Put a pot of coffee on, it’s Nosh’s Breakfast Week 2024. The dean of science fiction Robert Heinlein once said “one should not attend even the end of the world without a good breakfast,” and we here at Nosh could not agree more. All week long we are celebrating local roasters, bakers and brunches, and the latest trends for the morning meal. Check back each day this week for new stories on the East Bay’s breakfast scene.
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Rachel Caygill is obsessed with pancakes. As the owner of Green House Bakery, which she operates out of her Oakland home, she’s a master of all things flour-related, and has come up with lots of pancake recipes over the years. But she landed on this one, which she calls “Really Good Pancakes,” on a recent family trip to Chicago.
Caygill and her husband, Scott, who is also a chef, bought a bunch of ingredients during their trip and were trying to use them all up on their last day in town. Caygill decided to make pancakes.
There was leftover flour and sugar and buttermilk, all pancake mainstays, but there was also a bit of ricotta, which she decided to add into the mix. That bit of ricotta takes these pancakes to another level, giving them a sublime, cheesecake-like quality (especially with the addition of blueberries).
But the real secret to these pancakes — and the secret to making fluffy, restaurant-style pancakes at home — is a lumpy batter. “The lumps actually help your pancakes to rise up higher,” said Caygill. After mixing the batter, she lets it rest for 10 minutes to hydrate the lumps.
And then there’s the butter. Caygill uses an “obscene” amount of melted butter, mixing it in after the 10 minute hydration rest.
“If anybody tells you you’re using too much butter, you just get that negativity right out of your life,” she said with a laugh.
Caygill also uses a pancake scoop, about the size of an ice cream scoop, which is helpful as this batter is thick.
Recipe: Green House Bakery’s Really Good Pancakes
Makes approximately 8 pancakes
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups (233g) all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (30g) sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (370 g) buttermilk
- 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon (135 g) full fat ricotta
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6 tablespoons (85g) melted butter
- Frozen blueberries or other fruit (optional)
Instructions:
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, ricotta, egg, egg yolk and vanilla and mix together.
- Slowly and gently mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Leave the batter a little lumpy.
- Let the batter rest for 10 minutes so the lumps can hydrate.
- Gently mix in the melted butter being careful to not over mix. It’s OK to leave the butter a little streaky.
- Heat a griddle over medium high heat (you can also use a cast iron or nonstick pan). Add butter to the griddle. Once the butter has melted, use a pancake scoop or ½ cup measuring cup to drop the batter onto the griddle, letting the batter spread naturally. Do not overload the pan otherwise the temperature will drop.
- Add frozen blueberries, if using, gently pushing them into the batter.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes. When the edges begin to dry and bubble the pancakes are ready to flip. The cooked side should be a deep golden brown. Continue cooking on the flipside until they are cooked through, 2-3 minutes more. If using frozen blueberries this will take a little longer.
- Remove from the pan. Top with (even more) butter and maple syrup. Enjoy!
