Where Can A Girl Find A Good Pancake?

Kevin and I love pancakes.  At least once a week, he loves to whip up a batch.  Since I received my dairy, egg and wheat allergy diagnosis, its’ just not that simple.  We now have to mix up two separate batches, cooking them in two different skillets.  Why?  Because a gluten free pancake just doesn’t taste as good as a regular wheat flour pancake.

Over the years, I’ve battled with a great many pancake recipes and mixes, to no avail.  I just can’t find any that will give us a light, fluffy pancake. I’d love to find a recipe or mix that both of us would enjoy, eliminating the need for making up 2 separate batches.

So far, the closest I’ve come to a pretty good pancake mix was while staying with friends.  We picked up a package of “Full Circle Gluten Free Waffle and Pancake Mix” at Neiman’s Family Market in Tawas City.  The next morning we cooked up the whole package and everyone ate them up!  Trouble is, I haven’t found the Full Circle brand around here, so I keep searching for the elusive, good, gluten free pancake. 

In my quest, I recently picked up two different mixes and decided to do a head to head comparison.  One was an Organic Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Mix with a recipe for pancakes on the back. (I never found a company name. If anyone can tell me what brand this is, I’d appreciate it.)  The other was Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix.  Both recipes were essentially the same:  Milk/Milk Alternative, Egg/Egg Replacer and Oil.  Neither mentioned adding vanilla, but as I’ve said before, when cooking/baking something gluten free; vanilla usually helps (a lot).  I also added blueberries to both.

The baking mix was ground super fine.  As I poured the mix into the measuring cup, I was coated in a cloud of fine baking mix powder.  Same thing happened as I added the ingredients and stirred them up. 

The Bob’s mix was the familiar consistency of a wheat based pancake mix.

Time to cook:  I used the same cooking temperature for both. I was curious if they would cook differently depending on the pan I used.  So, I did one of each pancake, first in a non-stick skillet and then one of each in a cast iron pan.

The baking mix only said to cook the pancakes till the edges were golden brown.  The Bob’s said to cook 3-4 min. on first side, 2-3 min. on the flip side.  I used Bob’s instructions for both. Don’t skimp on the cooking time!  Even after cooking both for the 6 min., they were still doughy inside.  I even tried cooking one of each with a cover on the pan. (I have to say right now; that never before have I felt the need to cook a pancake with a cover on the skillet.)  Even after cooking each of them covered, I still had doughy insides. 

As you can see by the pictures, these pancakes are not exactly pretty.  They are not a lovely golden brown, nor are they fluffy.  While the consistency of the two mixes are very different from each other, in the end, the pancakes look the same. 

Taste?  Kevin and I both agreed, Bob’s won hands down.  Good enough for Kevin to give up his pancake mix?   No, not gonna happen.  But I ate them!

So ends the great Halfman Pancake Taste Off – until another day.

Thanks for stopping.

Happy New Year!

Brenda

Disclaimer:                                 

These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!