This Is Martha Stewart’s Secret Ingredient for Perfect Fluffy Pancakes

Is there anything Martha Stewart can’t do? This is a genuine question. Over the course of this domestic goddess’s remarkable career, Martha has done it all, and chief among her accomplishments are the thousands of tried-and-true recipes she’s shared with us all.

If you’ve ever made one of Martha’s recipes, you know they just work. So whenever the culinary icon shares a cooking secret, I sit up and take notes!

In an Instagram post, I noticed that Martha revealed a surprising ingredient that she adds to her pancakes, and it will transform my weekend breakfast routine.

What is Martha’s secret ingredient?

In her Instagram post, Martha says she adds carbonated water. Her recipe for the perfect pancake batter is 2 cups of unbleached flour sifted with 3 tablespoons of sugar plus 1-1/4 teaspoons each of baking powder, baking soda and salt. She stirs the dry ingredients into 2 large eggs mixed with 1-3/4 cups of buttermilk, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, 3 tablespoons of melted butter and—the kicker here—a half cup of unflavored carbonated water.

It’s such a good secret ingredient! Using carbonated water in her pancake recipe is a low-effort way to trap air pockets within the batter. The end result is a much fluffier pancake.

What else makes Martha’s pancakes special?

Carbonated water isn’t Martha Stewart’s only secret for fluffy pancakes. On her website, Martha recommends not over-stirring the batter and never using your spatula to press down on your pancakes when you flip them. There are plenty of pancake mistakes to avoid if you want to be a pro pancake flipper!

And, of course, what truly sets any pancake apart from the rest are the toppings you adorn them with. In her Instagram post, Martha’s pancakes are served with fresh blueberries, raspberries, butter and maple syrup. It’s a very good thing indeed.