Lazy Weekend Pancakes

Note: This is an excerpt from Dad, What’s for Dinner?: Lifesaving Recipes to Avoid Meltdowns, Have Fun in the Kitchen, and Keep Your Kids Well Fed by chef David Nayfeld.

No other meal in the day is as transformed by the school calendar as breakfast. During the academic year, weekday breakfasts fall into the “Hurry up and eat, so we can get out the door” camp. Breakfast is you get what you get. If it’s a piece of fruit and a piece of toast on the way out the door, consider yourself lucky. My mother would warm six mozzarella sticks in the toaster oven. I ate that every morning for two years.

But on weekends —­ and during breaks —­ breakfast can be a luxurious and leisurely way to start a day. In fact, because it is normally so rushed, I find those laid-­back breakfasts to be the most joyful meal in the house. And, because so much of breakfast is baking-­centric, it’s a great opportunity to bond with your kid. Or, let them relax and sleep in while you make it. It doesn’t matter. That’s the great part about the weekend.

How to Make Lazy Weekend Pancakes

For anyone who has not gone through the exercise of making a true pancake from scratch, know there are few things more satisfying. The level of primal urge satisfaction is akin to being a hunter, killing your own venison and bringing it back to the table. Actually, making pancakes from scratch isn’t that hard. The secret — and the science experiment — is that the vinegar reacts with the baking soda to form a foamy texture. The most time-­consuming part of this recipe is the measuring out of ingredients — but what might be tedious for you is fun for your kids, so get them involved.

And a word about texture: Some people like soft, singularly textured pancakes. I do not. By cooking them at a higher heat, you achieve a crisp crust that yields to a tender fluffy interior. Nothing could be better.

• Yield: 4 or 5 pancakes
• Time: 30 to 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (320g) whole wheat flour (stone-milled, if available)
• 1/4 cup (50g) raw sugar
• 2 teaspoons (6g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (5g) baking soda
• 1 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt
• 2 large eggs (60g each), separated
• 1.5 cups (350g) buttermilk
• 1 cup (245g) whole milk
• 2 tablespoons (30g) distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons (55g) butter, melted and cooled

To Finish

• 4 tablespoons (55g) unsalted butter, plus more for serving
• Maple syrup, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a second bowl, with an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they create soft peaks.
3. In a third bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, milk, vinegar, vanilla, and 4 tablespoons melted butter.
4. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, stirring just until combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in the egg whites.
5. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a stainless steel skillet over high heat. Once melted, reduce the heat to medium and scoop 1/2-cup (120ml) portions of batter into the hot pan. Cook until the edges become crispy and bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until the edges are crispy and the center is firm. Repeat with the rest of the batter.
6. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

From Dad, What’s for Dinner? © 2025 by David Nayfeld. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Photos by Eric Wolfinger