Behold. These are the ones. The pancakes. The IHOP/Waffle House/Jersey Hometown Diner (or whatever happens to be your definition of) oh-my-god delicious pancakes.
So far, the pancakes I have been making have not been worth really talking about on here, except the flourless banana pancakes, which taste more like bananas foster, than anything else. And I posted them for novelty sake. Some like them, some do not. We do. But still, they are not actual flour pancakes.
So, out of some frustration with being too broke to go to the store for the Bob’s Red Mill Pancake Mix (which is what I usually use), I decided to adapt my gluten free flour mix to a recipe in my Fannie Farmer cookbook. I adapted it even further to use oil to save on the cost. And these were born.
Surprisingly spectacular.
Here’s what the wheat eater in my household had to say about them: “Wow, I cannot tell at all that these are gluten free. And they have that nice eggy, fluffy, tender texture, like the pancakes you would get at a really good diner.”
WIN!
So, here they are
Make this GF Flour Mix: 6 cups brown rice flour, 2 and 2/3 cup potato starch, 2/3 cup tapioca flour, 2/3 cup sweet rice flour. Mix all together and put in a large ziplock bag. (If you can’t find sweet rice flour, you can substitute it with more tapioca starch. If you do that, I cannot guarantee this recipe).
For the Pancakes:
Use 2 cups of the GF Flour Mix for this recipe and store the rest for other baking recipes.
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of xanthan gum
4 teaspoons of baking powder
4 Tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
Mix the dry ingredients well with a whisk.
In another bowl add:
2 eggs
4 Tablespoons of Canola or Vegetable Oil
2 cups of unsweetened almond or unsweetened hemp milk (Note: these milks have a creamier texture and are great for baking. I’m not sure how rice milk would come out. In my opinion, rice milk is so watery that there is no difference in baking with rice milk vs. water. So, I just use water instead of wasting my rice milk if all that I have on hand is rice milk. My recipes have come out fine that way).
Whisk the wet ingredients together. Then mix the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon. Add more almond or hemp milk (or water) if the mixture is too dense. It should be very pour able, like cake batter.
Then, make the pancakes how you would normally make them. If you are just learning how to make pancakes, see instructions below. Serve with a pat of Earth Balance spread and your favorite maple syrup (make sure it is free of caramel color. Caramel color in pancake syrup doesn’t seem to bother my son. But if it bothers you, use a mixture of light corn syrup and molasses to make an inexpensive syrup).
How to Make Pancakes:
Set your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. (For keeping cooked pancakes warm).
Heat a large non-skillet skillet over medium high heat and, depending on the size pancakes you like, scoop 1/4 or 1/2 cup fulls of batter into the pan. Cook about 5-7 minutes or until dry looking around edges and you see bubbles throughout the pancakes and then flip over. Cook another 5-7 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.
Transfer pancakes to a plate in the the warm oven while you are making the 2nd and 3rd batch.
For the pancakes you have not eaten, put them in a large zip lock bag and put them in your freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat 1-2 pancakes as you need them.
Reheating instructions for microwaves:
Put 2 pancakes on an oven safe plate and cover with an almost sopping wet paper towel (this steams the pancakes and keeps them from drying out). Cook on high for 1-2 minutes until heated through.
Reheating instructions for people like me, who have broken microwaves and can’t afford another one:
Set your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Put your desired number of pancakes on a cookie sheet. Cover with about 2-3 sopping wet paper towels to keep them from drying out. Heat for about 5 minutes or until heated through.
Safe Eats 