Perfect Pancakes with Blueberries

Eureka! We have success! For what? The Perfect Pancake recipe. Thanks to June of Thyme for Food for sharing this recipe!

You see, at our house on any given morning, when I ask the question "what will you eat for breakfast?" the answer will be, probably 9 times out of 10, "pancakes." I have already posted two of our favorite pancake recipes here before, but what I haven't had was just a "plain" pancake recipe. Until now.

What makes these so perfect? I'm glad you ask. OK, you probably didn't ask, but I'll tell you anyway. As for most things I make often, I am looking for a recipe that fits certain criteria. For pancakes the recipe had to fullfill a 'trifecta' of key points for us (yes, pancakes are serious business around our house).

First off, flavor of course. The pancakes have to taste really wonderful - these are just sweet enough without being too sweet and you can taste the hint of vanilla that shines through.

Second, texture when you are topping them - and when you are eating them. They have to be the firm enough to stand up to being buttered. Often at our house that actually means peanut butter - especially crunchy - so you can see why a pancake that just rips apart won't do.

And third, they can't be tough or dry - they have to be soft and fluffy too - but not so soft that they soak up all the syrup and completely fall apart. They should be the perfect balance.

We finally have a winner here. These pancakes fulfill all of the requirements above and are still light and satisfying at the same time. You can eat two or three in a stack and not feel like you've just swallowed a bowling ball for breakfast.

I prefer my pancakes with just butter and syrup, but the PTB of the house really likes his with blueberries. So, since it never hurts to soften him up a bit, we have been throwing some blueberries onto his pancakes - besides, they're good for you, right?

The Simple But Perfect Pancake
The King Arthur Flour All Purpose Baking Book
Makes Eleven 1/4 cup pancakes

2 large eggs
1 1/4 cup (10 oz) milk (full fat)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional)
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) butter, melted, or vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup (6 1/4 oz) unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar, or 1/4 cup malted milk powder

Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed on a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the butter.

Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and sweetener. Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter relax while the griddle is heating (or overnight in the refrigerator). The batter will thicken while resting.

Grease and preheat the griddle. The griddle is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately; if you have an electric griddle, set the temperature between 325°F and 350°F. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. Cook on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, * then turn the pancakes and cook on the other side until brown. Turn over only once. Serve immediately.

* If you are adding fruit or chocolate chips or whatever you would add them after the pancake batter has started to set up a bit, but don't wait more than about 10 seconds into it or the batter will be too cooked to hold on to it. I generally add about 1/8 cup of mix-ins.