Hellbender’s Masa Pancakes
The chef Yara Herrera is clear: “I didn’t invent the idea of a masa pancake.” But she perfected the form at Hellbender restaurant in Ridgewood, Queens, where the theme of native heirloom corn runs through the tacos and tostadas on the menu. For brunch, masa gives the pancakes a sturdy crackle at the edges around a crisp top. Inside, it infuses the batter with a depth not usually found in pancakes, as does the addition of yogurt, yielding a crumb that’s at once fine and fluffy. Fresh masa, a doughy mass of ground nixtamalized corn, can be purchased from tortillerias and some Latin markets (see Tip). It’s blended into a batter that stays light using Ms. Herrera’s technique of cooking tall pancakes in tiny individual skillets. But masa harina, shelf-stable flour ground from dried masa, is more readily available and can be substituted as directed below, with the batter sizzled into the usual flatter rounds. Sean Kenniff and Genevieve Ko
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