American Buttermilk Pancakes (The Diner Stack)
Fluffy, tangy buttermilk pancakes leavened with baking powder and baking soda, rested so the batter thickens, griddled at 350°F and stacked high with butter and maple syrup.
Wikipedia's pancake article says Americans call them hotcakes, griddlecakes or flapjacks, usually serve them at breakfast in a stack of two or three, and share the buttermilk pancake with Scotland and Ireland; the ancient Greeks already made pancakes they called tagenites. America's early printed pancakes were corn. Amelia Simmons's "American Cookery" (Hartford, 1796) has an "Indian Slapjack" of milk, cornmeal, eggs and a little flour, "baked on gridles", and she used pearl ash, an early chemical leavener, in her cakes and cookies (Project Gutenberg:).
Then came the box. In St. Joseph, Missouri, in 1888 and 1889, Chris L. Rutt and Charles G. Underwood sold their extra flour as "Self-Rising Pancake Flour", later called the first "ready-mix"; in late 1889 Rutt took the Aunt Jemima name and image from a vaudeville poster, and in 2021 the brand became Pearl Milling Company after Quaker Oats said in June 2020 it would retire the old brand "to make progress toward racial equality" (Wikipedia:). In 1958 the International House of Pancakes opened in Burbank, California, and Wikipedia notes it serves pancakes all day (our Diner-Style Buttermilk Pancakes recipe). The tall, buttery breakfast stack is America's contribution.
Why it works the kitchen science
Buttermilk and baking soda
The acid in buttermilk reacts with the soda the moment they meet, filling the batter with bubbles and adding the tang that makes a diner pancake taste like one.
A short rest
15 minutes lets the flour hydrate and the batter thicken, so the pancakes rise tall instead of spreading thin (King Arthur).
Step by step
- Step 1
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- Step 2
In a large measuring cup, whisk the egg, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla.
- Step 3
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until fairly smooth; a few small lumps are fine.
- Step 4
Let the batter rest, uncovered, 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat a griddle to 350°F, or a large skillet over medium heat, until a drop of water skitters across it. Heat the oven to 200°F.
- Step 5
Grease the griddle lightly. Scoop 1/4 cup batter per pancake, leaving room between them.
- Step 6
Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until bubbles form on top and the underside is browned. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Keep the finished pancakes in a single layer in the warm oven while you cook the rest.
- Step 7
Serve in stacks of three or four with a pat of butter on top and warm maple syrup.
American Buttermilk Pancakes (The Diner Stack)
Serves 4 · 14 to 16 medium (4-inch) pancakes · 45 min total
Dry
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp (35 g) sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp table salt
Wet
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tbsp butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
To serve
- 4 tbsp butter, softened
- 1/2 cup maple syrup, warmed
Method
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
- In a large measuring cup, whisk the egg, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until fairly smooth; a few small lumps are fine.
- Let the batter rest, uncovered, 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat a griddle to 350°F, or a large skillet over medium heat, until a drop of water skitters across it. Heat the oven to 200°F.
- Grease the griddle lightly. Scoop 1/4 cup batter per pancake, leaving room between them.
- Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until bubbles form on top and the underside is browned. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Keep the finished pancakes in a single layer in the warm oven while you cook the rest.
- Serve in stacks of three or four with a pat of butter on top and warm maple syrup.
Adapted from Charlotte Rutledge, "Buttermilk Pancakes", King Arthur Baking (updated October 27, 2025), as written. King Arthur says 14 to 16 medium pancakes; 4 servings is ours. The 15-minute rest, the 350°F griddle and the 1 to 2 minutes per side are King Arthur's. The butter and maple syrup amounts for serving are ours. King Arthur Baking. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
Tips
- No buttermilk? King Arthur's fix: one 5.3-ounce container of plain Greek yogurt whisked with enough milk to make 2 cups.
- For extra-fluffy pancakes, King Arthur whips the egg white (plus one more white) to medium-stiff peaks and folds it in just before cooking.
- Freeze leftovers the same day and reheat them in a 250°F oven (King Arthur).
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Don't overmix; lumps are fine. Documented (King Arthur: some small lumps are OK).
- Flip when bubbles appear. Documented as King Arthur's cue, together with a browned underside.
- Pancakes are breakfast food. Documented for the US (Wikipedia); not in the Netherlands (The Dutch Table, our Dutch Pannenkoeken with Bacon recipe).
- Pancakes are American. Folklore: Wikipedia traces pancakes to ancient Greece; America's addition is the tall, leavened breakfast stack.
- The first pancake mix was 1889. Documented as Wikipedia's account: Rutt and Underwood's flour, "later dubbed the first ready-mix".
- America's first pancakes were made with corn. Documented for Simmons's 1796 Indian Slapjack (cornmeal, eggs, milk and a little flour).
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