We are big fans of pancakes in this house; I’m pretty casual with my batter making at this stage, I throw a few things into a bowl or blender, a bit of a mix, into the pan, quick flip and hey presto! It seems I am going about it all the wrong way. There are formulas that I should be following, such as…
-
The batter formula
If you take your pancakes seriously, you’ll want the appearance to be just right. It’s not just luck or habit; it is all about the flour to liquid ratio, according to a group of researchers at University College London.
The thickness of the pancake determines the way the water in the pancake is released during cooking and ultimately determines the overall appearance of the finished product.
The experts devised a formula…
Mixture (ml) required per pancake : (D² x T x π) / 4
Total mixture (ml) required: (D² x T x π) / 4
… where D is the diameter of the pancake pan and T is the thickness that you want your pancakes!
And believe it or not, this pancake study has medical benefits too: the team are using what they learned to create better surgical methods for treating glaucoma, which is a build-up of pressure in the eyes caused by fluid.
-
The perfect batter calculator
If this all sounds a bit too complicated then don’t worry, maths students at the University of Sheffield have taken this formula and generated a calculator that does all the maths for you. All you need to do it type in how many pancakes you want, how thick you want them and how wide your pan is and voila, you get an exact recipe!
-
The super formula
If you like your pancakes with some extra maths then don’t worry, there is a formula for you too, but hold on to your whisks, this one is pretty tricky!
100 – [10L – 7F + C(k – C) + T(m – T)]/(S – E)
Apparently, the closer you get to 100, the better the pancake.
L is the number of lumps in the batter; C is that consistency.
F stands for the flipping score, k is the ideal consistency of the batter and T is the temperature of the pan.
M is the ideal temp of pan is, S is the length of time the batter stands before cooking and E is the length of time the cooked pancake sits before eating.
Are you still with me? If not don’t worry. If everyone in your house is happy to eat your usual offerings then I’d go back to the old reliable. Me? I’m taking my inspiration from this post and I’m going to add some colour and sprinkles… without a calculator in site.
Whatever way you make your pancakes today, I hope you enjoy 🙂
*******
If you want to know a little more about your pancakes, from history, to ingredients, to science, check out my post over on Headstuff.org today!
