# I want round pancakes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213 "2016-03-07T16:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/1 "2016-03-07T16:04:53Z")
How do restaurants get nice round pancakes? Every recipe I can find for pancakes are all about how fluffy they are. The last ones I made were ½” thick but came out all lopsided because the batter didn’t spread out on the griddle. I tried adding an extra ¼ cup buttermilk but it didn’t seem to help and they ended up with a very noticeable buttermilk tang. I want to pour the batter from the bowl, not spoon it out. I have the same issue with waffles, although yeast-raised waffles are better than leavening-raised. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/2 "2016-03-07T16:10:20Z")
Look up pancake batter dispensers on Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/3 "2016-03-07T16:22:57Z")
The batter is to thick to pour from one of those. I have a bowl with a pour spout but have to use a spatula to get it to come out in a reasonable amount. And if you look at the images they all show a thin batter. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/4 "2016-03-07T16:25:21Z")
I just add enough milk until it is pourable. i don’t bother with exactly measuring the liquid–just do it by eye until it looks right. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/5 "2016-03-07T16:28:36Z")
I use an ice cream scoop… like a ladle. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/6 "2016-03-07T16:29:21Z")
If your batter is too thick to pour from a dispenser, you’ve found the root cause of your lopsided pancakes. Being a parent of young boys, I’ve made about 16,000 pancakes in the past 5 years and they’ve all been approximately circular, even just pouring the batter from a measuring cup. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/7 "2016-03-07T16:50:21Z")
Yes, you need the batter to be _just right_. Too thick, and you get lumpy, thick and irregularly shaped cakes. Too thin and you get a mess. Unless you’re making Hungarian pancakes, but you have to cook them in a skillet, because they are so thin. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/8 "2016-03-07T17:01:55Z")
Use a pancake ring [http://yumyumutensils.com/tag/silicone-pancake-rings/](http://yumyumutensils.com/tag/silicone-pancake-rings/) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/9 "2016-03-07T17:42:58Z")
> [@Kelevra](#): > > The batter is to thick to pour from one of those. I have a bowl with a pour spout but have to use a spatula to get it to come out in a reasonable amount. ‘Well, _there’s_ your problem!’ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/10 "2016-03-07T17:45:07Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > Use a pancake ring > > [http://yumyumutensils.com/tag/silicone-pancake-rings/](http://yumyumutensils.com/tag/silicone-pancake-rings/) [Here’s the one they used on _Green Acres_](http://www.maggiore.net/greenacres/images/e203.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/11 "2016-03-07T17:58:01Z")
Put the batter in a squeeze-type ketchup bottle. Rinse out a plastic Heinz bottle, unless you like your pancakes oddly flavored. Enlarge the dispensing hole if you have to. Circularity awaits! ---
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/12 "2016-03-07T18:33:17Z")
The restaurant where I worked used one of [these](http://www.webstaurantstore.com/aluminum-pancake-waffle-batter-dispenser/158PCD13.html?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=CNXuq4Gbr8sCFU2PHwodyToBGg). ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/13 "2016-03-07T18:41:26Z")
I like pancakes, _and_ I have a 2-year-old. I’ve made probably 5000 pancakes in the last month alone. The dispenser isn’t this person’s problem. A pancake batter that sounds more like cookie dough or something is the problem. If it’s too thick, add more liquid. It doesn’t have to be buttermilk. Regular milk, water, beer, all work. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/14 "2016-03-07T19:05:20Z")
> [@troub](#): > > I like pancakes, _and_ I have a 2-year-old. I’ve made probably 5000 pancakes in the last month alone. The dispenser isn’t this person’s problem. A pancake batter that sounds more like cookie dough or something is the problem. If it’s too thick, add more liquid. It doesn’t have to be buttermilk. Regular milk, water,\*\* beer\*\*, all work. I like the way you think! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/15 "2016-03-07T19:14:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Look up pancake batter dispensers on Amazon. Yup. My favorite breakfast place has a thing like a funnel with a trigger that releases a measured amount of batter straight down that spreads in a very even circle. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/16 "2016-03-07T19:20:22Z")
All of the above, plus practice. When I make rotis they also don’t come out perfectly round, because I haven’t practiced enough, but I used to make perfect rotis when I was making them often. That’s practice on the dough (batter) consistency as well as the cooking therein. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/17 "2016-03-07T19:29:58Z")
I personally don’t bother with anything but a measuring cup or pour straight from the mixing bowl. If you pour straight down and have the correct consistency, you pretty much naturally will get a circle, unless you have a particularly uneven stovetop. And, even then, you can correct it by swirling the pan in the correct direction to compensate for any lopsidedness. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/18 "2016-03-07T22:13:27Z")
Add water to you batter, not more buttermilk. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/19 "2016-03-07T22:31:37Z")
Most restaurants in the Raleigh area serve pancakes that are thick, tasteless and gummy. Brigs is an exception. Original Pancake House has yet to discover how many frustrated customers wait them here. Forty-Niner Flapjacks…yum…yum… In other words, I like my pancakes thin and fried in bacon grease, if possible. My heaven idea are all the cakes made this way you can eat in 24000 years. thick, gummy round cakes are useless for man or beast. The dog won’t eat them unless you put sausage underneath. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213/20 "2016-03-07T22:35:38Z")
I saw a chef preparing pancakes at a fancy buffet once, and he used a ladle, started with a glob of dough in the middle of the grill, then, with the ladle in the upright position, went around and around in ever increasing circles, dabbing the bottom of the ladle into the dough every little bit. He actually go down on his knees to watch the dabbing. I suppose he was trying to enlarge the circle without creating thick and thin spots. Flip the cakes the second you see any bubbles. Yes, buttermilk recipes are tastier. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-round-pancakes/748213.md?page=2)