There are tons of distractions when baking at home. For example, imagine you’re putting together some pancakes, and your child asks you a question about their homework, and by the time you’ve answered them, you’ve got too many eggs in your batter. Keep reading to understand how eggs affect your batter, egg alternatives, and a simple recipe that keeps the ingredients to a minimum.
Why You Need Eggs in Your Pancake Batter
Whether using a mix from the Great American Pancake Co. or a recipe from scratch, each ingredient plays a vital role in the end product. Therefore, to avoid bad pancakes, you must be careful about what you measure, add, and do with the batter.
For example, gluten development isn’t a good thing in pancakes. You’ll use regular flour in most recipes, but when you start overmixing them, they won’t be as light and fluffy. If you’ve developed too much gluten, it knocks the air out of the batter and makes the dough tough and chewy.
Eggs are a crucial ingredient. They provide the cakes with the structure to hold light bubbles. Eggs also give the batter additional, richer flavor from the yolk fat.
If you add too many eggs, you’ll have “pancakes” that look more like custard or crepes. When you don’t add enough eggs, the cakes will be drier and tougher.
Eggs are more expensive than ever, so you might be tempted to use fewer eggs than necessary in a recipe. Or maybe you’ve added too many eggs, the batter is too dense, but you don’t have any more ingredients on hand. However, you have options regarding what ingredients you use, and eggs are easy to remove and replace.
Know Your Egg Alternatives for Your Pancakes
There’s no question that pancakes require eggs, but what about egg alternatives? They require a bit of work, but that may help you balance the egg amount you add. Let’s look at egg replacement ideas that may change your pancake outcomes but are worth a try in a pinch!
- Aquafaba: If you’ve never heard of this substance, it’s the liquid in a chickpea can! Simply drain the slimy liquid from the can (don’t add any water) and use three tablespoons instead of a single egg in your mix. If you’d like to try for the fluffiest texture possible, whip your aquafaba until it’s fluffy and white before gently folding it into the batter.
- Vinegar and Baking Soda: Combine one tablespoon of white or apple cider vinegar with one teaspoon of baking soda to replace one egg. It’s normal for the combination to bubble as it produces a leavening effect in your cakes.
- Liquid Egg Substitute: While this might seem obvious, you may not have considered it an option if you’ve never bought it. This is a more affordable way to add “eggs” to recipes today that won’t cost a ton and mimics eggs nicely in a recipe.
- Flax Seed and Warm Water: Vegans have long enjoyed their flax eggs. You’ll need ground flax seeds and water for this. Combine one tablespoon of finely ground flax seeds with three tablespoons of warm water to equal one egg. Allow it to sit for ten minutes before adding it to your mixture.
- Buttermilk: While some pancake recipes already call for buttermilk, you can use it for moisture and binding. This will make your flapjacks denser, but the buttermilk will give you a rich, slightly heavy result if you don’t mind it.
- Vegetable Oil, Baking Powder, and Water: Pancakes are basically a quick bread, and this substitute is a good choice if you need to replace the eggs! Use 1 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil, one teaspoon of baking powder, and 1 ½ tablespoons of water to equal one egg. Just add the combination to your wet ingredients.
- Plain Yogurt: This tart, rich egg replacement is ideal for recipes that already have a leavening ingredient, such as baking powder. Plain yogurt will provide binding and moisture. Once familiar with using yogurt, try out fruit blend yogurts for a sweet change.
- Carbonated Water: If you have a baking powder recipe, you can replace the egg with carbonated water! Use 1 cup of carbonated water to replace a single egg. For the truly adventurous, select fruity carbonated water for pancakes with a hint of that flavor!
- Unsweetened Applesauce: You get a binder and moisture provider with applesauce. This is an excellent substitute if you’re using a mix or recipe with a leavening agent. Replace each egg with ¼ cup of applesauce.
- Nut Butters: Nut butters give your pancakes structure, moisture, and a new flavor! Use three tablespoons of your favorite nut butter instead of 1 egg for your recipe.
Each egg replacement can change the structure, moisture content, and how you’ll need to cook your pancakes. While a standard griddle temperature for pancakes is medium heat, you may want to start at low-medium heat if you’re new to an egg replacement. Slower cooking is an excellent way to see how your recipe cooks and get them as close to perfection as possible.
Simple Pancake Recipe
Here’s a pancake recipe that calls for eggs but can be adjusted with egg replacements when needed! It’s only got three ingredients, and one has its own leavening agent to save you from needing extra ingredients. It also allows you to use egg substitutions best used with leavening agents!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups milk (more fat means more flavor)
- Two eggs
- Two ¼ cups of self-rising flour
Directions:
- Whisk together the wet ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined.
- Set your skillet to low-medium heat and pour ¼ cup of batter onto the surface. Cook on both sides for around 2 minutes. Remove from heat and serve right away.
If you only have all-purpose flour, combine it with one tablespoon of baking powder by whisking it well.
You may have to adjust your griddle temperature for pancakes with egg substitutes. Start it out at low-medium and adjust as necessary.
Get the Best Pancakes Every Time
The best ingredients will always result in the best pancake batter. You can’t get more high-quality or better-tasting pancakes than when using a mix from The Great American Pancake Co.!
These mixes give you flavors like Chocolate Chip, Cinnamon, Celebration, Angel, Brown Sugar and Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, and more. You only need to supply a few ingredients to whip up a batch of these delectable flapjacks. So head over to The Great American Pancake Co. now and stock up so you’re never out of your new favorite cakes!
