Not Fussy Gluten Free Pancakes
--------------------------------------------
I twittered about pancakes. People asked for the recipe. Here it is!
--------------------------------------------
Ingredients per batch:
(Double this for 2 or 3 people. I make one batch for myself. Its generous, so there are extras leftover for elevensies.)
12 Tbsp flour*
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup wet*
1 egg
--------------------------------------------
Notes:
*flour: I use whatever combination of gluten free flours I have in the freezer (yes I keep them in the freezer). My favorite mixture is 6 Tbsp blue corn flour, 2 Tbsp rice flour, 2 Tbsp tapioca starch, 2 Tbsp teff...or thereabouts. The mixture is slightly different every time. As long as I have a total of 12Tbsp, and not more than 4 Tbsp of them are tapioca. (Usual flours in my freezer: rice, brown rice, teff, tapioca, blue corn, oat, sorghum, garbanzo)
*wet: Make a mixture of, roughly, 1/2 plain yogurt and 1/2 milk. Sometimes I realize I'm out of milk, so I might use 1/2 yogurt & the rest apple juice and water. Jeff makes the yogurt around here and it is always made from whole milk. That clear liquid on top of yogurt works great by the way. I'm rarely exact with my "wet" being 3/4 cup, and it seems to always work out fine.
--------------------------------------------
Tools:
Griddle - A lot about pancakes is really forgiving, but not the cooking surface. It needs to be hot, heavy and well-seasoned! I use a cast iron, rectangular griddle that NEVER gets washed. I only use it for pancakes and just wipe down with a damp cloth when done. This griddle is so heavy that it takes 10-15 minutes to get hot enough. When I've made the same pancakes on inferior surfaces (i.e. thin aluminum pans), its been a disaster. If I'm cooking at someone's house I'll assess their pan situation before attempting pancakes. I've been known to cart my griddle with me when staying with relatives.
Hand-crank whisk - The house we moved into came full of 1940's kitchen implements. My favorite thing is the hand-crank whisk. I use this to quickly beat egg whites to foam, something that I find important in gluten free baking and is a pain to do with a regular whisk. You can also use a regular whisk, just be prepared for it to take longer. I know there are electric ones out there, but my 1940's kitchen also doesn't have any outlets...and I like to be able to make pancakes when the electricity goes out.
Giant fork - I have this ridiculous, giant fork that I use to marry the dry and the wet before cooking. I think its a salad serving fork.
--------------------------------------------
Method:
#1) Start heating your griddle on medium low (I have gas, so a lowish flame)
#2) Get 3 bowls ready. One to put flours in, a small one to separate egg, and the largest to mix everything together.
#3) Measure flours into your first bowl. Add sugar, flax and baking powder. Mix really well with your whisk.
#4) Separate the egg, putting the white into your big bowl and the yolk into the small one. Using the same whisk, beat the white to soft peaks.
#5) Measure yogurt and milk (or juice and water) in a measuring cup. Pour these wet ingredients to the bowl with the egg yolk. Mix that up with your trusty whisk. Dump the wet mixture into the frothy egg white. Give it a go with the whisk until everything looks blended (don't overdo it, you want the egg white to keep its air)
#6) Turn up the burner to a medium flame.
#7) Most delicate step! Shake your bowl of dry ingredients into your bowl of wet ingredients. Use your giant-fork (ok, or a regular one!) to very gently "introduce" the ingredients to each other. I use a kind of soft, light, folding motion. Absolutely don't overdo it (hard to explain). Better to err on the side of unmixed. The batter does tend to sort itself out when cooked. The point of this delicateness is to keep the mixture airy.
#8) Hopefully by now your griddle is hot. I can tell by how it smells, but you will probably need to experiment to get to know yours. Try cooking a single pancake first. Does it take too long? Turn up the the heat. Does it burn on one side but not get cooked in the middle? Turn down the heat. Once you think your pan is ready, use a large spoon or gravy ladle to put dollops of batter on the griddle. Wait until you see air bubbles on the top before flipping them over. I have no idea how long this takes.
#9) As you finish cooking them, put them on a plate in a warm overn. Eat the usual way, which for me is sometimes butter and maple syrup, or sometimes butter and jam, or sometimes butter, lemon juice and honey.
--------------------------------------------
Important:
If it is clear after your tester pancake that this batch is going to be a miserable failure, add another egg or two, some more milk, whisk it, let it sit for 15 minutes, and make crepes instead.
Don't get discouraged. Try again tomorrow.
I twittered about pancakes. People asked for the recipe. Here it is!
--------------------------------------------
Ingredients per batch:
(Double this for 2 or 3 people. I make one batch for myself. Its generous, so there are extras leftover for elevensies.)
12 Tbsp flour*
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup wet*
1 egg
--------------------------------------------
Notes:
*flour: I use whatever combination of gluten free flours I have in the freezer (yes I keep them in the freezer). My favorite mixture is 6 Tbsp blue corn flour, 2 Tbsp rice flour, 2 Tbsp tapioca starch, 2 Tbsp teff...or thereabouts. The mixture is slightly different every time. As long as I have a total of 12Tbsp, and not more than 4 Tbsp of them are tapioca. (Usual flours in my freezer: rice, brown rice, teff, tapioca, blue corn, oat, sorghum, garbanzo)
*wet: Make a mixture of, roughly, 1/2 plain yogurt and 1/2 milk. Sometimes I realize I'm out of milk, so I might use 1/2 yogurt & the rest apple juice and water. Jeff makes the yogurt around here and it is always made from whole milk. That clear liquid on top of yogurt works great by the way. I'm rarely exact with my "wet" being 3/4 cup, and it seems to always work out fine.
--------------------------------------------
Tools:
Griddle - A lot about pancakes is really forgiving, but not the cooking surface. It needs to be hot, heavy and well-seasoned! I use a cast iron, rectangular griddle that NEVER gets washed. I only use it for pancakes and just wipe down with a damp cloth when done. This griddle is so heavy that it takes 10-15 minutes to get hot enough. When I've made the same pancakes on inferior surfaces (i.e. thin aluminum pans), its been a disaster. If I'm cooking at someone's house I'll assess their pan situation before attempting pancakes. I've been known to cart my griddle with me when staying with relatives.
Hand-crank whisk - The house we moved into came full of 1940's kitchen implements. My favorite thing is the hand-crank whisk. I use this to quickly beat egg whites to foam, something that I find important in gluten free baking and is a pain to do with a regular whisk. You can also use a regular whisk, just be prepared for it to take longer. I know there are electric ones out there, but my 1940's kitchen also doesn't have any outlets...and I like to be able to make pancakes when the electricity goes out.
Giant fork - I have this ridiculous, giant fork that I use to marry the dry and the wet before cooking. I think its a salad serving fork.
--------------------------------------------
Method:
#1) Start heating your griddle on medium low (I have gas, so a lowish flame)
#2) Get 3 bowls ready. One to put flours in, a small one to separate egg, and the largest to mix everything together.
#3) Measure flours into your first bowl. Add sugar, flax and baking powder. Mix really well with your whisk.
#4) Separate the egg, putting the white into your big bowl and the yolk into the small one. Using the same whisk, beat the white to soft peaks.
#5) Measure yogurt and milk (or juice and water) in a measuring cup. Pour these wet ingredients to the bowl with the egg yolk. Mix that up with your trusty whisk. Dump the wet mixture into the frothy egg white. Give it a go with the whisk until everything looks blended (don't overdo it, you want the egg white to keep its air)
#6) Turn up the burner to a medium flame.
#7) Most delicate step! Shake your bowl of dry ingredients into your bowl of wet ingredients. Use your giant-fork (ok, or a regular one!) to very gently "introduce" the ingredients to each other. I use a kind of soft, light, folding motion. Absolutely don't overdo it (hard to explain). Better to err on the side of unmixed. The batter does tend to sort itself out when cooked. The point of this delicateness is to keep the mixture airy.
#8) Hopefully by now your griddle is hot. I can tell by how it smells, but you will probably need to experiment to get to know yours. Try cooking a single pancake first. Does it take too long? Turn up the the heat. Does it burn on one side but not get cooked in the middle? Turn down the heat. Once you think your pan is ready, use a large spoon or gravy ladle to put dollops of batter on the griddle. Wait until you see air bubbles on the top before flipping them over. I have no idea how long this takes.
#9) As you finish cooking them, put them on a plate in a warm overn. Eat the usual way, which for me is sometimes butter and maple syrup, or sometimes butter and jam, or sometimes butter, lemon juice and honey.
--------------------------------------------
Important:
If it is clear after your tester pancake that this batch is going to be a miserable failure, add another egg or two, some more milk, whisk it, let it sit for 15 minutes, and make crepes instead.
Don't get discouraged. Try again tomorrow.
posted by zoecello at
3:46 PM
0 Comments
