Home » Breakfast Recipes » The Best Buttermilk Pancakes (+Video)

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes (+Video)

The secret to the Best Buttermilk Pancakes? Yeast! Slightly crispy edges and a soft, fluffy middle. Top it all off with an optional maple butter sauce!

A SECRET-INGREDIENT PANCAKE RECIPE

Every now and then, I go all out on a Sunday breakfast. Homemade pancakes, bacon, grits and some fresh-squeezed orange juice! When I want to make some griddle pancakes, this is my go-to recipe. They come out absolutely perfect every single time. They are so fluffy!

Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes on a white platter.

TIPS FOR MAKING YEAST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES:

  • Why add yeast? Yeast is going to make these pancakes super light and fluffy. They also give the pancakes subtle yeast flavor that really elevates these pancakes from your basic homemade pancakes.
  • If you want to leave out the yeast, you can. Just skip the part of warming up the buttermilk. That warm milk is only needed for the yeast.
  • Did you know you can freeze any leftover pancakes? This is a great time to make a double batch and freeze some for later. After making pancakes, line them up, in a single layer, on a baking pan or cookie rack then put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes. This is called flash-freezing. Once they are firm and cold to the touch, you can then put them into a freezer-safe bag without them sticking to each other. Just reheat in the microwave for a few seconds when you are ready to serve them again!
  • This recipe makes smaller, fluffier pancakes. For larger pancakes, use a 1/3 or 1/2 cup measuring cup to measure the batter for larger pancakes.
  • I love this little maple butter sauce recipe, but of course it is optional. It’s delicious served over my White Chocolate Blondies and I think it ended up being perfect over these pancakes!
Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Butter Sauce recipe from The Country Cook shown on a platter with maple butter sauce poured on top.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

  • all-purpose flour
  • sugar
  • rapid rise instant yeast
  • salt
  • baking soda
  • buttermilk
  • corn oil
  • egg
  • vanilla extract
all-purpose flour, sugar, rapid rise instant yeast, salt, baking soda, buttermilk, corn oil, egg, vanilla extract.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES:

Combine flour, sugar, packet of dry yeast, salt and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

instant yeast added to flour mixture in a wood bowl.

Combine buttermilk and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 15 second increments until thoroughly warm to the touch (120F to 130F degrees) – not boiling. Boiling the milk will kill the yeast.

oil and milk in a wood bowl.

Add the heated milk to your flour mixture, along with your beaten egg and vanilla extract.

milk added to the flour mixture in bowl

Stir everything together but be gentle. Pancake batter is supposed to have lumps. The more you mix and stir, the tougher the pancakes will be. 

pancake batter in a bowl.

Cook’s Tip: The batter should look like cake batter (not too thick.) If necessary, add some more heated buttermilk to get it to that consistency. Now, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel and set it someplace warm so that the batter can rise for about 10-15 minutes. You should see it almost double in size.

plastic wrap on pancake batter bowl.

Once you’ve noticed the batter has doubled in size and is looking “bubbly”,  start heating up your skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil to the skillet. 

bubbly looking pancake batter in wooden bowl.

Stir down the batter gently. Pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto griddle or skillet. Spread it out gently with the back of a spoon. Cook pancakes until edges are dry and surface is bubbly. Using a flat spatula, begin flipping them over and they should be nice and golden brown. Cook the opposite side until golden brown and then work on your next batch.

FOR THE OPTIONAL MAPLE BUTTER SAUCE:

Melt butter in a small pot over medium heat. Then pour in the can of sweetened condensed milk and the maple extract. Whisk well. It will take a minute or two to incorporate that flavoring with the rest of the ingredients.

maple butter sauce for pancakes in a small pot with a whisk.

Then pour over warm pancakes and serve!

Griddle-fried Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Butter Sauce poured on top.

CRAVING MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES?

The Best Buttermilk Pancakes

The secret to the Best Buttermilk Pancakes? Yeast! Slightly crispy edges and a soft, fluffy middle. Top it all off with maple butter sauce!
5 from 11 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 packet Fleischmann's RapidRise Yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups buttermilk (may need a bit more depending on how thick the batter comes out)
  • 2 Tablespoons oil (I prefer corn oil for this)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

For the Maple Butter Sauce: (optional)

  • 2 Tablespoons salted butter
  • 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ teaspoon maple extract

Instructions

  • Combine 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 packet Fleischmann's RapidRise Yeast, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
  • Combine 2 cups buttermilk and 2 Tablespoons oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl.
  • Microwave on high in 30 second increments until warm to the touch (120F to 130F degrees) – not boiling.
  • Add the heated buttermilk to the flour mixture, along with 1 large egg, beaten and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir.
  • Pancake batter is supposed to have lumps. If batter is too thick, add in a bit more heated buttermilk. It should be the consistency of cake batter not thick brownie batter.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap put it someplace warm so that the batter can rise for about 10-15 minutes. It should almost double in size.
  • Once you've noticed the batter has doubled in size and is looking "bubbly", start heating up your skillet or griddle to medium heat (about 250F degrees)
  • Add about a Tablespoon of oil to the skillet.
  • Pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto griddle or skillet. Cook pancakes until edges are dry and surface is bubbly. Then flip.
  • Cook the opposite side until golden brown and then work on the next batch.
  • For the maple butter sauce: In a small pan over low heat, melt 2 Tablespoons salted butter. Then pour in 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 teaspoon maple extract. Whisk well. It will take a minute or two to incorporate that flavoring with the rest of the ingredients.
  • Once it's ready and heated through put it into a heat-safe bowl (I just use a microwave-safe measuring cup) and pour over warm pancakes.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

  • Why add yeast? Yeast is going to make these pancakes super light and fluffy. They also give the pancakes subtle yeast flavor that really elevates these pancakes from your basic homemade pancakes.
  • If you want to leave out the yeast, you can. Just skip the part of warming up the buttermilk. That warm milk is only needed for the yeast. 
  • Did you know you can freeze any leftover pancakes? This is a great time to make a double batch and freeze some for later. After making pancakes, line them up, in a single layer, on a baking pan or cookie rack then put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes. This is called flash-freezing. Once they are firm and cold to the touch, you can then put them into a freezer-safe bag without them sticking to each other. Just reheat in the microwave for a few seconds when you are ready to serve them again!
  • This recipe makes smaller, fluffier pancakes. For larger pancakes, use a 1/3 or 1/2 cup measuring cup to measure the batter for larger pancakes.
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 353mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

Did you make this recipe?Share it on Instagram @thecountrycook and mention us #thecountrycook!

Originally published: December 2014
Updated & republished: June 2019

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




9 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious and easy to make. I attempted the sauce but unfortunately left it on the heat too long and burnt it a little. Hubby and son didn’t seem to mind though as they slathered it on the pancakes like butter!

  2. 5 stars
    Oh. My. Word..these are a-maz-ing! The sauce makes them over the top..adding yet another TCC recipe to the rotation. Had breakfast for dinner. Trying not to heat up the house in this near-record heatwave. Thanks Brandie!

  3. I want to make these this weekend. Can I make the batter the night before? Refrigerate after stirring down post first rise? Would I bring it to room temp before proceeding the next am?
    Thanks for any help