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Mixing pancake batter until smooth was my biggest cooking mistake for 12 years

So I grew up watching my mom beat the heck out of pancake batter until there were zero lumps. Did that for over a decade. Then last month my buddy Matt, who's a line cook, saw me mixing and just goes 'dude, stop. Lumps are fine.' I thought he was messing with me. He explained that overmixing builds gluten and makes them rubbery. I tried it that Sunday with the same box mix, stopped at like 8 stirs, left the lumps. They came out twice as fluffy and way softer. Now I'm wondering what other basic food rules I've been breaking my whole life. Has anyone else had a kitchen habit they were convinced was right until someone showed them the opposite? What tipped you off?
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2 Comments
holly_henderson86
Same box, same pan, everything. Just stopped stirring at 8 and it was a whole different pancake.
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adam_lewis
adam_lewis20d ago
Man, did you try the same box mix or switch brands too?
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