There are reasons why I have not been posting breakfast recipes on here lately.
For weeks now, I have been encountering such frustration and disappointment when I make pancakes that I finally have to stop trying. This is sad, because pancakes are one of my favorite things in the world. They just make me happy. So do cupcakes. They're just so happy and so good.
Except when they're not.
When they are wet, stodgy, and disgusting, the frustration is compounded in exponents. I don't know if that is even a thing- being compounded in exponents, but it sounds like how I feel when that happens. :) The last few times I have made pancakes, they took a ridiculously, agonizingly long time to cook- like fifteen minutes per side! And they were still raw batter in the middle. So frustrating!!
I have wracked my poor brain, trying to figure out why why WHY my pancakes suddenly do not work.
I have considered the fact that, while for twenty-three years I lived at high elevation (4,800+ feet), I now live...everywhere. Since starting our life in the travel trailer a few months ago, we have been in eight different states, at widely varied elevations. This can definitely impact cooking and baking. Relative humidity can also be an important factor. We went from high desert to coastal rainforest to southwestern desert and now to the humid South. This will certainly change things in the kitchen.
This morning, as I took a deep breath, and mixed up a batch of pancake batter (something I've not done for a few weeks), I have been pondering this question yet again. I have two new thoughts on the subject of dramatic pancake failure.
For several years, I have used a specific millet flour. I can only get it from one place and with our life on the road, that has not been possible. That millet flour is called "unifine." It is turned from seed to flour in a specific process that yields an extra-fine flour. I have loved that. So many gluten-free flours feel gritty. The unifine flour has a wonderfully soft, smooth texture. I was able to buy millet flour at a store recently, for which I was very thankful, but it is a little less fine than what I've had in the past. This will affect the texture of batter and dough. The liquids do not absorb the same way when the flour is more coarse.
And just now, while mixing up my batter, I confirmed a suspicion I've had for months. Back when I had a whole kitchen and pantry, I had three different glass measuring cups- 1-cup, 2-cup and 4-cup. In paring down for the small-space life, I chose just the 2-cup measure to travel with me. It is the most versatile, so I figured it would be the most practical option.
Here is the problem: the markings on this measuring cup are wrong! Gah!!!! (take a breath) No wonder I have struggled!!! This morning, I used a different measure, one which came with our pressure cooker. I poured out one-fourth cup of oil into that cup, then poured it into my glass one. It was noticeably below the 1/4 cup mark. When I measured out the juice (I'm making orange-juice cinnamon pancakes), I poured it first into the glass cup. It showed just 3/4 cup in the glass one, but when I poured it into the other, it showed a full cup!!
How can I possibly have good results using recipes I figured out in the past, when the measuring tool that I now use is so dramatically off-base?!!! Beyond that, how can I possibly share recipes and have them work well for other people, when my measurements may be far from what they should be? Several tablespoons difference per cup makes a tremendous difference in the texture of the finished product.
I am writing this while the batter rests. Once I have (sigh) cooked up the pancakes, I will report back on how they turned out. I think I need some calming tea and soothing music so I can face the potential stress of pancakes that will not cook. But maybe it will work this time. Maybe this batch will brown nicely and quickly, and maybe the pancakes will be tender and moist and nicely cooked in the middle. I can hope, right?
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And....they're okay. Not great, but not terrible. They did brown. I went back to my original pancake recipe recently and realized that I'd been forgetting that little bit of sugar. Even thought it is a lower-glycemic sugar (coconut sugar) it still makes a big difference in browning. These first few out of the pan.....still heavy and sticky inside. Not as bad as before, but not great either. Paul Hollywood would definitely not approve! ;) I've just added more liquid to the batter, to see if thinner ones will cook through.
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Oh. And this transition (house to travel trailer) has also meant switching to a gas cookstove, and specifically to a gas stove that does not have a super-low setting for the burners. On the stove I used years ago, Low meant just tiny points of flame. The lowest setting on this stove seems more like medium-low to me. I'm having to re-learn how to cook things like rice, as they'll scorch on the lowest setting. This is also part of the pancake saga, I think. Although I've never cooked pancakes on super-low, ever, I have to with this stove. So many factors!
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If you have watched the Great British Bake Off, you may get this reference. Remember Catharine? ("Doughnut Doom." "Honestly, I've completely lost it.") Remember her last week on the show, when she was baking crackers? Remember her "I am so over this!!" face when she dumped the pan of burned crackers on the counter? That is the face I was wearing just now when I dumped pancakes onto the cooling rack.
Pancakes should not be so frustrating. They should be little golden rounds of delicious happiness!
Still waiting on the thinner batch to cook, to see if they actually manage to not be raw batter in the middle.
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Seriously.How can they be both undercooked and overdone??? If this were bread, I would think "undahproooved." Why why why? Sigh. Okay....if it were bread, this would be caused by being underproved....maybe the pancake batter equivalent is needing more "raising agent?" But I already have a Tablespoon of baking powder to just two cups of flour. Does it seriously need more? It is frustrating to spend the time, and the ingredients ($$$$$) on food and have it turn out so sub-par. I will still eat them. As long as they won't make me sick, I eat the food. Just cannot afford to throw ingredients in the trash if the result doesn't make me happy. Food is food. These are at least not as terrible as the ones a few weeks ago. I almost cried over pancakes. That's how bad it got. I needed a break from the frustration!
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Thank you for taking this little journey with me, through my breakfast struggles. I have some non-breakfast recipes to share soon. Thank goodness for soup! It does not fail me like breakfast has. :)
I hope that you have a lovely day, and that your food is not gross. :)
