Lofty Pancakes -- Doughy Middles

I found the most wonderful pancake recipe on TheKitchn.com -- the eggs are separated, but the whites just stirred into the batter - -not whipped first. Besides being much easier on a Sunday morning, the flavor is terrific (tweaked with vanilla) and the pancakes truly are lofty. The difficulty is getting the centers cooked through. I thoroughly heated my AllClad griddle, cooked them on a relatively low setting until they were a true golden brown on each side and popped them in a 200 degree oven to finish. Still doughy. (This is why I like making waffles better, but The Friend loves these...even when they're doughy.) Anyway -- turn the heat down and cook them longer???

Melusine
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3 Comments

Droplet April 6, 2015
A few things I can think of. Sometimes if you cook pancakes too much on the first side and then flip them, the tops are no longer flexible enough to expand structurally and they puff from the steam only while over the heat source, then collapse in the middle and appear uncooked or doughy. Similarly, a well puffed pancake that is flipped too harshly can get doughy inside afterwards. Since eggwhites are clear, separating them and stirring them in later may mean that they aren't well incorporated into the batter well and it's harder to see. What appears dough may just be the eggwhites. Make sure you beat them well to break them up at least, prior to adding them in.
 
creamtea April 6, 2015
How long are you cooking them on the first side? I cook pancakes till the bubbles pop and form air tunnels; also they should be dry on top before flipping.
 
dinner A. April 6, 2015
Is the batter quite thick? If so, try thinning it with a little more milk. This would allow the batter to spread out into a slightly thinner puddle, with a better chance of cooking through. I think a little extra liquid would also help make the texture more tender rather than doughy. Since the amount flour in that recipe is given by volume rather than weight, you can never know if you're using quite the same amount of flour as the recipe's author.
 
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