This is directly from my King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, so excuse me if I am posting directions that you are already familiar with. The cookbook is more like a primer on how to cook various breads, cakes & pies and how to put together your own recipes.

King Arthur Flour Basic Pancakes or Waffles
“The basic recipe makes enough for a good-sized hungry family (two of three adolescents with leftovers to freeze if you are lucky)”

4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (17 oz)
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs
1 quart buttermilk, yogurt or sour milk (or 1 quart sweet milk with 1/4 cup vnegar or lemon juice plus 5 minutes to clabber)
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter or vegetable oil, optional (I use butter because we prefer it)

Pumpkin variation: Add 1 tesapoon EACH of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to the dry ingredients. Fold 1/2 cup to 1 cup mashed pumpkin (solid pack not the “prepared pie filling”) into the batter and reduce the buttermilk (or whatever liquid you chose to use) by the same amount.

Mixing: In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients thoroughly.

In a second bowl, beat the eggs and buttermilk together until they are light and fluffy. Add the butter or oil. Take about 20 seconds and blend this mixture into the dry ingredients. Don’t overdo it. Pancake and waffle batter is like muffin batter; a light hand in mixing means a light pancake on the plate.

Cooking: For successful pancakes, use a griddle that heats evenly. Cast iron is particularly good. Preheat and grease your griddle or waffle iron.

Pancakes: To test for correct pancake cooking temperature, sprinkle a few drops of water onto your griddle. Thewater should “dance”. Using a quarter-cup measure or an ice cream scoop, pour your batter onto the griddle leaving enough space for each pancake to expand. Turn them when the bubbles on the top surface pop and don’t fill in. The second side takes only half the amount of time needed to cook the first.

If you are using a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan or “spider”, or a non-stick griddle, and if the batter has butter or vegetable oil in it, it probably won’t be necessary to grease the pan after the first batch. Pancakes can be stockpiled in the oven on “Low”.