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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Getting closer to getting it right - PANCAKES

There are very few pancakes I have met that I haven't immediately fallen for. I am talking about that annoying in public swooning with a mouth full of far too much food, eyes rolling back in ones head and the inevitable over-consumption and desire to loosen a belt. While my love is great, I feel strongly about pancakes. Buttermilk trumps all, and chocolate chips have no place. Fruit in pancakes really only works when its wild blueberries that are in the batter, not sprinkled onto a flapjack before flipping - inevitably some of them burn and make part of the delicious stack taste bitter. I want mine to be served to me immediately, I desire the first few moments were the outside is a little crisp, before the steam gets to them and makes them flaccid. A small amount of butter and real maple syrup is all that is really necessary, though I cannot resist eating one or two while the others cook; all under the guise of making sure they are good for others, of course.

I do my best not to use this space to bitch about why there aren't more/better/cheaper/easier gluten-free substitute foods out there, or to complain about bad products, which is why I haven't said much about pancakes. Up until now, my attempts have ended in horrible disasters. One tasted like cardboard, others had a rice crunchy and a few more firmed up and were more frisbee than breakfast. I started my quest free-styling, not measuring, just assuming I knew what I was doing. I did not. Then I attempted several recipes, from books and whatnot, but they always had a slightly off flavor. The last batch tasted good, but made me feel ill; I believe my tapioca days are numbered. So I opted to switch things up again, using more corn and potato starches to lighten and balance the rice and some millet for color and a little flavor. The results were good enough to serve to guests!

Slightly Vanilla Pancakes

1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup milk (I used almond milk, but go for what you like)
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine dry ingredients and stir together.
2. Add in the wet and whisk until well blended. The batter should be a little thick.
3. Pour onto a hot griddle.
4. Flip only when the bubbles start setting on the edge of the pancake.
5. ENJOY

Next up - buttermilk. Do you have any solid buttermilk pancake recipes?

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