Butter and Milk Skillet Pancakes
Small, tender stovetop pancakes with a soft, dense crumb. Melted butter and milk keep them rich, and a low, patient pan gives them an even golden crust.
- Total
- 18 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Whisking · Tempering eggs
- Sweet
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Melt 15 g butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then take it off the heat and let it cool for a minute so it does not scramble the egg.
~3 min
Cooling melted butter prevents it from scrambling the egg when combined.
Tempering eggs Temper eggs by slowly adding warm ingredients while whisking constantly. This prevents curdling; if you add hot butter too fast, the eggs will scramble.
-
Whisk 1 egg with 1 tbsp sugar in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves and the mixture looks pale and slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
~1 min
Whisking egg and sugar dissolves sugar and incorporates air for a lighter texture.
Whisking Whisk in a circular motion to dissolve sugar and combine ingredients smoothly. Stop when just mixed to avoid overdeveloping gluten, which makes pancakes tough.
-
Pour in the melted butter and 60 ml milk and whisk to combine. Add 60 g flour and stir just until no dry streaks remain. The batter will be thick; loosen it with 2 tbsp water, one spoon at a time, until it drops slowly from the whisk.
~3 min
Adding water adjusts batter consistency so pancakes spread and cook evenly.
Whisking Whisk in a circular motion to dissolve sugar and combine ingredients smoothly. Stop when just mixed to avoid overdeveloping gluten, which makes pancakes tough.
Tempering eggs Temper eggs by slowly adding warm ingredients while whisking constantly. This prevents curdling; if you add hot butter too fast, the eggs will scramble.
-
Warm the non-stick pan over low-medium heat for 2 minutes. Spoon in the batter to make 3 small pancakes, leaving space between them.
~2 min
Keep the pan at low-medium heat: butter and milk in a batter brown fast, and a dark crust turns the outside bitter before the middle sets.
-
Cook undisturbed until the edges look set and dry and the undersides are deep golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip with a spatula and cook the second side until golden and firm to a light press, about 2 minutes more.
~5 min
Cooking undisturbed sets the structure; flipping too early tears the pancake.
-
Move the pancakes to a plate and repeat with any remaining batter, about 3 minutes. Serve warm while the centers are still soft.
~3 min