Perfect Pancakes–including gluten-free pancakes

It’s been awhile since I did a food post (or a post at all, for that matter), so I thought I’d combine two recipes in one post for perfect pancakes you can make from scratch using ingredients that are widely-available in South Korea.

 

The first recipe is based loosely off the buttermilk pancakes recipe on the Joy of Baking website. (link)  The gluten-free recipe is loosely based on the Delicious Gluten-Free Pancakes recipe on allrecipes.com. (link)  Both recipes produce exquisitely soft, melt-in-your mouth pancakes.  I enjoy adding a little bit of cinnamon or nutmeg to the recipe and leave out the sugar.  TheFry loves pancakes, and enjoys eating them with just a little bit of honey.

 

Recipe: Perfect From-Scratch Pancakes

Yield: This makes about 8 4-inch pancakes, or enough to feed two adults and one toddler.

Ingredients:

1) 1 Cup wheat flour (밀가루)

2) 2 teaspoons baking powder (베이킹 파우더)

3) 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine (we use the brand below – it always stays hard, so you have to melt it for this recipe)

4) 1 egg, beaten

5) 1 Cup milk

6) 1 Tablespoon white sugar [optional]

7) Cinnamon or nutmeg to taste [optional]

 

Method

1) Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, sugar) until combined

2) Mix together the milk and the beaten egg in a separate bowl.

3) Melt the margarine in a pan until it is just liquid.  Try not to cook it too much.

4) Working quickly, pour the margarine into the milk and egg mixture and beat it together to keep the egg and milk from curdling and the margarine from getting hard.

5) Pour the liquids into the dry mixture and stir until just combined.  It will be a little lumpy.  If you stir it too much, the pancakes will be rubbery.

6) On medium-low heat, melt a little bit of butter or margarine and ladle the pancake mixture into the pan according to the size of pancake you want.  When they get bubbly on top, flip them over.

7) Eat and enjoy!

 

Recipe: Gluten-Free Perfect Pancakes

Note: This recipe makes about twice as many pancakes as the previous recipe.

Ingredients:

1) 1 C sweet rice flour (찹쌀가루)

2) 3 Tablespoons soybean flour (날콩가루)

3) 1/3 Cup potato starch (김자맛전분)

4) 1 Tablespoon white sugar (설탕)

5) 1.5 teaspoons baking powder (베이킹 파우더)

6) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (식소다)

7) 1/2 teaspoon salt (소금)

8) 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (잔탄검) [this is hard to find in Korea – here’s a link to buy it on Gmarket)

9) 2 eggs, beaten

10) 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine

11) 2 Cups milk

 

Method

1) Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl.

2) In a separate, smaller bowl, combine the beaten eggs and the milk.

3) Melt the butter or margarine in a pan and pour it in with the other liquids.  Working quickly, whisk the ingredients to prevent the hardening of the fat or the cooking of the eggs.

4) Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  This batter will be quite lumpy, with large bumps in it.  Don’t worry about that – the pancakes themselves will be soft and clump-free.

5) Melt margarine or butter in a pan and cook the pancakes as normal, turning when they are quite bubbly on top.  These pancakes are fairly delicate, so be extra careful while turning them.

6) Eat and enjoy!  The sweet rice flour is a little potent in this recipe, so the pancakes will be quite sweet – you probably won’t have to add much syrup at all!