In a small bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg and ¼ cup of water. Add the dry ingredients to the milk mixture and whisk until ingredients are just combined into a thin batter.
Heat a large non-stick sauté pan or griddle over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to grease the pan and allow to melt, tilting the pan to evenly spread it around the pan.
Add enough batter to the pan to form a 5-inch circle. Cook until the surface of the pancakes have a few bubbles, 1 to 2 minutes.
Flip the pancakes carefully with a spatula and cook until the underside is golden brown, an additional 2 minutes.
Remove and transfer to a serving platter. Repeat with the remaining butter and batter.