Home chef said:
Can I make batches of batter in advance and keep in the fridge / freeze for a length of time? Say, a week or so in the fridge?
I would suspect that the answer to your question would lie in the type of leavening that you use to make the pancake batter. One of the characteristics of good pancakes is that they are light and fluffy. Well, the light and fluffy comes from the bubbles in the batter which are suspended in the pancake to make them fluffy.
There are different types of leavening that can be used with pancakes to add the bubbles which are carbon dioxide.
You can use baking soda or baking powder to make the pancakes. Baking soda requires the addition of an acidic liquid such as sour milk, buttermilk, honey, lemon juice, molasses, etc. to start the reaction that creates carbon dioxide bubbles. Batter made with baking soda would have a very short life since the longer it sits the bubbles would begin to dissipate and the batter would go flat.
Baking powder is basically baking soda with a dry acid, such as cream of tartar, added which will begin to react and create bubbles as soon as a liquid (water) is added. This type of baking powder is known as
single acting baking powder and would have the same short life as a baking soda/buttermilk type pancake batter.
Finally, there are
double acting baking powders which include cream of tartar or some powdered acid which begins a first chemical reaction to create carbon dioxide bubbles when the liquid is added and an additional agent, S.A.S. or sodium aluminum sulfate (alum) which creates a second chemical reaction when the mixture is heated (cooked).
Most baking powders in the average U.S. grocery store are double acting. Keep in mind that half of the gas production occurs immediately when the liquid is added to the batter. The secondary reaction which occurs when heat is applied will not create pancakes as light and fluffy as fresh batter if the batter is allowed to sit and get flat before cooking.
I say experiment.