We use the Joy of Cooking buttermilk pancake recipe, and we have an electric reversible waffle/pancake griddle. The griddle is far easier to cook with than cast iron and browns them perfectly. Buttermilk pancakes are incredibly delightful. Making pancakes from scratch rather than mix might add an extra 10 minutes onto breakfast prep, maybe, but they’re so much more delicious that it’s really worth it.
My pancake recipe is
1.25 cup flour
1 tbs sugar
3 tsp baking powder
.25 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbs veg. oil
1 cup milk (soured with a tablespoon of vinegar to fake buttermilk as I don’t keep it on hand usually)
I can make it in under 5 minutes, I’m sure. I really don’t understand the appeal of pancake mixes unless you’re doing positively gargantuan amounts.
Moving to Cafe Society.
I use a very similar recipe I got from my grandpa. Flour, powder, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, butter. I use a bit more sugar than you and melted butter instead of oil (mix it in at the end and it will eliminate any lumps in the batter).
Besides being almost as easy as pancake mix, it tastes ten times better. Count me among the confused re:pancake mixes. 
You folks are seriously missing out by not adding vanilla.
Heh, this thread reminds me of my first attempt to make pancakes. I followed the recipe precisely but didn’t know at the time that flour must be measured “loose”- stirred first and then spooned into the measuring cup. What I ended up with was more like a large flat biscuit. (Tasty though.)
Yeah, those are one of those things you learn with experience. I don’t exactly measure out my flour and water. I just kind of stick the flour and other ingredients in there, and then add water until the consistency seems about right. When you make pancakes a few times, you know what the batter should look and feel like.
I curse and blame Bisquick for all of the waitresses I’ve worked with who think there is a “Q” in the word “biscuit”. If I have to read “bisquits & gravy” one more time …
I love McDonald’s pancakes/hotcakes. Don’t judge me.
Growing up, I wasn’t crazy about pancakes. When I left home for college, I found out my mom’s pancakes: 1) didn’t have enough liquid in them, 2) were “dinner plate” size, instead of 4" (~10cm) diam.; 3) had cornmeal in them; and, 4) had about 1/4 stick (~28g) of margarine slathered on them immediately before serving. As soon as I ate a pancake that didn’t meet those specs., I found out I really like pancakes. 
They’re about the only restaurant pancakes I like, and I think it’s just a lizardbrain memory of being a kid when I eat them; they’re like tasty, tasty sponges.
If you make pancakes with buttermilk (which really, why wouldn’t you?), use a bit more buttermilk than you’d use regular milk. I’m surprised that there are folks who use water as the liquid. Unless you’re lactose-intolerant, what advantages does water have over milk or buttermilk?
I don’t think anyone has mentioned that the way to get thick, fluffy pancakes is to whip egg whites until stiff, then gently fold them into the pancake batter.
I prefer the thinner, dense, moist kind, evenly browned. I’ve found the best way to ensure this is to add a generous amount of corn oil to the batter, along with an extra egg or two. I also use a blend of whole milk and buttermilk.
I’ve made pancakes 100% from scratch on occasion, but I generally use Bisquick for the sake of convenience. It’s a good product!
No argument there. A little nutmeg helps, too.
Good tip!
Also, I don`think anyone has mentioned to let the batter rest for a few minutes before frying.
MMMmmm! Thanks for all the tips! There are two diners in town / will check out the pancakes at these downhome DownEast joints & report back – after I lose about 15 pounds
I 100% agree on maple syrup & real butter. I toted along bourbon barrel maple syrup (small batch-made in Vermont) to the local chain … this STILL didn’t get the cakes up to speed, but at least THAT part was delicious.
I really dislike doughy pancakes, too. And frankly, I’m another who doesn’t understand why people use mixes. They are SO easy to make from scratch! Here’s the recipe I’ve been using for about 40 years. Even if you have to make a quick trip to the market for the buttermilk, it’s worth it. Depending on how you measure the flour, you may have to use more buttermilk to thin the batter a tad – but don’t get carried away.
I do like vanilla in almost everything, but not these. The slightly tart flavor added by the buttermilk stands on its own for this recipe. 
Buttermilk Pancakes - 4 servings
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup oil
Beat together with wire whisk.
2 cups flour
1 TB sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
Mix these ingredients, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir till batter consistency, just to blend. Do not worry about lumps and do not overbeat.
I’ve rarely met a pancake I didn’t like. Fat or thin doesn’t matter to me, but flavor does. White flour cakes are ok with some honey on them (I prefer bee vomit to tree sap), but I’d rather have buckwheat, or any other grains in the mix. Despite that, my favorites might be matzo meal pancakes, very eggy but somehow the flavor works. When the kids were growing up I made pancakes every Sunday and tried to vary them each week.
But back to basics, for great flavor use bacon grease for your shortening.
Here is an interesting factoid from the King Arthur Flour website:
My “secret ingredient” making pancakes is using about 150% percent of the sugar in the recipe I use, 50/50 white granulated and raw turbinado sugar. The turbinado sugar gives a sweet, crispy browness to the outside edges. Good stuff.
Fat pancakes? Now that’s a fat pancake.
I think it’s more like a souffle pancake but it’s in Japanese and the translation is very Engrish.