With this homemade pancake mix, you can make fluffy buttermilk pancakes from scratch in minutes. Easy peasy. Simply combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter and stash the whole shebang in the freezer. Then add milk and eggs.
Thanks to this homemade pancake mix recipe, you can make pancakes from scratch in minutes whenever the craving hits. Breakfast. Dinner. Brunch. Midnight. You can even customize this mix depending on whether you prefer light, fluffy, buttermilk pancakes or crêpe-like, fold-and-fill thin pancakes. Keep a stash in the freezer.–David Leite
How do I make fluffy pancakes?
When we tell you not to overmix the batter, we’re not kidding. Go as easy as possible—a few lumps are fine. Flour and liquid create structure in any dough by turning into gluten. Overmix and you’ll end up developing more gluten than you want and those pancakes will be tough and rubbery.
☞ Contents
Pancake Mix
Ingredients
To make the pancake mix
- 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 12 tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter cut into 1/2-inch (1 1/4-centimeter) dice and chilled
To make the buttermilk pancakes
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons superfine sugar (or just blitz granulated sugar in a blender until finely ground but not powdery)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Butter (or, ideally, clarified butter)
Directions
To make the pancake mix
- If making the pancake mix with a stand mixer, fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and, on medium-low speed, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined, about 1 minute.
Stop the machine. Toss in the butter and use your fingers to combine everything so the butter is coated with the flour. Then flip the stand mixer on medium speed until the mixture is the consistency of fine meal and there are no visible chunks of butter, about 10 minutes.
If making the pancake mix with a handheld mixer, in a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt with the mixer on medium-low speed until everything is well combined, about 1 minute.
Stop the machine. Toss in the butter and use your fingers to combine everything so the butter is coated with the flour. Then flip the mixer on medium speed and mix until the mixture is the consistency of fine meal and there are no visible chunks of butter, 3 to 5 minutes. - Use the mix immediately or stash it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
To make the buttermilk pancakes
- In a medium bowl, gently whisk the eggs.
- Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla extract until blended.
- Place 2 cups (284 grams) of the pancake mix in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, dump in the egg mixture, and gently whisk just until combined and no white streaks remain. Be careful not to overmix the batter or the resulting buttermilk pancakes will be tough and gummy.
- Heat a cast-iron or nonstick skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Brush with a little butter (clarified butter would be ideal) to lightly coat, then wipe off any excess with a clean kitchen or paper towel.
- Grab a 2-inch-diameter ice-cream scoop or 1/3-cup measuring cup and portion the batter onto the griddle, leaving an inch or so between pancakes. Use the back of the scoop or measuring cup to gently spread each blob into a 4-inch round. Cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes.
- Carefully flip the pancakes and cook until the other side is golden brown, about 2 more minutes. Serve immediately while you repeat with the remaining batter. Originally published January 20, 2016.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This pancake mix is definitely a great plus for busy families at breakfast! My family loves the thin pancakes made with this mix.
This basic pancake mix is a good item to have on hand if you have some freezer space, and it saves you some time getting out the flour, baking powder, and melting butter if it’s early morning and you want to feed the kids something good and send them off to school without too much hassle. I only made half the pancake mix.
I used a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer. It worked very well, and the butter was incorporated in about 2 minutes.
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #LeitesCulinaria. We'd love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
I’m more of a French toast/waffle over pancakes. The only pancakes I will eat are the ultimate on the Bisquick box….they are so tasty. Is this mix similar to that “baking mix” with the added fat?
Andi, like most packaged mixes, this pancake mix contains flour, salt, leavening (baking powder), and fat. However, this recipe uses butter, where Bisquick is made with vegetable oil, and also includes other food grade chemicals. I don’t think you’ll find that it tastes the same as Bisquick.
Butter makes everything better, I’ll try this. Thank you.
I couldn’t agree more, Andi! Do let us know how it turns out.
Nothing wrong with buttermilk powder. It is just dehydrated buttermilk. Less expensive and less fattening than fresh. And…No need to fuss with a mixer or a food processor! Your pancake mix can be stored in the pantry instead of the refrigerator or freezer!
Buttermilk Pancake Mix
6 cups flour
1 1/2 cups powdered buttermilk
1/3 cups plus 2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Mix the ingredients, store in an airtight jar on the shelf.
To make pancakes from this mix: Mix 2 2/3 cups of the mix with 2 eggs, 2 cups water, 1/4 cup neutral oil. Beat until just combined. Let rest 15 to 30 minutes. Follow instructions above.
I also use powdered buttermilk. And I use sparking Water for the liquid. Tender cakes/crepes. I see no soda in Renee’s recipe. Typo?
LOVE the sparkling water trick, Andi! I confess I haven’t tried that. Usually with pancakes I use the waffle approach, which is to beat the egg whites until fluffy and then gently fold them in. Works like a charm.
It’s like when you’re making Sourdoughs (Alaskan Way). You mix your starter, sugar, and eggs, and nothing else. Then, right before you make them, you mix a tsp. of baking soda with a tiny bit of water and add it. Floom! Don’t beat too hard or you’ll find your batter all over the counter! Use a big bowl. I love that trick.
“Floom!” I am smitten with that word. Thank you for the lesson in vocabulary as well as cooking!
Andi, nope. Not a typo!
Beckett, thanks for that!
Why not add the sugar to the mix? Or for that matter, powdered milk or at least buttermilk powder? And it seems like it would be much easier to mix this up in the food processor.
Rebecca, I can see adding the sugar, but we prefer our readers use fresh milk/buttermilk. It’s less processed. But if you do make it that way, let us know what you think.