Pancake Pans

Pancakes are one of the universal foods of the world and were brought to the American colonies as early as European crepe-style delicacies. Their preparation at the hearth required flat cast-iron griddles, usually with legs and swinging bail handles for hanging, or small flat-bottomed frying pans. They were extremely popular as a colonial French, Dutch American, and English festive food.

Raised American pancakes, an offshoot, became the lighter “flapjack” in the late 1700s, leavened with yeast and later baking soda. Made with wheat flour, cornmeal, or buckwheat, they were also baked on even-cooking soapstone griddles. Earthenware batter jugs with spouts, bail handles, and tin covers for spout and top held yeast batters for overnight rising and easy pouring at breakfast time. By the later 1800s the cookstove and the gadget craze provoked the invention of hinged, multiple griddles of cast iron or tin. The batter was poured into individual circlets and flipped, one or all at a time, onto the facing open griddle plate. It is likely that the perfectly circular pancake shape was the attraction.