Homemade

If you wake up in the morning and feel like making fluffy buttermilk pancakes but don’t have buttermilk in the fridge, what do you do? Simply make your own!

What is buttermilk?

Traditional buttermilk refers to the liquid left over after churning butter out of cream. Leaving the milk to sit before skimming off the cream creates a naturally occurring lactic acid-producing bacteria which gives the buttermilk a tart taste.

Cultured buttermilk is produced by adding culture to pasteurised and homogenised milk. A version of this called acidified buttermilk is made by adding acid to milk, such as lemon juice or vinegar and leaving for 10 minutes to curdle.

Why does buttermilk make fluffier pancakes?

Buttermilk is an amazing ingredient that works wonders to an otherwise ordinary pancake recipe. Its acidic content reacts with your leavening agent (like baking powder or baking soda) to produce tiny bubbles or gas. These bubbles keep your pancakes light and airy as they cook. Buttermilk also breaks down the gluten in your batter to produce a more tender crumb. Finally, it gives that subtle tanginess and flavour in pancakes that we all love.

While you can easily make fluffy pancakes with store-bought buttermilk, making it from scratch is easy. You only need two ingredients plus a few minutes of waiting.

Equipment

• Measuring jug
• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Citrus juicer

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar

Instructions

1. Pour your milk into the measuring jug.
2. Stir in lemon juice or vinegar then leave to stand for up to 10 minutes or until milk begins to curdle.
3. Use the for your pancakes, pikelets, muffins or cupcakes, scones, cakes, and fried chicken.