tutorial here’s how to make the perfect pancake…
1. give yourself plenty of time… this may seem crazy but these 12 pancakes took me nearly an hour to make… I did it nice a slowly so that there would be no mess or mistakes and after the first few I did speed up quite considerably
2. do yourself a favour and buy a decent frying pan… if you read my omelet tutorial and took anything away from it you would have sorted this out by now
3. get the oven on… it’s impossible to make 12 pancakes and serve them all at the same time unless you have 12 pans and 12 hobs, which I assume you don’t… so you’ll need the oven on a low heat to keep everything nice and warm
4. have a strong wrist… there’s a lot of times during this pancake making that the pan is hovering in the air …you need to become the ultimate triumvirate of hob, pan and arm… the hob and pan are your friends… go gently gently… if everything is getting too hot, don’t turn down the heat, take the pan off the hob… its all in the wrist… see below…
pancakes
these are your standard common or garden thin ‘crepe’ style plan pancakes that can be either served sweet or savoury and the applications are endless although the classic sugar and lemon and perhaps a squidge of golden syrup is my ultimate delivery.
110g plain flour
2 large eggs
200ml milk
75ml water
a large knob of melted butter
a little salt
– sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, break in the eggs and begin to gently whisk it together adding the milk a little at a time – don’t worry about any lumps they will go…
– melt the butter in the microwave and set aside
– pour this mixture into a jug with a handle so you have control over pouring it into the pan
OK… here comes the method… pay attention in the back…
– place the pan on a medium to high heat… only YOU now your hob…. its what I call a gentle hotness
– once the pan is nice and hot take it off the heat but hold it up as you place a small knob of butter into the pan and swish the butter to coat it…
– quickly pour enough mixture into the pan to coat the bottom, it’s roughy 2 tablespoons but you’re not using tablespoons so use your eye and brain instead…
– now, again, NOT on the heat, just above it, swish the pan around until the pancake mix is evenly coated on the bottom and the mix starts to thicken, eventually there will be no more movement from the mixture and its at this point that you place the pan back on the hob
– gently fry the pancake, using a small pallet knife to test the golden colour before you toss… i’d say roughy 3 minutes per side…
– tossing is easy (oy vey!!) – make sure the pancake is loose in the pan and then shimmy it to the far edge… with a supple wrist simple flick the pan so that the pancake turns… don’t be dramatic, it doesn’t need to fly through the air!
– fry again on this side and then slide the pancake onto your oven dish
and that’s it!… every one was a success for me today and hopefully i’ll be able to pull it off on Tuesday live in the studio…at 4pm if anyone wants to listen… we served ours today as breakfast stuffed with sauted mushrooms, followed by some with lemon and sugar… divine!
eat and of course, enjoy!
As always, informative and entertaining.
I thought it was universally acknowledged that the first pancake (at least) always sticks – good for you for proving that wrong!
Oh Dom how you speak to my heart with this post! I love pancakes and the idea of the mushroom centre = YUM!
Good luck for pancake day…If these ones are anything to go by everything will go perfectly…
Deb
Gosh, pancake day already, I had forgotten. Thanks for reminding me. We always have some savoury ones and some sweet ones and 12 is just right for us two and my dad.
And this time, I will try tossing them, as you say it's so easy……turning them with a fish slice is just not the same !!
I love pancakes any day of the year. These look great.
I love that you can have breakfast and then a little dessert from the same crepe. These look yummy.
First, congratulations on the BBC event, sounds exciting. I love crepes but have had ZERO luck making them, so I'm so glad to have this tutorial, thanks!
Hi Dom,
Many congratulations on being invited to go on the radio and fingers-and toes-crossed all goes well. I’ll try and see if I can find you on I Player!! Don’t know if it does local radio…but if there is a link then do please let us know!!
Another gripping tutorial – I was so waiting for a disaster to happen!!! Those mushrooms look divine. I gave up tossing years ago as invariably the pancakes ended up in a huge muddle, but you've obviously sorted out the wrist action. Good luck for Tuesday and thanks for reminding me it's pancake day.
Perfect…..
http://feiffercereja.blogspot.com/
These are not pancakes in the Canadian sense of the word but you could never keep me away from a delectable plate of these. I love them sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar. I will definitely be celebrating Pancake Tuesday!
Congratulations Dom, how exciting for you.
We adore 'crepes' in this house and have them numerous times during the year. I have to make double quantities of mixture to cater for my gannets.
As you say the pan is so important and my latest little cast iron pan works a treat every time.
It's a good workout for the wrists.
Good Luck for Tuesday although I'm sure you won't need it! 😀
Oooh I love pancake day! Yours look v good. Good luck for tuesday. Live tossing on radio lincs – how things have changed since I lived there!
Dom, Break a leg on Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday was the only day growing up that my mum made pancakes. It was always with sugar and lemon so I can't mess with that – it takes me back to being a little girl.
Maybe you could tape the program and add it to your blog?
Very exciting for you Dom! Congrats!
And of course, the pancakes are a thing of beauty!!
Hurrah! World DOMination continues! All the very very very very best for tomorrow Dom- will try and catch up with it online tomorrow night!
I love this time of the year – pancakes everywhere! Good luck with the show – these look perfect 🙂
Very interesting post – especially since the word “pancake” means something so different to me than “crepe”. These look delicious – and that's from someone who doesn't like crepes 😉
Awesome. a roll pancakes haha i wonder what its taste like. I tried make of it this past last week is only simple but its taste good.
Now this is my goal to make this pancake bunch :p
Crepes! Another GREAT post from Dashing Dom! LOVE your photos too darlink and I also LOVE your mushroom pancakes too….
Hi Dom, I just listened in to most of the programme. Congratulations, it was great.
Tossing is easy! You are a naughty boy… and, what do you mean you don't have 12 hobs? What was the point of that kitchen reno then?
Lovely crepes, by the way. Reminds me of the Monier Crepe Maker my mother had, which I always thought was the height of sophistication due to the glamorous pictures of a 70s cocktail party on the box. No tossing with one of those though…
Hi Dom, Just to let you know I have awarded you with a versatile blogger award and I have a link to your blog on my mine. But if you don't want to do it or accept that is absoloutly fine, but thought I would let you know! Amazing looking pancakes by the way!
They look delicious! Love the picture of the stuffed rolled one with the mushrooms on top, great photo!
Happy Pancake Day Dom! Congrats on the BBC event. Oh yum… looks delicious. I must say, I haven't had my pancake yet today. It might have to wait until the weekend.
HAPPY PANCAKE DAY DOM! AND CONGRATS! I love savoury pancakes, and actually did a version with mushrooms not too long ago too. added some cheese too and grilled it. no gorgeous photo to show though, but yours pretty much trumps it anyway!
nice tutorial it help me a lot. i already read the omelet tutorial. i hope i can make a perfect pancake just like this . thaks for sharing
They look beautiful!!! I hope everything went well for you!!!
After reading this, had mushrooms very much in mind for our pancakes. I made the pancakes and CT made the mushroom filling and they were UTTERLY divine. Thanks Dom.
captcha still on 🙁
I was out the other night and my husband is still nagging me to make pancakes. You're quite right they're time consuming to make, an hour can easily pass cooking a jug full of batter. My favourites are savoury ones… I especially like the kind they serve in Brittany with ham and eggs inside.
Must have been exciting making them live on air!