From My Kitchen: Free Pancakes!

When I say free pancakes, I'm not talking no cost. Sorry! I'm talking wheat-free, dairy-free, soy-free pancakes. We've tried a couple of mixes and gluten-free Bisquik, but nothing has really bowled us over, so I got busy for Fat Tuesday and whipped up THREE batches of homemade pancakes.

We measured. We poured. We cooked. We tasted. We compared. And we found two winners. Because wouldn't you know it, not everyone liked the same pancake.

I made an oatmeal pancake with oatmeal flour and lots of cinnamon that was a hit with the boys. Amelia ate an entire one before saying she didn't really like it. Hmmmm. I think she liked it just fine. I started with this recipe for Flourless Oatmeal Pancakes from Lauren's Blog.

Since Lauren grinds her oatmeal into flour and I already had oat flour on hand I just used that. This recipe includes yogurt, so I used vanilla So Delicious coconut yogurt and omitted the vanilla extract. Lauren suggests adding pumpkin, banana or any fruit puree, which I didn't do, but I think the pumpkin version sounds delish! My version is included below.

Amelia's favorite was "Dad's Best Pancakes (Made Gluten Free)" from Ginger Lemon Girl. And Jeff and I agreed. Personally, I think Dad's Best with cinnamon in them would rock. Maybe next time. You can follow the link to the original recipe above, but I made a couple small changes so I've included my version below. (Also, because this blog is becoming my recipe box and I want to be sure I have this recipe included!)

I also tried Buttermilk Pancakes with Coconut Flour from Bob's Red Mill. They did cook up nice and fluffy, as promised, but I'm not sure that the substitute buttermilk (So Delicious coconut milk plus 1 tablespoon of vinegar) really did the trick. And they were a touch gummy, which is a problem I'm finding with things made from rice flour. I would consider trying this again with sorghum or millet flour in place of the rice flour, and rice milk plus vinegar as a substitute for the buttermilk.

Since we had two winners, I'm sharing both recipes with you.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Cinnamon
(Free of  wheat, dairy, and soy)
1 cup of oat flour or ground oatmeal (pulse rolled oats in food processor or blender until finely ground)

½ tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 egg white

½ cup of vanilla So Delicious coconut yogurt (or any plain or vanilla yogurt, if you're not dairy free)

½ tsp of vanilla (I omitted this since I used vanilla yogurt)

1 tsp of cinnamon

* Optional (1/3 cup of Pumpkin Puree or 1 small banana smashed or add any fruit at the end)

Stir ingredients together until just blended. Spray griddle or pan and cook pancakes until top bubbles and edges are dry. Flip and cook until nicely browned.

The result is a pancake that definitely tastes a lot like a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon. They were not too thin, and had a nice texture.

This next recipe, though was a real winner. They were thin, but delicious with no hint of gumminess or grittiness. A real home run!

Dad's Best Pancakes (Made Gluten Free)
Adapted from a recipe by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
(Free of gluten, dairy, and soy)

Dry Ingredients
3/4 cup sorghum flour (the original recipe calls for brown rice flour)
1/2 cup arrowroot starch (the original recipe calls for tapioca starch)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
1 egg
1 cup non-dairy milk (I used So Delicious vanilla coconut milk. I you use plain milk, add a teaspoon of vanilla)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds + 2 tablespoon boiling hot water (Mix and set aside for 5 minutes 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 (if using), 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 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet. 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.

This recipe made very thin pancakes, but they tasted the most like the pancakes we're used to. I did omit the 3 tablespoons of rolled oats, which Carrie says add great texture. I was afraid my kids wouldn't like the "lumps." I did like that I was able to boost the nutritional value a bit with sorghum flour and flax. The next time I make the oatmeal pancakes, I'll probably use flax in place of one of the eggs.

I have a recipe for buckwheat pancakes that I'm planning to try, too. Buckwheat is not gluten free, but it is wheat free, in spite of its name. (Buckwheat is actually a grass, like wild rice, not a grain.)

In the meantime, enjoy either one of these recipes. We sure did!

© Trippin' Mama 2012