Bill Granger's buttermilk pancakes

Do crepe pans really make a difference?

The friendly folk at Kitchenware Direct recently offered to send me a Scanpan crepe pan to road-test, and who was I to argue?

It was also the perfect excuse to test out Bill Granger's recipe for buttermilk pancakes.

Bill Granger's buttermilk pancakes

2 cups plain flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk
75g unsalted butter, melted
frozen blueberries (optional)
vegetable oil to grease the pan

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add sugar. Make a well in the middle, then add eggs, buttermilk and melted butter. Using a large balloon whisk, slowly draw in the dry ingredients into the middle. Whisk lightly, taking care not to over-mix. Small lumps are fine - overmixing will result in a tough pancake.

Allow batter to rest for at least thirty minutes in the fridge. This allows time for the flour to swell, giving a lighter fluffier batter. If the batter becomes very thick, add a splash of milk to thin the mixture.

Gently heat a fry pan (or a sexy Scanpan crepe pan) over medium heat until a few drops of water skitter across the surface (adjust heat until this happens). Grease the pan with a small amount of vegetable oil, then pour in a small ladleful of batter. Use the back of the ladle to make small circles in the middle of the batter, hopefully dispersing the batter into a perfect circle. This action is easier with thinner batters. Otherwise you can lift the pan and roll the batter around until it forms a thin circle.

If making blueberry pancakes, quickly add a small handful of blueberries to the pancake, pressing them in slightly.

Allow the first side to cook for about two minutes, or until bubbles appear on the pancake surface.



Flip the pancake and cook the other side for about one minute. Remove pancake and continue cooking ladlefuls of batter. Keep cooked pancakes warm by placing them on a plate sitting on a saucepan of gently boiling water. Cover the cooked pancakes with a clean tea towel.



So why buy a crepe pan?

It's specifically designed for crepes and pancakes. The thinness of the pan means it heats up quicker than a frypan and also conducts heat well. The shallow lip makes it easier to fold crepes over as well as toss pancakes in the air (it's all in the wrist and the confidence that yes, you can flip it!).

A Scanpan crepe pan seems like an indulgent purchase, but like all Scanpan products, it definitely feels built to last, even if it is a tad heavy on the wrist! Its specificity of use means you'll never have to risk a garlicky pancake or bacony crepe either. Its surface should also remain scratch-free.

And there is something a little bit special about having a crepe pan in the cupboard... I'll take any excuse to make more pancakes!