Thin pancakes stick to the pan. Why do pancakes tear when flipped?

At first glance, baking pancakes is a simple task. However, even the simplest recipe has its own subtleties in preparing the dish. Knowing why the first pancakes stick will help a beginner not lose the desire to cook and continue to learn the basics of culinary art.

Dough

There can be several reasons why pancakes stick to the pan: from incorrectly selected utensils to errors in preparing the dough.

Incorrect selection of ingredients and their quantities. In a pancake recipe, all the ingredients are important: eggs, milk (or kefir), flour and other ingredients. The lack of some or the absence of others will affect the quality of the dish. Therefore, it is better for culinary beginners to do everything according to the recipe. This will allow you to gain experience so that in the future the pancakes will turn out without lumps and will not burn.

Dough consistency. When mixing pancake batter, it is very important to achieve the desired thickness. In order for the pancakes to turn out thin and delicate, you need a dough that resembles liquid sour cream. If too much flour has been added and the consistency is too thick, it is diluted with additional liquid (milk, kefir, water).

If a lot of liquid has been added to the dough, add more flour. It is important not to overdo it here. To avoid lumps, you can use a mixer. Some experienced housewives first dilute the thick dough, and then dilute it with liquid to the required consistency. This will avoid lumps and prevent overfilling of water or milk.

Pan

Baking in a new frying pan. A very common reason why pancakes stick to the pan, even for an experienced housewife. The best solution is to use old pans for baking pancakes. However, if its condition poses a threat to health, and the new frying pan beckons with its beauty, then you should remember several nuances.

Cast iron cookware should be seasoned with salt before first use. To do this, pour salt into a cold frying pan in one layer and add soda, mixing everything thoroughly. After this, the dishes are placed on the stove to heat up. Leave the pan on the stove until the salt turns creamy. After this, it is washed under running water without adding cleaning agents. Before baking, grease the pan with oil.

Insufficient temperature of the pan. Another reason why pancakes can burn is insufficient heating of the pan before baking. This usually involves a little culinary experience. In order to avoid burning pancakes, the pan should be set to heat up from the moment the dough is prepared. At first it is better to leave it dry, then, immediately before cooking, grease the pan with a thin layer of oil.

Lack of oil. Some housewives add butter to the dough. However, if there is too much of this component, it will affect the taste of the dish. Therefore, many cooks advise greasing the pan. It's better to do this before each pancake. Then the dish will not only have an excellent taste, but also each pancake will turn out delicate and beautiful.

Dishes not clean enough. You should remember the main advice of experienced cooks: you should have a separate frying pan for baking pancakes. Sometimes after cooking another dish, even after washing, small particles may remain in the pan. When baking pancakes, this will cause them to burn and break their integrity. If it is not possible to allocate a separate frying pan for pancakes, then the dishes should be thoroughly washed before cooking, then thoroughly dried with a dry towel.

The pan is very hot. In this case, the selection of the optimal temperature is carried out by sampling. With experience comes the necessary knowledge. You can first put the frying pan on low heat, gradually bringing it to the required limit. This will prevent the food from overheating and burning.

Other reasons

  1. Haste in preparing a dish. Pancakes require a special approach to both the dough and the baking process itself. After kneading the dough, you should let it stand for a few minutes. This is necessary so that the flour releases the maximum amount of gluten. Thanks to this, the pancake becomes more elastic and does not tear.
  2. Lack of eggs. Eggs are an important component of pancake batter. Of course, you can cook without them, because there are special recipes for this. However, real pancakes are impossible without this product. A deficiency in their quantity is the reason why pancakes stick to the pan.
  3. Features of the included ingredients. Quite often, those pancakes that were made with kefir stick. This is due to the special tenderness of this dough. To prevent kefir-based pancakes from tearing, you should turn them over carefully, slowly, with a special spatula. Before this, the pancake must be well fried in order to be more durable.
  4. Use of cold components. Before preparing pancakes, it is better to remove all components of the recipe from the refrigerator in advance. Milk can be heated if necessary. The required temperature of the products will allow them to interact better with each other and the pancakes will not burn or tear.

Surely you have encountered an unpleasant situation when pancakes for some reason stuck to the frying pan. Our advice will tell you what to do in this case.

Preparing the dough correctly

If you want to figure out why pancakes stick to the pan, then pay attention to the ratio of products and the composition of the dough.

Pancakes will no longer stick to the pan

The classic recipe includes the following ingredients:

  • 4 cups sifted wheat flour;
  • 2.5 glasses of milk or water;
  • 2 eggs;
  • 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
  • 2 tbsp. l. butter;
  • 1 tsp. salt;
  • 20 g yeast.

Try this recipe first and then use it to prepare more complex dishes.

Experienced housewives have not used measuring cups for a long time and mix products in random order. In this case, the dough may turn out too thin or thick. The fix is ​​simple: just add a little flour or water.

The quality of the dough is affected by the absence of eggs, which act as a kind of glue. If you want to make pancakes less fatty, then do not give up this product, but replace it with egg whites.

Insufficient amount of oil in the dough and in the frying pan is another answer to the question why pancakes stick. In addition, the use of vegetable and animal fats will improve the taste of the finished product.

Pancake pan

Our mothers and grandmothers did not know what a pancake frying pan was, and therefore they baked their favorite treat using ordinary cast iron dishes. But nowadays you can find thin pans with a special coating that protects pancakes from sticking. Try using specialized cookware to protect yourself from unnecessary problems in the future.

But if you don’t want to get rid of battered frying pans, then you can solve the problem in another way:

  • First you need to rinse the pan thoroughly and dry it completely. After that, put it on the fire, pour half a glass of salt and a couple of tablespoons of soda on the bottom;
  • heat the cookware until the contents change color. After this, throw away the soda and salt, rinse the frying pan and wipe with a soft cloth.

Your cookware is ready for use, now you can safely fry pancakes on it. Just remember to reheat it and then pour two or three tablespoons of vegetable oil into the bottom. In the future, do not use hard brushes or metal sponges to wash it.

Ruddy, aromatic, delicate and incredibly tasty! What are we talking about, you ask? Of course, about the favorite dish of all Russian people - pancakes! Every housewife has several pancake recipes in her piggy bank, which she uses to delight her family on holidays or weekends. However, sometimes real confusion occurs in the preparation of this dish, as a result of which the pancakes stick. Housewives do not always understand why this happens. But such an annoying oversight can not only ruin the mood of experienced housewives, but also lower their self-esteem. If you, too, have encountered a similar problem and cannot determine the reason why the pancakes tear and stick, then read our article. In it we have collected all the existing reasons that can ruin your fragrant culinary masterpiece.

Russian pancakes are the most common ritual dish

Every Russian person believes that pancakes appeared in Rus' and are our traditional dish. Historians do not entirely agree with this statement, but they believe that our ancestors first enjoyed pancakes more than one thousand years ago, and therefore we can well consider them an original Russian tradition.

For many centuries, the Slavs prepared this dish for almost any occasion. For example, they treated women who had recently given birth to them and celebrated the birth of a baby by treating all neighbors and friends to pancakes. They were also baked for all festivities, the most famous of which was Maslenitsa.

However, few people know that pancakes were originally a sacred ritual dish. It was customary for them to remember the dead, and it was from this tradition that the custom of putting this dish on the table on Maslenitsa, which was considered a sacred holiday, arose. On this day, according to the beliefs of the Slavs, winter dies, so it needs a real send-off, otherwise spring may not come.

Interestingly, each family had its own pancake recipe. It was in no way told to outsiders, but was passed down from generation to generation through the female line. Moreover, even the process of preparing this dish and kneading the dough for it took place in secret. Women began to make the dough in the evening at such a time that this process would last until the moon appeared in the sky. In its light, the housewife had to read a special spell, which she received along with the recipe from her mother or grandmother. After all these manipulations, the pancakes turned out tasty and aromatic, delighting all the family and guests who dropped by.

But why do modern housewives’ pancakes stick? As practice shows, every second woman faces this problem, despite the abundance of modern kitchen utensils with special non-stick coatings. So, let's find out the reasons why pancakes stick to the pan and tear.

List of the most common reasons for unsuccessful pancakes

It often happens that even those housewives who were previously proud of this dish no longer succeed. The once smooth and flavorful pancakes turn into lumps, tear, burn and stick to the pan. We have collected the most common causes of this problem, which can be easily eliminated:

  • dough consistency;
  • wrong recipe;
  • changing the frying pan;
  • insufficient heating;
  • lack of oil.

Now let's go through the items on the list in more detail.

About consistency

Housewives often try new pancake recipes. They are shared by friends and other women on special forums, but the next recipe does not always result in a pile of flavorful pancakes appearing on the plate. Housewives often write on the Internet that they observed all the proportions when making the dough, added all the necessary ingredients, and even heated the frying pan to the specified temperature. But, alas, the pancakes began to burn and turn into unsightly lumps when flipped. Why do pancakes made according to all the rules stick? In fact, the answer to this question is extremely simple.

The fact is that sometimes using different types of flour in the same proportion gives a completely unpredictable result. The dough changes its consistency, becoming too thick or very liquid. Ideally, it should resemble liquid sour cream, only in this case the pancakes will easily turn over and acquire a beautiful golden hue.

If you notice that your dough is too thick, then add the liquid specified in the recipe to it. This role is usually played by water, milk, kefir or even yogurt. And if the consistency is too liquid, feel free to add flour and bring the dough to the required condition.

Recipe: errors or intentional non-compliance

Many women are accustomed to cooking without looking at the recipe. It seems to them that by changing the proportions just a little here and there, they will not spoil the dish at all. However, in reality, it is precisely these women who then have to get upset and think about why the pancakes stick.

The fatal mistake is too much or too little baking soda and eggs in the recipe. The first ingredient makes the pancakes so loose that they simply cannot be flipped. But saving eggs turns the dough in a frying pan into something white and absolutely unappetizing. Therefore, it is precisely this reason that may lie the secret of why pancakes stick to the frying pan. What to do in this case?

The trial and error method will help here. Add the eggs to the batter and pour a portion into the pan. If this time the pancake turns over easily, then you have corrected the mistake and achieved your goal. Excess soda is more difficult to deal with. In this case, you will have to mix the dough again, but without soda and mix it with the first portion.

Changing the pan

This reason is the most common among all. After all, even skillful and experienced housewives experience problems when trying to bake pancakes in a frying pan just bought in a store. If you have new aluminum or cast iron utensils in your kitchen, then carry out a number of manipulations with them.

First of all, place it on the stove, filling the bottom with salt and soda. Moreover, one tablespoon is enough for the latter. Stir the resulting mixture periodically until it changes color to cream. After this, cool the pan and wash thoroughly.

Now you can start baking pancakes and be sure that they will turn out just perfect.

Why do pancakes stick and what to do?

If you start baking pancakes in a frying pan that has not yet reached the required temperature, you will most likely encounter the fact that they will all turn out lumpy. Therefore, take care of this at the test stage.

It is best to heat the pan initially without oil, during which time you will have time to prepare the dough. Afterwards, thoroughly lubricate it with fat or oil and warm it up a little more. Only after this can you start baking pancakes.

Oil saving

Even if you adhere to a diet and proper nutrition, you should not give up oil when preparing pancakes. Remember that they cannot be tasty without this important ingredient. Therefore, immediately abandon recipes that do not initially say about adding oil. Also keep in mind that even the most modern frying pan needs to be oiled. This affects the taste of the pancakes and their appearance.

If your pancakes do not want to turn over, then add oil to the dough and try to grease the pan with it before each pouring of the dough. In the case of this Russian dish, we can say that it is difficult to spoil it with an abundance of fat.

Why do pancakes made with milk stick?

This question is asked by many housewives who prefer to make dough only based on this product. Oddly enough, this ingredient often causes pancakes to burn and clump. To avoid this, change the proportions of milk by replacing half of it with plain water.

There is another reason why pancakes stick to a frying pan in milk. It lies in the fact that the dairy product sometimes begins to sour right in the dough. This changes its consistency and makes it overly sour. As a result, the pancakes begin to burn and stick. You can solve the problem by adding flour and soda; it would also be a good idea to slightly dilute the dough with boiling water. All of these ingredients perfectly neutralize excess acid.

Pancakes with kefir: how to avoid sticking

Many housewives prefer pancake recipes with kefir. They always turn out very tender and thin, but this is the problem. After all, it is very difficult to turn such a pancake over.

Experienced housewives advise following several rules to ensure that your kefir pancakes always turn out perfect. Select a thin spatula for turning, wash thoroughly and then wipe dry the frying pan, and also add vegetable oil to the dough.

To ensure your pancakes always flip easily, we've put together some general tips:

  • grease the pan along with the sides;
  • for baking pancakes, choose frying pans with a thin bottom and edges;
  • select the required temperature mode (high and low heat equally contribute to the adhesion of the dough);
  • When making the dough, use only room temperature products.

And finally, I would like to say that there are no housewives who do not know how to bake pancakes. If they don’t work for you, then it means you just haven’t found your recipe yet. Try it. And one day a stack of fragrant and delicate pancakes will definitely appear on your table.

Why do pancakes stick to the pan? All housewives have asked this question at least once in their lives. How annoying it is sometimes when something doesn’t work out the first time, especially if it’s a simple and familiar dish! It would seem that it’s so difficult to make the dough and bake? But when not only the first pancake, but also the second and third come out lumpy, you begin to understand that something has gone wrong.

Cooking pancakes, like any other business, has its own subtleties and nuances, and any violation of the rules can lead to disastrous results.

Here are the most common reasons why pancakes tear and stick to the pan:

"Wrong" frying pan

Ideally, this should be an old cast iron pan with a thick bottom or a Teflon pancake pan. Any food will stick to a scratched non-stick coating. The same result will be obtained if it is a new cast iron or aluminum frying pan. The whole point here is that the oil leaves a film on these metals that cannot be washed off the first time without caustic substances. Over time, the oily coating thickens, and the baking process becomes easier. It is better to have a separate frying pan specifically for pancakes. But if you cook them once a year for Maslenitsa, then, of course, this does not make any sense.

Read also:

Almost any frying pan can be made suitable for baking pancakes by heating salt in it. You need to add a 5 mm layer of spice and a tablespoon of soda, mix and place on the stove. When the mixture turns beige, pour it out and wipe the surface with a dry cloth. Grease the bottom and walls with a thin layer of butter or a piece of lard - and you can start baking.

There is not enough butter in the dough

This problem is perhaps the easiest to solve: you just need to add it, mix well and start baking again. Remember that oil, like all fats, floats to the surface. Therefore, before pouring a new portion of dough into frying, you need to mix it thoroughly. The frying pan, even if it has a non-stick coating, must be oiled before baking the first pancakes. Then you can look at the situation: if nothing else sticks, it means there is enough fat. If the problem persists, it is better to bake everything in oil than to throw away the dough.

The pan was not heated properly or unevenly

Everything will inevitably stick to the cold bottom. You can check whether the cookware is well heated by dropping a little dough. If it sizzles and begins to cook instantly, you are ready to start baking.

Dough that is too thin or thick

As you know, it should look like liquid sour cream. Everything is simple here: you just need to add flour or milk until you get the ideal consistency.

Few eggs

For lean recipes, the problem of sticking is very important. Flour will improve the situation, but such pancakes are unlikely to be thin and delicate. It is better to brew the dough without eggs, that is, add very hot milk or water to the flour. Boiling water will add elasticity and nothing will stick.

Too much soda

Excess of this substance will give pancakes looseness and an unpleasant taste. This problem is perhaps the most difficult to fix. You can prepare another dough - without soda - and gradually pour in the spoiled one, each time preparing a test pancake. The housewife will have to do this until she is satisfied with the result.

Milk is considered a classic base for making pancakes. However, there are some secrets here too:

  • eggs should be at room temperature. Take care of this in advance - take them out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before cooking;
  • choose only fresh products and high-quality flour. A dish prepared with expired ingredients will not only stick and tear, but also pose a risk of poisoning;
  • the flour must be sifted - then unnecessary lumps will not appear in the dough;
  • the milk should be warm.

Recipe for pancakes with milk that will never stick

Ingredients:

  • milk - 750 ml;
  • eggs - 3 pcs.;
  • granulated sugar - 2 tbsp. l.;
  • salt - a pinch;
  • soda - on the tip of a knife;
  • lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l.;
  • flour - 400 g;
  • sunflower oil - 3 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

  1. Beat eggs and sugar with a mixer until they turn white, add salt.
  2. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove and pour into the egg-sugar mixture.
  3. Quench the soda with lemon juice and add to the food.
  4. Sift the flour and add it into the mixture in several additions, stirring thoroughly each time until all the lumps are broken up.
  5. Leave the mixture to stand for about an hour. During this time, the flour will swell and you will see the real consistency of the dough. It should be like sour cream. If it turns out thicker, add more warm milk, if liquid, add flour.
  6. Before frying, add oil and mix well.

It is more difficult to work with kefir as a base: pancakes with it turn out loose and easily stick and tear. To prevent this scenario, you can mix the dough half and half with milk or water. Such ingredients will give it strength, and kefir will make the taste tender and light. In this case, both water and milk should be very hot, almost boiling water.

Recipe for lace “non-sticky” pancakes with kefir

Ingredients:

  • kefir - 400 ml;
  • water - 200 ml;
  • flour - 400 g;
  • egg - 2 pcs.;
  • soda - 1/2 tsp;
  • sugar - 2 tbsp. l.;
  • salt - 1 tsp;
  • sunflower oil - 3 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

  1. Combine flour, kefir, eggs, salt and sugar in a saucepan and mix with a mixer.
  2. Pour soda into a glass of boiling water, stir quickly and pour into the dough. Mix thoroughly and leave for 10-15 minutes. at room temperature.
  3. Add oil and start frying.

Good housewives have delicious soups and lush pies, but not every one of them will bake pancakes. This is a troublesome task, even though the recipes are simple, and the ingredients for preparing this dish are always at hand.

Even if you strictly follow the usual instructions, the first pancake always turns out to be lumpy. What to do if a similar fate befell the second and third?

The main reasons for the “stickiness” of pancakes

Pancakes stick to the pan for a variety of reasons, but they all have something to do with either the batter recipe or the pan you're baking on:

  • you were given the wrong recipe or you yourself made a mistake in the proportions;
  • you forgot to add some vegetable oil to the dough;
  • you used a frying pan that you just recently purchased from the store;
  • you did not heat the frying pan properly;
  • you did not grease the baking dish.

What to do to prevent pancakes from sticking to the pan?

Who wouldn't want a stack of hot, rosy pancakes for breakfast on a Sunday morning? However, the process of baking them itself becomes a real test for housewives.

There are several secrets that will help you cope with this task without problems:

Bake strictly according to the recipe

  • the dough can be prepared in water, but with milk (or kefir) the dish turns out more satisfying;
  • do not skimp on eggs, otherwise the pancakes will turn out loose and tear easily the first time you try to turn them over;
  • Do not overdo it with soda - the pancakes may stick to the pan.
  • do not forget to add vegetable oil to the dough - its lack is another reason why pancakes do not come out of the frying pan well.
  • pay attention to the consistency of the dough. Its thickness should resemble sour cream. If it is too thick, you can dilute it with milk, kefir or plain water; if it is liquid, add a little flour to the dough;
  • Use only high-quality products when preparing dishes. If you notice that the milk has begun to sour, throw a pinch of soda directly into the dough - it will neutralize the excess acid.

Choose the right pan for baking

It's good if you have a separate pancake pan made of cast iron. Over time, a hard fat film gradually forms on it, which will prevent the pancakes from burning. Even if you wash it, the film will not disappear. But what to do if there is no such utensils? You can just use the old, proven one.

It is unlikely that you will be able to bake beautiful pancakes on a new pan; it must first be prepared. It's simple. Pour salt into a cold frying pan, add one tablespoon of soda and put on fire. When the salt darkens to brown, you can throw it away and rinse the pan under the tap.

Heat the pan to the desired temperature

Experienced housewives do not start baking pancakes right away; first, they warm up the baking surface for a long time - then the first pancake will definitely not be lumpy. As soon as you start kneading the dough, put the frying pan on the fire. First let it just heat up without oil. Lubricate it a little later, and as soon as the first smoke appears, you can start working.

Lubricate cookware well before use

Special non-stick cookware can be used without oil. But real pancakes should be buttered. Before baking them, do not forget to grease the pan with vegetable oil, fat or a piece of lard. During the frying process, you should add oil, distributing it evenly, then the pancakes will turn out appetizing and tasty, and, most importantly, they will not stick to the pan.

A secret from experienced housewives: use half a potato, pricked on a fork, to grease the dishes.

The secret of delicious pancakes

The quality of this dish depends on the products the dough is mixed with. A good housewife knows that the most delicious pancakes are made with milk, but they turn out more tender with kefir.

You should put a little more eggs and flour into the kefir dough to make it thicker and more elastic. These pancakes are easy to flip, they won’t tear or stick to the pan. Be careful with the butter and sugar: too much sugar will make them tough, and too much butter will cause them to crack during cooking. Strictly follow the proportions indicated in the recipe.

Much depends on the cleanliness of the dishes. Before use, wash and dry the pan to ensure a smooth surface. You can rub it with salt - this is what our grandmothers did so that the pancakes would not stick to the pan.

Follow these simple tips and delight your loved ones with delicious golden brown pancakes more often.

Video: what to do to prevent pancakes from sticking?