Buttermilk Pancakes

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and fine salt together in a large bowl.

Whisk the eggs, buttermilk and the melted butter for the batter together in a jug.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry all at once.

Fold it together with about ten strokes of a spatula, until the flour is damp and the batter is still visibly lumpy. Lumps are correct here — a batter beaten smooth has developed its gluten, and it bakes out into flat rubbery discs rather than tall tender ones.

Rest the batter for 15 minutes, until the surface holds a few slow bubbles.

Heat a heavy frying pan or flat griddle over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes.

Wipe the pan with a little oil on kitchen paper, leaving a film rather than a pool.

Cook one small test pancake first and read the pan from it. A dark underside before any bubbles appear means the heat is too high; a pale one after two minutes means it is too low. The skillet flatbreads in this collection ask for the same reading before the first proper one goes in.

Adjust the heat and let the pan settle for a minute before the first proper batch.

Ladle in about 80ml of batter per pancake, leaving room between them.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles rise through the surface, open, and stay open instead of closing over again. That is the flip signal, not the clock.

Flip each pancake once with a thin spatula.

Cook for a further 1-2 minutes, until the second side is evenly golden and the edges feel set.

Hold the cooked pancakes on a plate in a 100C/212F oven while you fry the rest.

Cook the remaining batter the same way, wiping the pan with oil between batches.

Stack the pancakes on warm plates.

Set a knob of the cold butter on top of each stack and let it melt down through the pile.

Serve with the blueberries and the maple syrup.