Breakfast, brunch, or supper….pancakes are an “anytime” food! Paired with the standard eggs and bacon/sausage (turkey of course!) you’ve got an amazing meal!
Fluffy…yep! Soft…yep! Crumbly….nope! There is definitely a science to it but with the right ingredients they can be just like the original soft, fluffy and delicious buttermilk pancakes from days gone by.
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Years!!! That’s how long I’ve been trying to perfect these gluten free, dairy free pancakes. The flavor was easily attainable YEARS ago. However, it was the texture. They were eggy. Chewy. Spongy. They crumbled apart in my hands. It just wasn’t ever right.
In conversation with a “dairy-free” friend one day, she mentioned that she had been using this new ingredient in her baking recipes and the fluffiness of the baked goods was unreal. So I thought, well pancakes are baked goods and I need them to be fluffy so I’ll give it a try. I am the kind of person, though, that needed to do a ton of research first and convince myself it would work. (I don’t like to waste ingredients if I don’t have to!)
So I looked up this ingredient and researched articles and recipes that used it and my research returned nothing but positive things about the fluffiness of the baked goods. The findings were based on the fat content of this ingredient and that it was a thicker, less watery substance. Definitely a plus that this ingredient is naturally gluten, dairy and mammal free!
Complicated
There is still a step you have to make sure you add, to make this ingredient as close to the real thing as possible. So this is where it gets complicated. Any delicious, fluffy, melt in your mouth pancake has buttermilk, am I right?!? So we have to use our secret ingredient to create a “buttermilk” like consistency and flavor. It’s actually a pretty simple step. So let’s get to the “secret ingredient!”
The Secret Ingredient
I suppose one could say that this is not at all a “secret ingredient” because it’s a very common, well known ingredient, sold all over the world in most every grocery store. But for this specific recipe it definitely is the make or break for the fluffy texture.
Sometimes when I don’t have this ingredient on hand and I want pancakes I will just use a standard item and it definitely leaves me with flat, spongy pancakes. Again, the flavor is there and amazing but the texture is just not right without this ingredient.
Hopefully the build up was worth the wait! The secret ingredient in my fluffy, homemade pancakes is COCONUT MILK….. I told you, not a surprise at all if you’re a baker. It’s a well known fact that coconut milk makes fluffier baked goods, mainly due to the fat content. Which is where we need to talk about the fact that not all coconut milk is made equally. There’s a specific type and brand that works better than any other I have found. I’m posting a picture of it below.
Which one?
Thai Kitchen Coconut Milk: Unsweetened
I’ve tried probably a dozen different dairy-free milks and many different brands of coconut milk. I don’t know what it is about this one but it does the job.
Gives you that fluffy, soft and homey pancake that us gluten-free, dairy-free eaters miss so much!
Now for the Complicated Part
This coconut milk does amazing things when you follow the step of adding “white vinegar” to it to create the buttermilk flavor and chemical reaction for the fluffy texture.
Any other dairy free milk, you add the vinegar and then just get a watery, thin consistency. But, when you add vinegar to this coconut milk and stir slowly for about a minute, you get a thick, creamy goodness that truly feels like you’re stirring buttermilk. And when added to the rest of the ingredients it bubbles and creates a thick batter that creates a soft, fluffy, sturdy pancake that does not crumble! It’s divine.
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The full recipe is below. Like and comment on this recipe. Let us know how they turned out for you!
There’s a ton of options with pancakes as far as adding fruits, nuts, chocolate chips of any flavor etc. I’ve done blueberry, chocolate chip and banana and they all turn out wonderful! Enjoy!
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Pancakes – Fluffy and Allergy Free
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Plug in or turn on your griddle and preheat.
- In medium mixing bowl, mix the first four ingredients.1 cup Gluten Free Flour, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tbsp Vegan Cane Sugar, 1/2 tsp Salt
- In a small mixing bowl or a liquid measuring cup combine the coconut milk and the white vinegar. Stir and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes. This mixture will thicken and be much like buttermilk when ready.1 cup Thai Kitchen Unsweetened Coconut Milk, 1 tbsp White Vinegar
- In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup combine the egg, oil and milk mixture. Stir until egg is slightly mixed.1 tbsp Olive Oil , 1 Egg
- Now add your wet ingredients to your dry ingredients in the medium sized mixing bowl. Stir well, attempting to remove as many lumps as possible. Use a fork if needed. When mixed well, add your vanilla and stir again.1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- This is where you can add extras to your pancakes if desired: nuts, chocolate chips, fruit (blueberries, strawberries, etc.)Extras: fruit, nuts, chocolate chips etc.
- Using a ⅓ measuring cup, pour batter onto the griddle leaving space in between for them to spread. Once bubbles have formed on the top (about 2-3 minutes) flip and cook the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes. Ensure the middle is cooked before removing from the griddle.
- Serve stacked and hot with vegan butter on top and a warm syrup on the side! Enjoy!
