Why Buttermilk Makes the Best Pancakes (and Handy Subs If You Don’t Have It) | Cook's Illustrated (2024)

Nobody needs to be sold on the pleasures of buttermilk pancakes. For me, the words alone elicit deep cravings for diner breakfasts and lazy weekend mornings when I can hover over the griddle in my sweatpants, watching the batter rounds bubble up and then shuttling the lofty pancakes into a tall, golden stack as my kids wait at the ready, armed with salted butter and a jug of maple syrup.*

But what exactly is it about buttermilk that makes pancakes so good? Flavor is the obvious perk: The cultured dairy adds tangy complexity and nuance to an otherwise neutral batter. But there are unique textural benefits, too, that make buttermilk worth seeking out and keeping on hand if you’re a pancake person.

Buttermilk made the traditional way is the tangy, fat-free liquid leftover from the butter-making process. Butter producers allow the milk to stand for a day or two, during which time the cream rises to the surface and naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria lightly ferment it. As the cream is churned, drained, and pressed into blocks of butter, it sheds a tangy liquid byproduct with creamy viscosity.

Modern commercial buttermilk is rarely a byproduct of the butter-making process. Rather, it’s made by culturing ordinary skim milk with lactic acid bacteria, which thicken the milk and make it distinctively tangy and valuable in baking recipes because it reacts with baking soda.

Lactic acid bacteria are largely responsible for buttermilk’s distinctive flavor. In addition to the liquid’s dairy tang, they produce the buttery-tasting compound diacetyl and sweet, creamy-tasting lactones. Lactic acid bacteria occur naturally in the traditional butter-making process, flavoring and thickening the liquid byproduct, while most modern producers add them directly to skim milk to culture it when making commercial buttermilk.

Buttermilk is a staple ingredient for bakers because its acid reacts with baking soda, inflating the dough or batter with carbon dioxide.

But buttermilk doesn’t just help create those air bubbles; it helps retain them, too, especially in an application such as pancakes. Its creamy body yields a thick batter that’s exceptionally good at holding on to those air bubbles during cooking.

The difference is visible in these two samples. Both pancakes are made with the same batter, but the batch that cooked up taller and fluffier is made with buttermilk; the slimmer, flatter pancakes were made with plain milk.

Buttermilk is great to keep on hand. It lasts for weeks and freezes well. If you need to substitute, here’s what to use—and avoid.

Classic: These buttermilk pancakes are a Cook’s Illustrated staff favorite and a weekly staple in my house. In addition to buttermilk, they’ve got a goodly amount of sour cream that adds extra richness and tang.

Blueberry: If blueberry pancakes are your thing, these are next-level. There’s malted milk powder in the mix for an extra hint of toasty sweetness, as well as butter both in the batter and in the pan for cooking.

Whole Wheat: A batter made with 100 percent whole-wheat flour delivers light, fluffy, tender pancakes because whole-wheat flour contains slightly less gluten-forming protein than white flour and because the bran in whole-wheat flour cuts through any gluten strands that do form. Plus, its naturally earthy-sweet flavor is a perfect complement to maple syrup*.