Relatively Healthy Pancakes

Relatively Healthy Pancakes

Various members of our family have started needing special diets -- no wheat, low cholesterol, lactose-free, etc. However, pancakes were always a Sunday morning tradition. My recipes have evolved -- from Aunt Jemima (with a dash of wheat germ thrown in) through "from scratch". This is my present version, though perhaps it would benefit from an egg substitute. Fortunately, none of us are on a strict sugar-free diet, so we can still cover them with maple syrup (though obviously fruit toppings are even better.) We now use 10% Maple Rich, which is somewhat more affordable. We're also using Smart Balance margarine (dairy free) both to fry with and to top.



New, brown rice (gluten-free) version:

Thoroughly mix first 6 dry ingredients, then add the rest. Brown rice flour appears to require more liquids, but is easy to saturate. Add liquid slowly. Fry on non-stick griddle, using 1 pat butter/margarine prior to first batch. The cornstarch really is necessary to hold the rice flour together. Finally, these don't form air bubbles like normal pancakes to tell when they are ready to flip. I look for the bottom edges to start to pull away from the pan.

Makes about 14 5-inch diameter pancakes.

Old spelt version:

Spelt flour seems to "wet" faster than wheat, so I use a bit more than a normal wheat-based recipe. However it also seems denser. Don't expect these pancakes to be "light-and-fluffy"! Also, spelt has a "green" taste that I don't particularly like.