Absurdly Optimized Pancakes
Dev tools
recipe generator
SHOW HN2026
340points
137comments
#107of 4,366 in 2026
Top 3%of 2026 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
24 positive, 27 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 23 critical, out of 77 comments about the project. Thread score +0.06.
Idea: 12 for, 2 againstDocs: 2 for, 9 againstExecution: 0 for, 7 againstDesign: 1 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Parametric approach is fun and novel
From 3 comments
Yes! The world needs more Parametric-driven recipes. This is fantastic. Love it.
sastra on HNThis is awesome, chefsteps should hire you to do their parametric recipes.
mrmincent on HNAwesome work. I'm really interested in the parametric-driven recipe card. I wanted to do something like this for bread recipes where you can tweak the hydration / salt levels to…
chrysoprace on HN
Detailed, thorough research-style writing
From 2 comments
Actually, the whole website is fire. There are articles on the same level on how to select T-shirts and pants. This is the second time I see a reviewer online doing the thing…
gettingoverit on HNPerhaps you could add a classic Swedish take on pancakes/crepes - whisk a moderate numbers of eggs with milk (4 eggs for every litre of milk is a good starting point, but dealers…
my_throwaway23 on HN
Objections
Articles appear LLM-generated with unreliable citations
From 3 comments
I want to like this but it reads like Claude output, how much scrutiny did this get for accuracy?
hedgehog on HN> it reads like Claude output Yep. From the site's about page: > This site is produced with substantial help from large language models: they assist with the literature search,…
jamessb on HNAddendum: > "Cast iron and carbon steel have nearly identical thermal conductivity (~52 W/m·K), which surprises most people." is unsourced. And the precise "~52" is quite…
raphman on HN
Photos show overcooked or burnt pancakes
From 3 comments
The picture provided doesn't inspire much confidence in their ability to make pancakes, especially after "25" years. They are burnt, sad-looking pancakes.
alhadrad on HNThe first picture is of overcooked pancakes. Hard to trust the rest :)
chrisra on HNThat's serious commitment for sure, but - I don't know, the image makes it seems like he low-key burned his pancakes 8-\
einpoklum on HN
Requests
Dairy-free and gluten-free options
From 3 comments
Wow. I really like this, but I want it to support non-dairy options.
jtbayly on HNNeat. Now do it for gluten free flour[1] :) this is the go-to recipe in my home. You can sub in GF flour (Bob's 1:1) and they're consistently excellent.…
aaronbrethorst on HNThis is incredible. I wish it had a dairy free option!
pants2 on HN
Crispness and fluffiness sliders
From 2 comments
Well I have a new favorite website. I don’t know the last time that I read something that was so thoroughly and multidimensionally my shit. Not actually measuring crispness when…
sohex on HNI agree, this seems like a lot of really excellent work from someone with a completely different pancake baseline than I have. The word 'crispy', in my world, has no business…
stonogo on HN
Questions
How accurate are the sources and was the content checked?
From 2 comments
I want to like this but it reads like Claude output, how much scrutiny did this get for accuracy?
hedgehog on HN> it reads like Claude output Yep. From the site's about page: > This site is produced with substantial help from large language models: they assist with the literature search,…
jamessb on HN
Alternatives named
Kenji's light and fluffy pancakes recipe
From 1 comment
here's kenji's recipe (footnote 64 in the article, in case you missed it lol): https://www.seriouseats.com/light-and-fluffy-pancakes-recipe
elchief on HN
Pancakebot
From 1 comment
Nice... Would be interesting to connect this to pancakebot.com
paulorlando on HN