By CAITLIN EVANS
Ina Garten's Oven-Baked Pancakes Are Actually Brilliant
As chef Ina Garten explained on Food Network’s "Barefoot Contessa: Modern Comfort Food," she avoids making pancakes one at a time using a skillet and instead uses an oven.
She told Food & Wine that the oven does the cooking for her, letting her "forget about it" and prep the rest of the meal. Her oven-baked pancake hack also has a convenience factor.
An oven offers ample space to bake far more flapjacks than a skillet or griddle does. Plus, the top and bottom heating elements of an oven cook all sides of a dish at once.
Since these pancakes need high temperatures on every side to ensure the water trapped in the batter turns to steam and makes the pancakes rise, it’s crucial to preheat the appliance.
Garten multi-tasks when making her tri-berry oven-baked pancakes. She preps the fresh berries first to help them macerate and lets the sugar work its osmosis magic while she cooks.
Plus, most items on the recipe's ingredient list are easy-to-find pantry and refrigerator staples. Garten only uses her stand mixer, oven, and other common cooking tools.