Easy Tips & Tools for Making Pancakes from Scratch at Home

So let’s assume we are all building pancakes from scratch today. If you are an insta-pancake type of chef this is not the read for you. If you are looking for the mandatory tools to make the perfect flapjack, let’s keep talking. We always assume you are talking back to us. Especially in the kitchen. 

There are officially a gajillion recipes out there that give you plenty of hot takes on hotcakes. Wait: (rewind noise) 

Pancakes - smooth and fluffy 

Flapjacks - oat-filled and more dense

Hotcakes - usually smaller diameter and thicker than a pancake 

Depending on what side of the Atlantic you were born on, you might have stronger opinions. But, for the most part, all terms are interchangeable.  

Okay, back to regularly scheduled programming.

Consider this a recipe of the tools to make a perfect pancake. With some flapjack hacks sprinkled in. 

Here are the basics. This is not necessarily in chronological cooking order. But definitely order of importance.

The Griddle or Fry pan or Skillet.

A really good non-stick frying pan or grill pan or griddle surface. A few other interchangeable terms. You just need something of good quality, that won’t stick, that is flat. No grill ridges or lines (you’d think they’d have a fancier name for them but they’re just called grill ridges, grooves or lines). Same them for the meats. Enamelled cast iron is always a good choice. Try this Staub Cast Iron Plancha/Double Burner Griddle. This beast is over 18 inches and can stretch over two burners and is a perfect surface for pancakes. If you don’t need something that big, Staub also makes a 12 inch enameled cast iron fry pan that comes in all of their amazing colors. And if you have a smaller burner they have a 10 inch counterpart in all the same vibrant colors.

Hestan culinary also makes a series of fry pans or skillets…

(Record scratch & rewind noise)

The terms “fry pan” and “skillet” are very interchangeable. Historically most consumers have assigned “skillet” to anything made of cast iron. Some chefs also say that “skillet” should be reserved for larger vessels. But the industry (manufacturers, resellers and yes, writers) has blurred some terminology over the years.  

The “non-stck” part simply comes from the levels of coating that is applied to the base metal of the pan. There are different types of non-stick coatings including teflon, ceramic, anodized aluminum. A very solid choice for a ceramic non-stick frying pan collection is the Zwilling Clad CFX Stainless Steel Ceramic Nonstick Series. They are coated with Zwilling’s proprietary Ceraforce XTREME ceramic nonstick coating. Some manufacturers accomplish what they need to in one coating, and some have super secret formulas of multiple coatings.  

Sorry. Back to pancakes.

Your Whisk List.

Now that you have a cooking vessel. The next most important tool is the whisk. The measuring cup and mixing bowl scientists might have a word with us. Don’t get us wrong. The science and precision of measuring a pancake batter is very important. But measuring cups and bowls take a second seat to the perfect whisk. Look for whisks with thin cutting loops that are further apart. They create a turbulence that allows for better blending of ingredients.

Let’s just call this one right out of the gate. A stainless steel whisk is the hands down judges’ winning choice. A silicone whisk is fine and cleans up about 8% easier than stainless steel whisks. But the fine edges of the looped wires in a stainless steel whisk give you the perfect aeration and breakdown of elements that you need for the perfect pancake. They come in a few forms. A balloon whisk like the Henckels Stainless Steel Large Whisk is the optimal whisk for pancake batter. Mainly because of the uniformity of the balloon. A french whisk has a balloon shape with a more elongated balloon. The Zwilling Pro Large Whisk is a good example of a balloon/french hybrid whisk. The extra long wire loops are independent of each other and don’t overlap. They come together to form a water drop shape. The Zwilling Pro also comes in a smaller version. 

Our absolute favorite whisk in the history of whisks is the Dreamfarm Flisk. Not only does it have everything we’ve already talked about. Finer stainless steel loops that are generously distanced. A smooth ergonomic silicone handle. It also does this little magic trick. Whisks are notoriously famous for not storing very well. The bigger the body or balloon of the whisk, the less it has a chance to fit into drawers or gadget caddies. With the turn of the comfortable handle, the Dreamfarm Flisk’s balloon wire loops collapse into a half balloon shape to form a sauce whisk. And with one more turn, they collapse into a flat shape to form a deglazer. Neither of which are important for pancakes but the more flattened form of the Flisk, it immediately becomes easy to store. Moreso than any whisk on the market, anyway.  

Measure Up.

Okay we have the cooking vessel and the perfect whisk picked out. Next up has to be the measuring devices and mixing bowls. The biggest decisions you have to make with mixing bowls is pretty much material and look. No offense to all the mixing bowls in the world but they are still mixing bowls. Not a lot of moving parts. Melamine mixing bowls like these Rosti Victoria 3-Piece Mixing Bowls are durable, lightweight, dishwasher safe and very well designed. Some chefs will say that fat sticks to plastic or melamine bowls, especially when mixing with eggs, which might make them a little tougher to clean than stainless steel mixing bowls. While these Rosti bowls are gorgeous and perfect for the occasional baker, they are not heat safe to 500 degrees like this Provisions 3-Piece Mixing Bowl Set from Hestan. These mixing bowls can also be used as double-boilers. Most experienced chefs will prefer a stainless steel option like this set because their non-reactive properties are perceived to be more hygienic and purer to the mixing process.

Now for the measuring devices. These are pretty simple. You probably aren’t going to need to put these in the oven or expose them to much heat. They just have to be accurate and stay clean. That’s a little bit of an understatement but what if you wanted them to actually look nice and be well designed? Try these Nambe Twist Measuring Spoons. But if you want complete accuracy try these Measuring Spoons from Dreamfarm.

They call them Levoons (LEVel spOONS). They are basically measuring spoons with ingenious handles that, when squeezed, level the top of any excess flour or cinnamon for the perfect and precise measurement. They applied the same design to their Levups Measuring Cups (LEVeling cUPS). And if that weren’t enough they bundled both of them with their Dreamfarm Flisk and their Chopula (yes it can flip pancakes) into a Dreamfarm Bake Set. It’s like they knew we were writing this and developed them just for us. AND WE AREN’T EVEN BAKING!

When I Flip. You Flip. We Flip.

Now we have our cooking vessel, our perfect whisk, our measuring devices. All we have left to do is flip the pancakes right? Try the EZEE-Flip Spatulas from Gusto. There are more basic spatulas in the world than we care to count but these are anything but basic. Instead of torquing your wrist with every flip of the pancake, these spatula handles squeeze together to create a their very own flip action. This subtle design alteration can also cut down on the airborn wrist-flipped pancakes by your less experienced pancake chef.

Taste Not. Want Not.

Two bonus items for taste. As if we haven't talked about Dreamfarm enough, the Lemon Fluicer is perfect for adding freshly squeezed lemon juice for your lemon ricotta pancakes. They also make a zester that they call the Ozest. It has 441 super fine blades that are photo-etched and perfectly angled to create fluffier and more aromatic zest without the bitter pith. It has a clearing tray that snaps itself clean with a push of a thumb to clear any excess zest. The Ozest is perfect for creating one of the best pancakes in the history of ever - the key lime pancake. 

So there you have it. You now have the perfect tools recipe for starting your perfect pancake/hotcake/flapjack adventure. All you need now is an actual recipe. If only you had a way to look up thousands of those right now.