Fluffy Kefir Pancakes

These make an incredibly fluffy, moist and tasty  pancake with a taste similar to sourdough pancakes. Makes about nine 4  inch pancakes.

In a medium bowl mix:
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon plus one pinch salt

In a small  bowl whisk:
one egg with 2 Tablespoons of sugar until foamy.

Add 1 cup unsweetened Kefir  to the egg mixture (Kefir is an an effervescent fermented milk drink found in the yogurt aisle at many stores though I make my own at home) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter  and slowly drizzle a thin stream of that  into kefir/egg mixture, whisking constantly.

Dump wet into dry ingredients and stir with a spoon JUST until moistened .  Do NOT overmix, it will be lumpy and have bubbles in it.  Let it sit for 5 minutes.

Heat a cast iron pan with 2 teaspoons of oil until a drop of water sizzles on the surface (medium heat on my 70 year old gas stove).

Drop batter onto the griddle using a 1/4 cup measure, gently spreading the batter out a bit  when first placed on the pan.    The batter will be a lot thicker than you are used to with pancakes but it should be aerated with lots of bubbles when you spoon it onto the pan. Start by cooking just 2 or 3 so you can get an idea of the cook time.

When bubbles just start showing on the surface, flip pancakes and cook on the other side for about a minute or so more..  This may be just a bit earlier than you are used to for pancakes but helps maintain the moist fluffy texture..  Adjust the heat as you need to keep from overcooking or undercooking, adding a little bit of additional oil to the pan between batches.