Introduction to Pancakes
Pancake is a very common food item that is sold around the world and it takes on many different forms – from sweet to savoury. It is hard to find a country that does not have pancake or a similar form in their line of delicacies. Everyone likes pancakes and there is a secret behind every recipe of each kind of pancakes. Pancakes have very different forms ranging from thin European Crepe to thick North American ones and many others such as the popular savoury pancake wrapped with leek that is found in Taiwan. The process of making a pancake may seem simple but there are a lot of small details to take note of which may affect the texture and flavour of the pancake.
Today we had the privilege of making our own pancake during the pancake workshop where we had to follow a recipe given by Zi Quan. My group chose to do the western pancake and we use a wide range of different chemicals. The dry ingredients included sugar, flour, salt and baking powder. In a nutshell, flour supplies the proteins which are molecules that contain many amino acids and the sugar supplies simple sugar molecules which will form starch. I always wondered where all the various pastries get their chewy texture? This in fact is the work of the gluten proteins which are simply proteins that do not dissolve in water but form association with water molecules. The addition of eggs and milk into the flour causes the gluten molecules to become more flexible and bind to each other. The resulting batter is then whisked in order to trap carbon dioxide gas which aids in the rising of the pancake dough. Baking powder is often used in order to produce the carbon dioxide gas that is required to rise the dough.
We were provided with necessary ingredients to prepare our own pancake as shown in the picture above. The steps provided in the recipe were easy to follow but we did encounter some problems along the way such as the melting of the butter. However, the problem was easily resolved, and we managed to begin mixing the batter well. We were told that the mixing of the batter was very important because hard mixing will result in the formation of the gluten which will allow the mixture to stand and hence leading to the swelling of the starch and popping of gas bubbles. This ensured that the pancake would have a strong structure with lesser holes. The mixing of the batter was not an easy task because it required constant and strong-arm movement which reminded me not to take household appliances for granted again.
After we managed to achieve as relatively homogenous mixture, we then proceeded to cook the pancake on a pan. The key idea was to heat the pan up to a temperature that was hot enough to allow the batter to turn brown quickly but not too hot such that the batter will set before it has time to spread. Due to the availability of only a small pan, we had the chance to cook many batches of pancake and we took this chance to alter the flavour of the pancake by adding more vanilla extract straight into the batter before cooking it. The aroma and colour of the pancake is apparently the aftereffects of the Milliard reaction whereby the reaction of amino acids and reducing sugars result in a wide range of small molecules that escape into the air, producing an aroma that is similar to that of nuts, bread and coffee. These molecules that are responsible for the aroma is commonly known as melanoidins which are currently studied for their possible antioxidant effects.
It was an overall fun and enriching experience to learn the sciences behind a simple cooking process but this workshop has gave me an opportunity to understand more about the chemical reactions and physical processes that can affect the outcome of the creation of a pancake.