While growing up, like many families, there were constants within the day-to-day family routine. One of them was Sunday morning breakfast. On these mornings, generally, my dad was the cook in the kitchen. Otherwise, we were all banned from the kitchen when mom was in there. In her defense, our West Allis bungalow kitchen wasn’t large and having five extra bodies in that room made it even more compact, but I digress. The breakfast menu ranged from pancakes to French toast to bacon with eggs that were fried in the bacon grease. Us kids helped set the table which included placing a vitamin next to everyone’s plate (It was an important job!). Now that I have my own family, I’ve tried to continue with this constant in my own home. And today just happens to be Sunday so I decided to make two versions of the German pancake.
So what exactly is a German or Dutch pancake? My parents didn’t make these. At least not that I can recall. However, when my brother met his former wife, he was introduced to “Baby Dutch” and then introduced us to this buttery breakfast delight. At my wedding shower, I was given the “Baby Dutch” recipe and have made it several times. I suspected the recipes from Oma’s box were a similar version.
From my research, the Deutsch (pronounced “doych”) or German pancake is sometimes called Dutch Baby or Baby Dutch. Essentially they are the same thing and are said to have originated in Germany. The term “Dutch Baby” was coined from an American restaurant owner who misinterpreted the word Deutsch as Dutch. “Baby” was added because this pancake was served in individual pans. Of the recipes I have, the main ingredients are the same – egg, flour, milk & salt. These are whisked together, poured into a pan of melted butter and popped into a hot oven. Within 20 minutes, the edges have puffed up and the center or base is flat. It can be served with syrup, powdered sugar, jam or whatever else you’d like.
The recipe that was included in Oma’s box was given to her by a woman named Charlotte. My guess is she was a friend from church. As you can see in the photos, the front side of the card is labeled “Dutch Pancake” and the backside is labeled “German Pancake”. The only differences were one required more eggs and less flour and salt and the other replaced the milk with sour cream.
These are a breeze to make and perfect for a Sunday morning if you are pressed for time before heading to church. When I researched the history of this pancake, I discovered that America’s Test Kitchen website had some other versions that could be tried. They noted that if using a nonstick skillet, the oven temp should be set at 375 degrees because most nonstick pans are not rated for a higher temperature. I used a cast iron pan, which can withstand the higher temp, and had no issues with the pancake sticking to the pan. One final note, the version I was given at my wedding shower calls for all the ingredients to be combined in a blender. Wanting to stay true to what might have been used to combine the batter back in the day, I dug out my hand-powered beaters. They still work!
