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Does this sound familiar? It is 6:30 on a Monday morning and the kids are having trouble getting up. The bus is scheduled to leave at 7:00 and you are running behind. The kids stumble into the kitchen and you try to convince them to have a quick bowl of cereal but they refuse. Instead they want eggs and bacon or pancakes. They say, “Mom, can’t you just whip up some pancakes, real quick?” I try and steer them away from eggs and bacon but I usually can accommodate the pancake request. “Pancakes in a minute or less? No problem! “The key here is prior planning.
Usually on the weekend we will have a nice family breakfast consisting of pancakes or waffles, fresh fruit, gf sausage or bacon and orange juice. When I make the pancakes or waffles I always double the batch so I have leftovers. Then once they have cooled, I stack them between sheets of wax paper and place them in a zip lock bag – seal the bag and pop in the freezer. Then on any given weekday, if pancakes or waffles is the breakfast request, I simply pull out my bag of frozen pancakes, take 1 or 2 out and pop in the microwave (or toaster for waffles). I put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds, remove and turn them over, dot them with butter and drizzle syrup over the top, microwave for another 30-40 seconds…and viola!...perfect pancakes! It is a great simple solution to the weekday breakfast rush.
Of course there are all sorts of different types of pancakes. There are buttermilk pancakes, cottage cheese pancakes, oatmeal pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and the list goes on. But it’s always nice to have a basic, yummy pancake recipe that doesn’t require a bunch of ingredients that you may not typically have on hand. It’s taken awhile, but I finally have developed a recipe that I’m happy with that only requires the basics: milk, eggs, gf flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and butter.
The problem I’ve had in the past with recipes using only the above ingredients is that the pancakes turn out flat instead of the fluffy pancake I was looking for. After many failures and so-so results, I believe I’ve finally figured out the key…the egg whites! To give your pancakes the extra loft they should have, you need to fold in egg whites to your batter and then you will end up with perfect pancakes.
In this month’s class, I wanted to share this recipe with you, so you can not only have great pancakes on the weekends but also give your kids fabulous, quick pancakes throughout the week. So let’s get started:
Basic Pancake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2-1/2 cups gf flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2-1/2 cups milk
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 2 Tablespoons or more unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
*We used the Gluten Free Pantry’s Country French Bread flour mix for the gf flour in this recipe. (www.glutenfree.com)
Step 1:
In a large bowl, whisk the gf flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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Step 2:
In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, egg yolks and melted butter.
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Step 3:
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating until egg whites are stiff but not dry.
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Step 4:
Pour the wet ingredients (milk, egg yolks and butter) into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
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Step 5:
Add about ½ of the egg whites to the batter and stir until the batter is lightened. Fold in the remaining egg whites to the batter.
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Step 6:
Melt about 2 teaspoons of unsalted butter in a non-stick griddle or large skillet over medium heat. I always start off with a test pancake at this point. Pour about ¼ cup of the batter in the center of the pan and let cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the pancake and let cook for about 2 minutes. I then push the pancake all over the pan to “introduce the pancake to the pan” – but really this is “seasoning” the pan. I always have the best successes with my pancakes if I do this step first.
Discard the test pancake. Then, using a 1/3 cup measure drop the batter on the grill. Cook the pancakes until the bottoms are brown, about 3 minutes, then flip and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer to plates to eat right away or a jelly roll pan in a warm oven (so everyone can eat at the same time).
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Step 7:
Serve pancakes with butter and warm syrup, or your favorite pancake topping.
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As I said, this is a basic pancake recipe. We have many other great pancake recipes on Glutenfreeda.com if you want to branch out and try some different types of pancakes. Below you will find a list of several pancake recipes your whole family will enjoy:
Apple Pancakes
Banana Pancakes with Coconut Syrup
Banana Pecan Pancakes
Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Buttermilk Pancakes
Chocolate Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup
Citrus Pancakes
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Dollar Pancakes
Oatmeal Cranberry Pancakes
Polenta Berry Pancakes
Ricotta Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries
Strawberry Pancakes
Enjoy!
- Chef Jessica
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