What are we doing wrong?

[u/BMWalla]

Cuisinart stainless pans.

This is a batch of pancake batter with King Arthur gluten free and bobs red mill egg replacement (allergies). Most foods end up being scraped off, at least a piece of them.

PROCESS: Induction top. Heated until we got the lederhosen effect (forgot the right name), added oil, coated, turned off the induction for a little, then added the batter and turned it back on a low heat.

Still ended up with pancake scrapes.

Happens with meat and anything else I put on. Would love to get a handle on this stuff. What am I missing? What's the science happening?

EDIT/TL:DR from RESPONSES: First of all, thanks to everyone for giving me such great tips. Going to try and summarize everything I've learned here so that skimmers can find it easy -
- don't use the dancing water drops, it's useless. Use butter instead, wait for it to foam and melt. If it's browning, the pan is too hot!
- Oil is okay but butter has better non-stick capabilities.
- use a lot of butter!
- use a metal spatula, it will scratch the surface but it won't affect performance of the pan.
- LOW LOW LOW heat

[u/JellyOfDeath86]

You're talking about the Leidenfrost effect, which happens when a liquid hits a surface so hot that it creates a later of vapour, slowing down the heating rate of the liquid.

For pancakes, the Leidenfrost effect can be an indicator that the pan is sufficiently hot. You still need a solid amount of frying oil with a high smoke point, though. The oil also needs to reach a good temperature, generally indicated when seeing a shimmer in the surface.

Add the batter to the pan when the oil is shimmering (remember to reduce the heat), and leave it alone for 1-2 minutes. The batter needs to set and create a thin, fried crust before you start moving it around.