Gluten-free, Casein-free Pancakes

I have been craving chocolate chip pancakes like crazy lately, so I broke down this morning and made a batch.

Now, I will confess that this recipe is not my own. I found it on the website for Living Without Magazine (http://www.livingwithout.com/). The magazine looks great, but I haven't yet been able to find it in Toronto. Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy? I have it on my Xmas list, though, so maybe I'll get lucky that way!

Since the recipe is publicly posted, I figured it's okay to reproduce it here, since I'm giving them props for it. They call them "Favourite Pancakes". For some reason I haven't quite figured out yet, there are both eggs and xanthan gum in them; when I work on my own version, I will try to omit the eggs.

Here is their recipe:

3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour (I used potato starch)
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tblsp. baking powder
2 large eggs (they do mention you can use eggs substitutes here)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tblsp. sugar (I used a pinch of dry stevia)
1 cup milk of choice
1 tsp. oil of choice

1. Mix together flours, xanthan gum and baking powder with a whisk in a mixing bowl.

2. Add eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Add milk slowly, until batter is desired thickness. Do not over-mix or batter will become thick and stiff.

3. Heat oil in a heavy skillet or non-stick pan. When skillet is sizzling hot, pour in batter or drop by serving spoonfuls to make pancakes. Spread batter out in pan if needed. Cook until pancakes have bubbles throughout and bottoms are lightly browned. Flip with a spatula and cook briefly until done.

The pancakes turned out pretty well, I must say. They were definitely light and airy, with a lot of lift to them. The batter did get quite heavy extremely quickly. So, I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cups of rice milk to even it all out.

I added the chocolate chips to the cakes while they were cooking. This is not something I'd actually recommend, as it ended up just making a big mess in my pan. Next time, I'd just sprinkle the chips on top of the cakes when they are done. If you warm your topping, the heat of the topping and the cakes should melt them no problem.


I found these pancakes to be VERY filling! When I used to eat gluten, stuff like this never filled me up. I figure that's because I wasn't really digesting it properly. But these should keep you going for a looooong time!

To ensure they cook all the way through, it is definitely adviseble to spread them out in the pan. The batter was just thicker than normal pancake batter, so it needs some help in that department. The substitutions that I did make should not have made any real difference to the consistency of the batter. It could have been the amount of xanthan gum. I will continue to experiment with the recipe, because it is, generally speaking, a good base to start from.

These are a great substitute for "real" pancakes, and would be enjoyed by absolutely everyone at the table. Here's another bad photo of mine for your enjoyment!