Here’s how to make pancakes in Sheffield student housing WITHOUT burning the kitchen down

Being a student doesn’t mean that we have to give up our baking hobbies and replace them with pre-made meals and snacks. It’s still possible to create our own delicacies from scratch and pancake day is the best way to get back into the swing of things.

However, your housemates aren’t going to favour you burning their belongings down to dust so here’s how to create an insta-worthy pancake stack without burning your kitchen down, and everything in between…

1. Grease the pan

The most immediate way to prevent burning your pancakes and setting your kitchen alight is by making sure that your bake doesn’t stick to the pan and burn. That’s where the problem begins. This can easily be solved if you have a non-stick pan but, as Uni students, we don’t always have them to hand, so greasing the pan is the alternative option.

For this, you can use oil, butter or cooking spray but you must ensure that you cover the whole of the bottom of the pan and be generous! Leaving any areas uncovered means that you run the risk of letting the batter stick and burn, which is one step closer to burning the kitchen down so be generous with the grease.

2. Have a staring contest with the pancake

Nobody’s too old for a staring contest but the difference is, as children, the game was for fun but now, the game is in fact an act of survival. You must keep your eyes on the pancake, batter cooks a lot quicker than you think it will and within no time it’ll be asking to be flipped over before it burns.

Deciding to leave your delicacy on the hob while you leave the room to go and play on your console, sit on the sofa scrolling aimlessly on TikTok or even while you stand with your back to it as you talk to your housemate is a big no-go.

With it taking around two to three minutes to cook each side, you don’t have time to not be watching it. If it helps, imagine that the pancake is your celebrity crush, it sounds cringey but listen, you need to not take your eyes off of that cake in order to prevent any mishaps.

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3. Recruit a flatmate

Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a helping hand when you’re trying to accomplish something so, while making the pancakes, it may be a good idea to recruit your favoured flatmate.

This can be for various reasons: They can watch over them while you leave the room, advise you on when to flip the pancake or, if they are the chef of the flat, they can be your sous chef and take the reins in creating the perfect pancake stack without burning the kitchen down, if you’re struggling.

Also, having them by your side at the stove can also calm your nerves if you’re not used to making your own pancakes and after all, two pairs of eyes are better than one so if anything begins to go sideways, one of you will catch it before anything bad happens.

4. Adjust the heat

Last but definitely not least is ensuring you adjust the pans heat. Make sure that you are cooking the pancakes of a medium-low heat all the way through as cranking the heat up high can cause instant burning which, when left for too long, will cause them to burn and set alight.

Don’t be tempted to try and cook them quicker on that higher heat, as they say: “Slow and steady wins the race.”

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