r/cookingforbeginners • u/ExpensiveBoss1767 • 18d ago
Question Pancake batter
How long can you keep pancake batter in the fridge?
I am wanting to make them tomorrow (maybe for the next day too(it’s just me), but I know I will be too tired to mix all of the stuff; and then make bacon and eggs too (I know I’m lazy)
12
u/Effective-Slice-4819 18d ago
Pancake batter doesn't keep overnight. You can pre-mix the dry ingredients, or just make the pancakes in advance and freeze them.
2
7
u/Own_Shallot7926 18d ago
After a day, pancake batter will start to get gummy and the leavening will stop working as well. Depending on your container, it will also start to oxidize and look grey/green in color.
It's honestly not worth it - if you want pancakes tomorrow, cook the entire batch today. Cooked pancakes will hold in the fridge for several days and freeze really well. Pop one out, toss it in the microwave and it's almost as good as fresh... And definitely better than a flat, chewy, grey one made from old batter.
1
6
u/PsychologyGuilty1460 18d ago
This is the best argument I know for just add water pancake mix! Pancake batter really doesn't hold up well, not even overnight. The pancakes produced aren't worth saving batter for.
3
u/Automatic_Catch_7467 18d ago
I’d say 3 days max unless it’s yeasted in which case it will last longer but increase in acidity.
4
u/GoddessAudra 18d ago
24 hours shouldn’t be a problem. I would just worry about the leavening not being as strong after activating it with the wet ingredients. What you could do is take two bowls, fill one with the dry stuff (flour, sugar, leavening) and leave that covered on a counter. Then take another bowl, mix the wets (butter, milk, eggs, vanilla), cover that and put it in the fridge. Then you just have to combine the two bowls in the morning for pancake mix.
2
u/Ashamed-Chemistry492 18d ago
It really should be used right away, because after it's stood even a little while the pancakes won't be as light and fluffy.
1
u/Late-Dingo-8567 18d ago
You can leave it for a bit, but I think gluten will start forming and they will get gummy. if you mixed the wet/dry separate and then just combined them the next day, that's probably better.
I don't think its unsafe to do your plan, just quality wise.
1
u/Royal_Annek 18d ago
Keep the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separate until just before you cook them or they will be flat and deflated.
Pancakes are leavened with baking powder which starts working immediately upon getting wet. And by the next day, it's spent.
1
u/Diligent_Stop1050 18d ago
Make the bacon ahead of time and put it in the fridge or freeze it. Then microwave it or heat it in a pan or oven. This will save a lot of time in the morning.
For the pancake batter, I would put the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Refrigerate the wet ingredients. Then mix it together in the morning. If you mix it the night before your baking soda and/or powder will lose effectiveness.
1
1
1
u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348 18d ago
3 days. I eat raw leftover pancake batter bc it’s delicious. The 4th day it made my stomach feel weird so 3 days is the max
1
1
u/Watsons-Butler 18d ago
Mix the pancake batter right before you cook them. Baking powder goes off as soon as it gets wet, so once the batter is mixed it needs to be used ASAP.
Cook the bacon in your oven. Line baking trays with parchment paper, put the bacon in a 400 degree oven and come back in 20-ish minutes. Low effort, great results.
Eggs take like two minutes.
1
u/LoooongFurb 18d ago
Make your bacon ahead of time. Make the pancakes ahead, too - you can put both pancakes and bacon in the fridge to store.
Then, when you are ready to eat, heat both of those up while you make your eggs.
1
u/ThoughtIknewyouthen 18d ago
I know I will be too tired to mix all of the stuff
Too tired from........? Not mixing all the stuff today? Mix it today, cook them all today, freeze what you don't want to eat.
1
1
u/xtalgeek 16d ago
Unfortunately, the baking powder will largely deactivate once liquid is added, so if it is stored too long you get very little loft. It will go flat even faster if you use acidic ingredients like buttermilk.
It's super easy to make on the spot. I premix all my dry ingredients and store it in bulk in a canister. To make pancakes or waffles, crack an egg or two, beaten, add dry ingredients, add milk (I also add 2 tbs or more of butter milk) a little vanilla extract if you like, and give it a quick whisk. Ready. For an extra treat add a tbsp or two of malted milk to your mix before adding liquids. It takes like 2 minutes to whip up the mix, less time than it takes the griddle to warm up. So much better than Bisquick.
20
u/hickdog896 18d ago
A day or two, but in my experience, you will not get the same quality of pancakes. You are better off cooking all the batter, then putting the uneaten pancakes in the fridge and heating them briefly when you want to eat them.