Adventures of an American Chef on the Run: Gluten Free Rice Flour Pancakes

While I love pancakes, I don't always love the way I feel after eating them.  Anymore, I don't really love the way I feel after eating a lot of things, which is leading to changes and adjustments in my diet, which I'll be sharing with you.  Today is somewhat the beginning of that, as I search for something different for breakfast today. 

Awhile back I purchased 400 grams of rice flour for 13 pesos, less than a dollar USD to have around to try out in gluten free experiments.  This morning I got the idea to try them in pancakes and they worked surpsingly well, although they were different then I expected them to be.

What You'll Need: 

1 c flour

6 oz milk

1 egg

2 t baking powder

1.5 T butter, melted 

1 t vanilla

5 T sugar

Combine the dry stuff: flour, sugar, baking powder in a medium sized bowl, preferably one easy to pour out of.  

Add the milk, egg and vanilla and stir until smooth.  Add the melted butter and mix that too.

It should look something like this, don't be afraid to beat out any lumps as you don't have to worry about gluten with this. 

Using @modprobe's induction cooktop and cast iron griddle, set to low with butter melted. 

How big or how many is up to you. I went for small pancakes and was only able to fit 2-3 with the way this cooktop works in terms of thermal footprint.  

They cook fairly similarly to regular pancakes. The difference is in how you end up handling them when flipping as such as they just don't hold together nearly as well as regular pancakes because the fact that they lack gluten.  They're pretty light and crumbly in texture, so you've just got to take extra care when flipping and removing from the pan.  Giant pancakes are not ideal for these, whatever doesn't fit on the spatula isn't going to flip, I learned this the hard way. 

But they turned out remarkably well for a first attempt and have made me less scared of future gluten free baking adventures.  I know as things get more complex in the gluten free world the costs get higher and the ingredient lists get longer, which is pretty much why I've stayed away from gluten free baking thus far.

I felt a lot better today after having eaten these than I would off of normal pancakes and that speaks to me a little.  I even went out on the hill and did labor, weeding the garden in the direct sun without needing a break. They do not have the same flavor or texture profile but they are light and pleasant and good with maple syrup and probably lots of other toppings.

I'll make these again, I'm sure, or find something else to do with the flour and I'll share that with you too.  As things improve in life so will my budget, meaning I'll get to delve more into the more expensive but healthier options. I've had to do things with nothing bare bones thus far, and while I've done a good job of it I'm ready for a break. 

So until next time, happy cooking.  I'll be delving into at least a small batch of kombucha tonight, stay tuned for my adventures and shenanagins regarding that!

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