For something as simple as a stack of pancakes, there’s an almost endless array of hot tips on how to elevate, and not ruin, them. There are crucial mistakes that are ruining your pancakes, as well as ways to ensure the fluffiest, airiest results. Of course, there are also all sorts of unexpected upgrades for delicious pancakes, like add-ins and homemade sauces.
But for the fluffiest pancakes, one trick you probably haven’t yet thought to try is the use of club soda as your pancake batter liquid for extra height and lightness. It sounds unexpected, but baking with the power of carbonated bubbles is an older trick than you might think, born out of necessity during the Great Depression and when war rations limited accessibility to dry goods. The unorthodox use of the soda was popularized in the mid century, when 7-Up cakes and soda-braised meats were a common occurrence in cookbooks of the time.
It turns out, adding club soda to your pancake batter won’t even be detectable, and certainly won’t add sickly sweet soda flavor. It’ll just lend some texture and height to your cakes, as the soda’s carbonation works to inject bubbles and therefore space and airiness to the batter, creating lofty, well-risen cakes as they brown up in the pan. It’s worth keeping a bottle on hand not just for sipping or cocktails, but doing a bit of magic with your breakfast — you can even use club soda to amp up fried dishes.
Club soda adds bubbles without altering flavor
To try this club soda addition during your next weekend morning, simply use a dash of it instead of water or milk (or whatever liquid you’d typically use). Then, make your cakes as you usually would, either from a boxed mix or using your favorite basic buttermilk pancake recipe.
You won’t substitute anything else — and you’ll still use other called-for leavening agents like baking soda or powder as usual. Just add around ¾ cup of the club soda once you’ve mixed your dry ingredients, or however much is needed to make the batter the perfect pourable but not-runny consistency. Then, bake as you normally would. Expect bubbles, and perfectly golden-brown, risen restaurant-worthy pancakes!
The addition of soda to baked goods is usually a bit of a twofer. Sodas add rising power due to the carbonation, which mimics the mechanism of traditional leavening agents like baking soda and powder, but in some cases it can add flavor, too. Club soda is notably not sweetened, so it won’t change pancakes’ flavor at all. However, other bubbly sodas do lend flavor — specifically sweetness — to the mix, and others can bring spice, color, caramelization, and effervescence to recipes. Just don’t mix club soda up with tonic water or sparkling water; they may all be in the same section of the drink aisle, but they are definitely not all interchangeable in taste or ingredients.
