I originally shared this post for basic gluten free pancakes on Tuesday February 23, 2010. I'm proud to say this has been one of the most popular & enjoyed recipes on Gingerlemongirl! (Thanks Dad!) Today though I wanted to share a slight variation on the recipe to thicken the batter slightly without the use of gums.
Shauna over at Gluten Free Girl & The Chef has recently been experimenting with recipes that use no xanthan gum or guar gum. Here is her recent recipe for gluten free whole grain gum-free muffins! I plan on making these this week. In 2008 and 2009 I also experimented with using little or no gums and I agree with Shauna, I think for most gluten free recipes you don't need them. I plan on creating more recipes this year without xanthan or guar gums. The biggest challenge in not using xanthan gum or guar gum is creating good tasting gluten free yeast breads, but we'll worry about that another day.
For now though... let's talk pancakes. These pancakes are great as is... but a question I've received often is how to make the batter a bit more thick. It's a thin batter because there is no xanthan gum or gluten to thicken it up. However, you can easily make this batter a bit more thick (and make pancakes just as delicious) by adding ground flax seeds that have been mixed with boiling, hot water to create a gel. This will thicken your batter -- not as much as xanthan gum would -- but enough to make a thicker batter that works great to get pancakes that are more round and have a better shape.
So if you tried these pancakes in the past, but wanted a thicker batter, here you go. The same recipe with a single addition of the ground flax seeds mixture. Please give these delicious & easy gluten free pancakes a try and tell me what you think!
Dad's Best Pancakes (Made Gluten Free)
-Or- Basic Gluten Free Pancakes
Adapted by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
(Free of gluten, casien, and soy)
(Printer-friendly recipe)
Dry Ingredients
3/4 cup brown rice flour -or- millet flour -or- sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
3 tablespoons gluten free rolled oats -- really adds some great thickness to the batter
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
1 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds + 2 tbsp. boiling hot water = mix & set aside for 5 min. to gel - then add to wet ingredients.
Directions:
In a medium sized bowl add all dry ingredients and whisk together thoroughly. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the vanilla, an egg, 1 cup of non-dairy milk, and the oil. Whisk wet ingredients together with dry ingredients until thoroughly mixed. You will have a very wet, but slightly thick batter that will cling to the whisk. Brush skillet or non-stick pan with olive oil or non-stick spray. Heat pan on medium high heat until it's hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle. Pour a few tablespoons - 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form on the top and pop and the edges are slightly dry. Flip and cook the opposite side for 1-2 minutes. Serve piping hot with casein free margarine or ghee and real maple syrup!
Enjoy!
Thoughtfully,
Carrie
