Pancakes

Whisk the dry ingredients

Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until the baking powder is evenly mixed through. Lumps of leavening leave bitter spots in a pancake.

Mix the wet ingredients

Whisk the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla together in a measuring cup or small bowl until the egg is fully blended.

Combine and leave the lumps

Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a fork or whisk just until the flour is wet. The batter should be thick and lumpy, and it will look underdone. Overmixing develops gluten and makes flat, rubbery pancakes. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes while the griddle heats.

Heat the griddle

Set a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. It is ready when a drop of water skitters across the surface and evaporates within a second or two. Brush lightly with butter.

Cook until bubbles pop and hold

Pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle, leaving room to flip. Cook until bubbles rise across the surface, the ones near the edge pop and stay open, and the edges look dry, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip once and cook until the second side is golden and the pancake springs back when pressed in the middle, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Keep warm and repeat

Move finished pancakes to a plate in a 200F (95C) oven while the rest cook. Wipe the griddle and add a little more butter between batches. Lower the heat if the pancakes brown before the bubbles show.

Substitutions. For buttermilk pancakes, swap the milk for buttermilk and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. Extra batter keeps in the refrigerator overnight, though it will rise a little less.