Gluten Free Chia Pancakes with blueberries (or not!)

Gluten Free
Chia Pancakes
with Berries (or not!)

Egg pan, skillet that has a smooth surface or stainless steel finish

Large, medium and small bowls

1 Cup White Rice flour

1/3 Cup Sorghum flour

2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons Tapioca flour

½ Cup Coconut flour

2 Tablespoons Black Chia Seeds (Trader Joe’s)

¼ teaspoon xanthan gum

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon each of the following spices, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom

Mix all these dry ingredients with a wooden spoon in large mixing bowl and set aside.

…next…

2 room temperature whole eggs, separate yolks from egg whites

In small mixing bowl add 2 yolks and place the 2 egg whites into the medium mixing bowl set aside.

Add to the small mixing bowl with the 2 yolks the following:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Cup 2% Lactaid milk (whole milk, almond milk, coconut milk may be substituted)

3 Tablespoons maple syrup

3 Tablespoons coconut butter, melted

Mix well with hand whip or mixer, and set aside.

Grab your medium bowl that has the 2 egg whites, beat with electric mixer with wire whips till the whites are stiff and firm. If you use hand whip, you can work in a workout for your arms. Set aside.

Now the assembly.

Begin with using your wire whip beaters and electric mixer on slow.

Pour the wet ingredients from your small bowl into your large dry ingredients bowl, working slowly and mix. Turn off mixer.

With a spatula, fold in large strokes, the medium mixing bowl of beaten firm egg whites into this larger bowl of mixture.  Folding helps keep the air in the whites while all the time making certain all is folded in and blended.

Dough will be stiff, very stiff. Set aside. 

 You are now ready to cook.

Now you will be using the wooden spoon and a large eating spoon as tools to form the pancakes.

Place all your other tools, measuring cups, measuring spoons, wire whip, beaters in the used small and medium mixing bowls, in the sink to soak, nesting inside each other filling with water to soak.

Like making cookies, using the wooden spoon scrape up some dough, an amount just under 2 tablespoons, using the other spoon to scrape or remove the dough to the awaiting warm and oiled pan. Make certain the pan and coconut oil are warm; hold your palm flat about three inches from the surface of the pan and count. If it is the right temperature, you will feel your hand hot at the count of 10.  Adjust your heat accordingly; you don’t want a pan too hot, just warm. If too hot, remove pan to allow cooling and start over when cooled down. You cannot, must not, hurry up pancakes.

I have an electric range, adjust accordingly if gas, use large burner, medium heat.

Place your skillet on burner, pour 2 tablespoons coconut oil (do not use olive oil, or other vegetable oil as it imparts the wrong flavor into the pancakes)

The little four mounds of dough in the pan is enough per batch to cook evenly.

Slowly a golden to brown color will show where the dough bottom rests in the oil on your pan.

With your metal spatula, gently slide under the dough, flip to check for color and continue this flipping over with each of the other mounds just once.

Now flatten each mound with your metal spatula by resting the bottom flat of your spatula on the top center of the brown pancake. Gently and with one motion, flatten. Do this once with each mound till all are flattened as in this photo. Allow to cook like this for about 2 minutes. Check your heat temperature and adjust if necessary.

 Now flip each again, it should appear as in the photo, brown and splotchy, cook for another 2 minutes.

Each batch you cook you will need to pour 1 or 2 tablespoons coconut oil in the pan before adding the dough

Repeat cooking method for each batch:

1.  Mounds

2.  Flip, then flatten

3.  second Flip

4. Oil and repeat...

 Remove from pan and stack on plate ready to accept these beautiful pancakes.

Finish all of the dough. Any left over pancakes and be saved in a plastic bag for 5 days in refrigerator. These reheat well in convection oven, toaster oven or microwave.

With your finished batch of pancakes on a plate, set aside.

 Heat is turned off.

Your pan is still very warm.

Toss in one cup of fresh berries, I use blueberries.

1 pat of sweet butter

2 tablespoons of water

Allow the still warm pan to melt and mix berries, sloshing and moving berries around or with spoon so they plump up and juices start to run.

Pour in a serving dish.

Serve pancakes with maple syrup and berries on the side.

I’ve sampled several methods of gluten free pancakes and these flours cook differently than normal wheat or gluten flours in appearance and behavior. I am certain other methods are available but for now this method has been a winner in pan cooking these delightful cakes. It is the trial and error that I discovered this working for me more consistently than those of other GF cooks using electric burners and a smooth skillet. As much as I have tried to use a cast iron, stainless steel pan and tools with smooth surfaces appear to work for me. Try and taste for yourself, but most of all experiment in styles that work for you….have fun!