I'm reading Ratio by Michael Ruhlman and the idea behind the book is to teach basic ratios and techniques of foods to free yourself recipes. For example, ever wonder what is the difference between muffins and fritters?
A fritter batter is a muffin batter without butter (fat). How does pancake batter fit in? Right in the middle of the two because it use 1/2 part fat, but keeps the other core components the same.
These all fall under the quick bread family, which use baking powder or soda as a leavener. Now obviously people apply different ingredients to give them a signature taste, like fruits, vegetables, sugar, but these are really just flavoring variables. They aren't necessary for the actual structural construction of what makes a pancake a pancake or a muffin a muffin.
The Pancake Ratio - 2 parts Liquid : 1 part Egg : 1/2 part Fat : 2 parts Flour
NOTE: You will also need a leavener. Ruhlman suggests the following rule of 5 g of baking powder for every 110 g of flour (1 tsp for scant cup).
NOTE 2: The ratio works because it’s all based on weight, so you will need a scale to make these. If you don’t have a scale, I would pick one up, they are one of the most useful tools in the kitchen.
