The Ingredient Martha Stewart Swears By For The Fluffiest Pancakes

If you've ever searched on Pinterest or simply just googled "fluffiest pancake recipe," then you've experienced the endless amounts of recipes that promise to yield "the best" fluffy pancakes. There's the whipping of egg whites method until your arm falls off, the mixing acid with baking soda method, the balloon whisk method, using a griddle over a skillet — The list could go on and on. But somewhere within your fluffy pancake search you might have stumbled upon the carbonated water method. That's the one you need to go for because the G.O.A.T., Martha Stewart, says so.

If you've never tried adding carbonated water to pancake batter, this may become your new go-to hack for the fluffiest stack. What essentially makes a fluffy pancake regardless of what method you use, is the ability to trap air pockets into the batter. And, since carbonated water is simply still water with air infused into it, it's a quick and effortless way to create an airy batter. In fact, for these reasons your favorite diner pancakes are probably made using carbonated water. Martha Stewart took to her Instagram to share how she does fluffy pancakes with carbonated water, posting a photo of a beautiful, yet hefty stack of blueberry pancakes that looked like they were from a diner. Luckily, they're simple enough for you to make at home.

Stewart's recipe isn't very different from the standard pancake recipe you'd come across on the internet or in a cookbook, and features all the usual suspects: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, buttermilk, good quality vanilla extract, butter, and of course, ½ cup of unflavored carbonated water. Stewart then mixes the dry ingredients in one bowl, followed by the wet ingredients in another bowl. Once combined (Be careful not to overmix), ladle large dollops onto a buttered griddle, flipping the cakes once you see air bubbles appear on the surface. It's optional — but highly recommended — to add blueberries to the batter as Stewart did.

While a griddle is great, using a skillet or frying pan will get the job done too, as long as your pan has been prepped with butter or oil to prevent sticking. Lastly, even though Stewart used carbonated water as an additional ingredient in her recipe, it can actually be used as a one-to-one substitute for still water in any pancake recipe that calls for it, even boxed pancake mix. You will never find yourself searching for another fluffy flapjack hack again!