Bisquick Original Pancake & Baking Mix

Bisquick was introduced by General Mills in 1931 under the Betty Crocker brand. As the company tells it, the idea came after a salesman tasted fresh biscuits on a train and learned the dining-car chef pre-mixed fat into his flour.

It contains flour, shortening, leavening agents, and salt. Because the fat is already incorporated, it differs from plain pancake mix or self-rising flour, which is why it works for biscuits and crusts as well as pancakes.

Yes, a common substitute is about 1 cup of flour with 1½ teaspoons of baking powder, a pinch of salt, and 2 to 3 tablespoons of shortening or oil cut in. It mimics the flour-plus-fat-plus-leavening formula of the 1931 original.

Bisquick became famous for biscuits, dumplings, and the "Impossible" pies of the 1970s and 1980s that self-crust in the oven. It was one of the first convenience baking mixes sold in the United States, so its recipe legacy goes far beyond pancakes.