These gluten-free pancakes work with buckwheat flour, brown rice flour and various gluten-free flour mixes.

Gluten-free pancake recipe by Kirsten Chick, author of Nutrition Brought to Life

Kirsten says:

Have I told you yet how much I adore pancakes? Classic Shrove Tuesday pancakes, paper-thin crepes, fluffy scotch pancakes… I love them all. Sadly, gluten often doesn’t love me.

It’s difficult to replicate the pancakes of my childhood with gluten-free flour options, as part of their appeal was the gooeyness that only gluten can truly provide. However, buckwheat crepes are pretty much standard in France, and naturally gluten-free.

What I end up making most, however, are fluffy scotch pancakes, or drop scones as they are sometimes known. They work really well with buckwheat flour, brown rice flour and various gluten-free flour mixes. They need a thicker batter, and a pinch of bicarb to make them fluffy. I use them…

• instead of bread and crackers for houmous and other dips and spreads
• with poached eggs, mushrooms and watercress for a mouthwatering breakfast
• with berries and yoghurt or coconut cream as a breakfast or dessert
• with lemon juice, raw local honey and a few sultanas stirred into the batter for a sweet treat

To make them super digestible, make the batter the night before, cover with a cloth or paper towel and leave at room temperature overnight, and add the bicarbonate of soda and any extra ingredients just before cooking. This gives the flour a chance to ferment a little and reduce levels of phytates – adding a splash of lemon juice will help with this.

Ingredients for gluten-free pancakes

100-200g brown rice flour, buckwheat flour or a gluten-free flour mix
1-2 eggs
water, coconut milk or other plant-based milk – enough to make a thick batter
splash of lemon juice – if soaking overnight (see above)
pinch of bicarbonate of soda

Method for gluten-free pancakes

Stir the egg(s) into the flour, and then gradually whisk in the liquid until you have a thick batter.

Just before cooking, stir in a pinch of bicarbonate of soda.

Melt a little butter, ghee or coconut oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat.

Add 1tbsp batter to the pan, and watch it spread to about the size of your palm or a little smaller. You can probably fit two more into the pan if required.

When bubbles start to appear on the pancake(s), give the pan a little shake, and the pancake(s) should be able to move around the pan. They are now ready to flip over – you can use a fish slice to do this.

Cook for another couple of minutes, then serve.

Batch-cooking and/or storing the batter

As above, soaking helps make these gluten-free pancakes super digestible. You can even keep the batter in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

By storing as above, you can easily just cook a few pancakes at a time. Alternatively, these gluten-free pancakes freeze very well and you just need to pop them in a toaster or under the grill when you are ready for your next pancake treat!

 

Nutrition Brought to Life can be purchased on Amazon. But, as detailed in our review, this is such a beautiful book that we recommend you purchase an exclusive author-signed first edition.

 

Healthy gluten-free  pancake image courtesy of Lesley Burdett Photography