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Show HN: I Derived a Pancake

https://www.absurdlyoptimized.com/recipes/pancakes/
49•bkazez•2d ago
After 25 years of making other people's pancake recipes - always yearning for more tang, more fluff, and more predictability - I decided to derive the pancake recipe from the chemistry.

You mark checkboxes for what you have on hand (ricotta, sour cream, kefir, buttermilk, yogurt, cottage cheese, lemon, cream of tartar, etc.) and it computes the best recipe based on targets for acid, fat, salt, sugar, and CO2.

My particular favorite are the yeast-raised lemon ricotta kefir pancakes - the best I've ever had.

The math is done in a small pure-ESM library: ingredient composition to component masses and acid moles, a stoichiometry layer, and a bisection solver for the target deficits.

I'm not a chemist, so if something is off, tell me and I will fix it!

Comments

thechao•1h ago
A ten hour wait doesn't really strike me as a pancake? You should have a "it's 730am, there's four screaming girls, only two of which are related to me, the dogs are begging for scraps, and the demand for pancakes has crossed into Veblen goods territory."
airstrike•49m ago
The good thing about that scenario is no matter how the pancakes come out, you've already won
chickensong•30m ago
One size doesn't fit all. By your logic, homemade sourdough isn't bread, you should have packaged Wonder bread.

Keep a box of Krusteaz in the pantry for the kid sleepovers, prepare the night before for an adult brunch.

sastra•1h ago
Yes! The world needs more Parametric-driven recipes. This is fantastic. Love it.
fathermarz•57m ago
This is what life is about right here
moron4hire•41m ago
> the use of imprecise cup measurements rather than weights

It really does not matter. Both because variation doesn't matter and because weights vs volumes are not going to give a big enough variation to really be detectable.

chickensong•20m ago
It doesn't matter for small items like salt or baking soda, but you can get pretty different results scooping flour depending on how compressed the flour storage is, and how much the scooping packs down that flour.

There's a reason that every bakery measures by weight. If you value consistency, and recipes should be consistent, you go by weight. You can say it doesn't matter, and in some cases it might not, but the entire baking industry doesn't agree with your statement.

Finnucane•33m ago
I will do yeast-raised waffles but usually don't bother with pancakes. I usually don't have buttermilk so I mix yogurt and milk. I just eyeball it, about 1/4-1/3 yogurt makes a good consistency. While food science is fun, there's no way I'm doing that much work on a Saturday morning.
einpoklum•15m ago
That's serious commitment for sure, but - I don't know, the image makes it seems like he low-key burned his pancakes 8-\
iwassayinbourns•12m ago
I would love to see the gluten and dairy free pancake recipe incorporated into this one for additional customizability. For example, what if I’m gluten free but not dairy free? Or happen to only have soy milk on the day but I’ve got plenty of butter?
chickensong•12m ago
> My particular favorite are the yeast-raised lemon ricotta kefir pancakes - the best I've ever had.

As a lemon ricotta pancake and yeast enthusiast, I look forward to trying your recipe! Thanks for sharing!

saxonww•7m ago
You've covered dairy and acid ingredients, but I honestly have no idea what "Unrendered Berkshire pork fat" is or where I would get it. Is that bacon grease? Saltpork? Lard is common but rendered.

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