Brunch & Breakfast BRUNCH

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Name: Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour; 2 tbsp sugar; 2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp bicarbonate; 1/2 tsp salt; 300 ml buttermilk; 2 eggs; 40 g butter, melted

Rest the batter 10 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the bicarbonate wakes up — that is what gives the lift..

By Dana Reyes

Published 23 Sep 2026 · Tested 2 times · 0 comments

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes — Stack them with a pat of butter melting into the top crater.

10 min

Prep time

15 min

Cook time

Serves

4.7

NEW

The weekend stack worth waking up for

Rest the batter 10 minutes so the gluten relaxes and the bicarbonate wakes up — that is what gives the lift.

A hot, lightly buttered pan and a wait for the first bubbles before flipping prevents pale, sad cakes.

We tested buttermilk and a lemon-milk substitute. Real buttermilk is tangier and the crumb is better; keep it if you can.

Instructions

About 25 min from start to finish

Whisk the dry; in another bowl beat the buttermilk, eggs and butter.

Fold wet into dry until just combined; rest 10 minutes.

Cook small pools in a buttered pan over medium until bubbles form, then flip and colour the second side.

Keep warm in a low oven while you finish the batch.

Testing notes & substitutions

Three rounds of testing turned up three things worth knowing before you start cooking.

Thinner

A splash more buttermilk loosens the batter for crepe-like cakes.

Add-ins

Blueberries folded in just before cooking are the move.

Questions we get a lot

Why rest the batter?

It lets the leaveners and flour settle so the cakes rise, not spread.

Keep them warm?

A low oven on a tray stops the stack going cold and limp.

Dana Reyes

Dana has cooked professionally for eleven years and has been testing recipes for Hearth & Thyme since 2019. She writes about weeknight cooking, slow breads, and the small techniques that quietly change a dish. Every recipe she publishes is cooked at least twice, in an ordinary home oven.