Pancake Squares*

By srumbel

That’s right, pancake batter baked in a rectangular pan then sliced into squares. So simple, it plumb evaded my notice for years.
from kingarthurflour.com

Ingredients

• Simply Perfect Pancakes
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups milk*
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar OR 1/4 cup malted milk powder
• Use 1 cup milk if you're baking under hot, humid conditions, or if you're going to let the batter rest longer than 15 minutes. Use up to 1 1/4 cups milk in cold, dry conditions.

Preparation

Step 1

Beat the eggs and milk until light and foamy, about 3 minutes at high speed of a stand or hand mixer. Stir in the butter or vegetable oil.
Whisk the dry ingredients together to evenly distribute the salt, baking powder and sweetener.

Gently and quickly mix into the egg and milk mixture. Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes, while the griddle is heating; it"ll thicken slightly.

Heat a heavy frying pan over medium heat, or set an electric griddle to 375°F. Lightly grease frying pan or griddle. The pan or griddle is ready if a drop of water will skitter across the surface, evaporating immediately.

Drop 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the lightly greased griddle. Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form and break, about 2 minutes; then turn the pancakes and cook the other side until brown, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Turn over only once. Serve immediately.

Yield: 1 dozen large (4 1/2") pancakes

Pancake Squares

Toss everything in a bowl, blend it up well and pour it into a greased 9″ x 13″ x 2″ pan, or for thicker cakes a 7″ X 11″ baking dish. You can, of course, use your favorite mix or scratch recipe.

Bake at 350°F for 22 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a cake tester tests clean in the center. At this point the whole house will smell like pancakes, and you’ll be wondering why your back isn’t smarting from standing over the griddle for the last 25 minutes.

Keep in mind if you add fresh fruit or frozen fruit, the baking time may be slightly longer.

For the full breakfast experience, why not add a tray of bacon to bake at the same time? PJ’s blog makes bakin’ bacon a breeze.


Bakin the Bacon

Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you’re baking some other breakfast dish, it’ll probably already be at this temperature. And if you’re baking something that calls for a temperature other than 350°F, no worries; the bacon won’t mind.

Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Lay up to a pound of bacon atop the parchment. Most packaged bacon comes 16 slices to the pound, and will fit on a half-sheet pan (18″ x 13″), with a bit of overlap.

Bake the bacon for about 25 minutes, or until it’s started to shrink. Separate the pieces where they’ve overlapped, and continue to bake until it’s as dark and crisp as you like, anywhere from an additional 5 to 15 minutes.

Remove the bacon from the oven.

This bacon baked for 40 minutes total. Can you hear it sizzling?

Notice how flat it stays as it bakes; no curled, twisted, gnarly pieces.

Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve with the rest of your breakfast.