Dave: My grandfather always used the recipe for buttermilk pancakes as found in "Joy of Cooking" and it has never failed me, I have memorized it. Five Dry ingredients and two (or three) liquid ingredients:
1 Cup Cake Flour (All-Purpose Flour can be substituted)
3/4 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt (I use less)
1/2 Teaspoon of Sugar
1 Cup of Buttermilk --NOT the low-fat stuff, but the real thing-- it tastes better and lasts longer in the refrigerator
1 Egg
1 Tablespoon of melted butter (optional, used to help keep the pancakes from sticking to the pan, but I use enough bacon fat to keep that from being a problem)
Important: Put all the dry ingredients through a sifter, add the buttermilk and egg (and melted butter, if desired) and whisk it up. Don't worry about a few lumps, and you can let the stuff sit a while and it will blend in better if you like (some say you must use it immediately, but I don't find that to be the case).
Test the consistency by letting it drip off the whisk or spoon; add more buttermilk (not water) to thin it out, or more flour to thicken it. Use a fairly hot griddle and enjoy 6-7 good-size pancakes, enough for 2-3 people with moderate appetites, or one very hungry person. Double or triple all ingredients for more people.
Note: The cake flour, while expensive, gives the pancakes a light and airy feel; the All-Purpose flour gives them more body. I frequently mix equal parts of each to good effect. I also keep a quart of buttermilk in the fridge just for this recipe. Ironically, it seems to me that the older the buttermilk, the better the pancake. I have never thrown any of the "full-fat" buttermilk away, even when it is way past the expiration date. As one person noted, "How do you tell if buttermilk has gone bad?" The low-fat stuff will go bad even before the expiration date. Your mileage and taste may vary.
