Ree Drummond's Secret Weapon For Perfect Homemade Pancake Mix

Pancakes are one of the most classic choices for a breakfast. Those fluffy stacks of warm dough complete with a dollop of sweet syrup can taste like heaven on a plate. While you might be used to heading to an IHOP, Cracker Barrel, or a local pancake house for a stack of these guys, making them from home is a whole other beast. According to The New York Times, while most recipes call for an easy combination of flour, eggs, and milk, the simple makeup also makes it difficult to hide any mistakes. So whether you find yourself stuck with thick, cakey stacks or ones that crumble as you flip, you're not alone. Pancakes are a deceptively difficult meal to cook.

But like all things in life, practice makes perfect, and Chef Ree Drummond has had plenty of time to master the pancake. Chef Drummond has written a number of best-selling cookbooks over her life and has spent her whole career cultivating her craft, via Food Network. She's even devoted much of her time to perfecting a recipe for pancakes. The journey has led her to discover a special hack to make the cakes you cook up at home just as good as the ones you buy while out on the town. 

To be honest, a lot can go wrong in the pancake-making process. Here are some tips to make sure all goes according to plan. According to Gemma's Bigger Bolder Baking, one great tip to follow is to make sure you mix your wet and dry ingredients separately. While this may just seem like unnecessary work (or just another dish to dry), this a super important step in the process that ensures all the proper agents are evenly distributed in the batter. Not waiting before combining could also mean it might become over-mixed and take away a pancake's light and fluffy textures. 

According to Taste of Home, another important step in achieving perfect pancakes is making sure you have the right tools. An electric griddle is a great choice for cooking this breakfast, but if you don't have one, a non-stick skillet also works. As for your flipping device, a wide spatula is a tried-and-true way to go. And according to The Pioneer Woman, you don't want to be impatient when those pancakes are on your hot griddle. Wait until bubbles begin to appear all across the top, then flip to reveal the golden tones beneath. And if you'd like a tip on how to get the best-tasting pancake possible, Chef Drummond has the perfect secret. 

Whether you like your pancakes thin like crepes or thick like cake, it's tough to get the perfect flavor. But with the right tools and ingredients, you can be on your way to a top-tier stack of flapjacks. If you wish your breakfast could taste like it's straight out of a mom and pops diner, Chef Drummond shares her own secret behind the perfect pancake batter, via The Pioneer Woman. According to her, the magic is all in the type of flour you use. 

After a whole lot of recipe testing, Chef Drummond decided there's only one real way to achieve a delicious-tasting batter. While most pancake recipes will call for all-purpose flour, Drummond subs that out for cake flour instead. This tip works because it adds extra fluffiness to your pancakes. According to Southern Living, there's a lot you need to know about the difference between the two flours. For one, cake flour has less gluten in it than all-purpose and is for softer bread and batters. All-purpose flour doesn't pack in as much gluten as bread flour but still will yield a thicker texture than cake. So give this swap a try for a delicious twist on a classic stack of pancakes.