Content
Reactants and Products
Liquids
There is a reason behind each of the ingredients in pancakes. The reactants, or raw food, are combined and processed in creative ways to make the product, or cooked food. Liquids, for example, are used to change the texture in foods. Water is present in almost all foods unless it removed for a reason.4 Liquids hydrate the proteins required for the gluten formation and also are important because they dissolve hydrophilic ingredients such as sugar, salt, and leavener. In this section, I will discuss the three main categories of food: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates, or molecules made of carbon and water, are abundant in nature and food. “Carbohydrates may be used as sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers, gelling agents, and fat replacers.”5 There are four categories of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Carbohydrates are important for many reasons. One reason is they provide energy, 4 calories per gram6, for the digestible carbohydrates. Indigestible carbohydrates, such as cellulose, are an important dietary fiber.
Maltose, an example of a disaccharide, is the building block for starch, a polysaccharide. Starch is the main ingredient all pancakes around the world have in common. It is a plant polysaccharide and necessary for nervous system functioning.7 Starch can come from wheat, rice, grains, roots, tubers, legumes, and even fruit, such as bananas. The molecular structure of starch also allows for the foods to maintain their structure.8 Similarly, this characteristic is the exact reason why starch is added to thicken sauces, soups, or dressing. It can be used as a stabilizer or thickener.
Fat
Fat contains 9 calories per gram, which is probably why recommended daily values are less for fats than they are for carbohydrates. Fat changes batters to make them either more chewy for noodles or crumbly for a pastry.9 The oil used to make pancake batter assists both in retaining moisture and trapping the gas:
Fats and oils shield gluten protein from water, thus physically interfering with the hydration needed for gluten development. Both fats and oils tenderize baked products by coating, although oil (liquid at room temperature) coats more completely and yields a more tender product than solid fats; if coating is extreme, the texture of the product will be mealy, and the dough will show reduced gluten formation. Fats containing emulsifiers help water and fat to mix and may promote the stretching of gluten strands, yielding a higher volume of the baked product.10
Some recipes, like Rosa Parks’ recipe above, call on shortening as the fat ingredient. Shortening can be either a vegetable oil, or unsaturated fat, or butter, a saturated fat. At room temperature, saturated fats are solid and unsaturated fats are liquid. In a saturated fat molecule, every carbon is bonded to a hydrogen and the shape is straight, making it very it very easy to pack many of these molecules together. Hydrogenated oils such as margarine or Crisco also have this molecular structure and are considered saturated fats. Because of their molecular structure, unsaturated fats are liquids and therefore won’t clog your arteries as easily. 9 calories per gram or not, no one prefers a dry or dense pancake. Fats are important!
Proteins
Proteins, which are made up of amino acids, comprise the muscular system of animals.11 The molecular structure of proteins is the most complex.
In the pancake, the egg is the protein and binding agent that holds all the ingredients together, assisting with maintaining the structure of the pancake by trapping air.12
Additives and Other Ingredients
Some additives are included to make the consistency of the pancake even more desirable; for many people this means fluffy (crepe lovers, this section isn’t for you). To make bread or cakes rise, yeast is often used. But, to make pancakes fluffy, chefs around the world use baking soda and/or baking powder depending on the ingredients called for in the recipe. Baking soda consists of a single chemical, sodium bicarbonate (or bicarbonate of soda).13 The bi-product that both yeast and sodium bicarbonate create is carbon dioxide, or CO2. This is the same reason baking soda will dissolve in water and bubble in acetic acid, or vinegar. Baking powder contains one or more acid salt that is added to sodium bicarbonate. These salts can include: monocalcium phosphate/monohydrate, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, sodium aluminum sulfate, sodium aluminum phosphate, or and potassium bitartrate (street name: cream of tartar). These dry acid salts are added to the baking soda when the recipe contains no other acid ingredients. Cornstarch is also added to baking powder to reduce clumping. As soon as baking powder gets in contact with a liquid, it reacts and begins to produce the carbon dioxide gas that helps to leaven cakes, cookies, brownies, and other baked goods. Baking soda, or pure sodium bicarbonate, on the other hand, is the stuff people keep in their freezers to absorb the odors. This stuff begins to react and create carbon dioxide when it comes into contact with an acidic liquid, such as buttermilk, sour cream, applesauce, citrus juices, honey, molasses, or vinegar.14 The chemical reaction is:
Na+ + HCO3- + CH3CO2H → H2O + CO2 + Na+ + CH3CO2-
showing that sodium bicarbonate and acetic acid react to produce water, carbon dioxide, and sodium acetate. Some recipes call for both baking soda and baking powder, or double acting baking soda, to neutralize excess acid in a recipe. In this case, the baking soda reacts to create carbon dioxide in the mixed batter and then more carbon dioxide is created in the baking process once heat is added, thus making it double acting. There isn’t one recipe for baking powder; in fact, search the internet and you will find many different versions, all including sodium bicarbonate, an acid salt or mixture of a few, and sometimes corn starch if a big batch is being made for storage. If too much sodium bicarbonate is added, it causes the cell walls to stretch and break, releasing the carbon dioxide resulting in a batter that is both low in volume and coarse in texture. If too little bicarbonate is added, the pancake will not be leavened and soggy.15
Although not common for pancakes, yeast is used in at least one place in the world to leaven the pancake. Yeast works similarly to sodium bicarbonate in the fact that it creates carbon dioxide to leaven the batter or dough. Yeast, however, is an organism that reacts with the liquid in the recipe and feeds off the sugar added to the recipe and also the sugar in the flour. Carbon dioxide is the bi-product of this reaction. A similar reaction is used in the fermentation process to make alcohol in beer.
Other ingredients are simply added to enhance the flavor. Sugar is for sweetness. Spices are used for added flavor and complexity. Years ago cinnamon, ginger, garlic, cloves, and honey were added for preservation.16 Butter, when added to the final product dissolves fat-soluble substances17 and is used to bring out the flavors of the pancake and pancake topping. Salt is used in some pancake batters to bring out the flavors; however, in batter or dough that uses yeast as a leavening agent, the salt does a different job. It dehydrates yeast cells to slow down production of carbon dioxide.18
Heat
The application of heat to a reactant causes several chemical reactions in a batter or dough. The first is the production of carbon dioxide gases as mentioned above. The second reaction explains the color. When heat is applied, the outside of the pancake (or other baked product) browns because of the Maillard reaction. The protein reacts with sugar due to the heat, causing the browning.19 The Maillard reaction is responsible also for the browning of ground meat and the browning that happens when condensed milk is cooked to make dulce de leche. Caramelization is the browning that occurs with heat when a protein is absent such as the case in onions or sugar.20
Kitchen Ratios
Pancakes
The key to making the perfect pancake mixture is the ratio of flour and liquid in the batter. Batter and dough both contain some ratio of flour and liquid and are classified by this ratio. Batters, which pancakes are made of, are considered quick breads because of the fact that the batter is quick to mix and the “bread” is leavened by chemicals (sodium bicarbonate) rather than biologically with yeast, which takes longer to leaven. Batter has a ratio of 1-2 parts flour to 1 part liquid and dough has a ratio of 3-8 parts flour to 1 part liquid. The more flour in the ratio, the stiffer dough. Soft dough is used for biscuits while stiff dough is used for piecrust. According to most chefs, the ratio of flour to liquid to fat to make the perfect pancake is 2 parts flour, to 2 parts liquid, to 1 part egg, and a half part fat.21 Of course cooking techniques also affect the end product. Cooking techniques can include how thoroughly the batter is mixed, the temperature of the batter, the temperature and material of the pan or griddle, and lastly any additives added to the pancake. Luckily, because of the higher content of liquid in the pancake ratio, you don’t need to pay too much attention to over-mixing. Under-mixing the batter though, well that is another story. Adding 2 tablespoons of baking powder will make the pancake fluffier and less dense. Changing this ratio by having the liquid part equal to twice the flour part and not using fat will make a crepe.
Other Important Kitchen Ratios
Of course ratios are important in other recipes as well. How does the saying go? Measure twice and cut once. Maybe that has more to do with building a house than it does with cooking, but nevertheless it points to the importance of precision of baking. Have you ever looked at the back of a brownie mix box? The measurements are different depending on the type of brownie is preferred. Have you ever tried to make a hollandaise sauce? The process requires not only precision in the process, but in the ratio of the mixture as well.
According to Martha Stewart, a fudgy brownie has a higher fat to flour ratio while cakey brownies have more flour and use baking powder.22 The boxed mixture calls for more eggs for the cakey brownie as well. Just like in the case of the dough and batter mixtures, higher fat content results in a chewier product. Similarly, the addition of baking soda to the recipe adds carbon dioxide, making the brownie lighter and less dense.
For mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, béarnaise sauce, and salad dressings such as thousand island, ratios are important in order to create a stable combination of two liquids that don’t ordinarily mix: oil and water. Oil’s hydrophobicity property means it does not mix with water unless introduced with an amphiphilic substance such as egg or egg yolk.23 When the proportions are done correctly, with the oil added to the recipe slowly, the oil and water-based substance (lemon juice, vinegar, etc…) become emulsified and the result is a water-in-oil emulsion. The emulsifier (the egg yolk) breaks down the oil into droplets that then surround the hydrophobic substance and making the sauce stable.
Substitutions
There are many reasons for substituting ingredients in pancakes. Substitutions are determined by local ingredients as well as dietary needs. For example cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, or other ground grains can replace the flour and change the texture and flavor of the pancake. Buttermilk or yogurt can replace the liquid to add a complexity to the flavor.24
Pancakes Around the World
To make Navajo blue corn pancakes, the Navajo use blue corn as the starch, goat milk as the liquid, and juniper ash as the substitute for baking soda.25 Juniper ash also increases the nutritional value of the pancake because it is packed with calcium, which is good for healthy bones, and vitamin A, an antioxidant. Similarly, the Salvadoran Pupusa has an option for a batter made with either corn flour or wheat flour. The Columbian Arepa also uses corn flour. Filipino Bibingka uses a rice-based flour for the starch and coconut shavings mixed with sugar as the sweet topping. South Asian Dosa also uses rice but the addition of black lentils into the basis of the batter changes the flavor, making it unique to the region. Nicaraguan Manuelitas use the same ratio as the pancake, except the recipe calls for the addition of salt to the batter and uses queso seco (dry cheese) and sugar as a topping. The Russian Olady26 also uses a similar ratio; however, the traditional recipe calls on yeast as the leavening agent rather than sodium bitartrate. Rosa Parks’ “Featherlite Pancakes” call on two tablespoons of baking powder (for the featherlite part), sugar, and 1/3 cup of peanut butter for the batter.
Dietary Substitutions
Nut milk or (almond, coconut, cashew) soymilk can be used in recipes for people with lactose intolerance. Some dietary restrictions (or trends?) are even completely getting rid wheat flour in exchange for more complex carbohydrates or “good carbs” such as sweet potato or banana. And then of course there is the gluten-free pancake for those with a gluten intolerance or celiac disease. Wheat, barley, and rye have “gluten forming potential” while popular substitutions such as nut flours, root tuber flours (cassava, sweet potato, yam), soy, corn, and rice flours do not have protein composition needed to form the structure provided by gluten that holds the carbon dioxide.27 Other flours have protein compositions that provide some structure to hold the carbon dioxide that gives cakes and bread their desired consistency; however, gluten is a particular protein that seems to do it best.
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