Vegan Lemony Pancakes
Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free
When I was about 13, I became obsessed with making pancakes. In my usual style, I kept making them and making them until I finally made the perfect pancake. Well, perfect in my mind. Now, every Mother’s Day and birthday, I make my mom one thing: blueberry pancakes.
There are many opinions about pancakes. Some people like super thin ones, some like super thick and fluffy. (have you seen those crazy soufflé pancakes?). I like a pancake somewhere in the middle. I do not want them so thick that I feel like I am eating cake, but I do not want crepes either.
I have mastered all dairy and all egg pancakes, but making them vegan was a little trickier. I went through a few iterations with varying degrees of success. And then I made this recipe. They reminded me of the pancakes I ate growing up. They are not super sweet (we are all going to drown them in syrup), have a light, fluffy middle, but still stay relatively thin.
So, a few things that I use to make these pancakes what they are.
Sorghum and Sweet Rice Flours
I may not use it a lot, but sorghum flour really does make a good gluten-free pancake. A grain that is packed with good-for-you-things, sorghum has a naturally short texture. There is one downside to sorghum—it needs a buddy. Sorghum needs a binder to help it cohere and give you the texture you want. I use Bob’s Red Mill Sorghum (not sponsored), but use the one you can find.
If you have made mochi, you have had sweet rice flour. Using glutenous rice (ironic name because there is no gluten in there), pounded and ground, sweet rice flour gives baked goods a chewy texture and help to bind together the normally crumbly gluten-free flours.
I buy my sweet rice flour from Amazon, but you can find it in some asian supermarkets.
If you do not have sweet rice or sorghum flours and don’t want to buy them, you can replace all the flour (sweet rice and sorghum) with oat flour, a gluten-free flour mix or wheat flour.
The Wet Ingredients
Buttermilk pancakes are heaven. They are the queens of pancakes. The reason is the acidity inherent in buttermilk. That acidity lends tenderness, but also helps to activate the baking soda and powder.
Since we are not using dairy, I use a combination of cashew milk (any nut or plant milk will work) and almond milk yogurt. For these pancakes, I like to use the runny, non-Greek style almond milk yogurt, looking for the extra liquid. In a search for more acidity and activation of the leavening, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice is my preferred added acid. Some use vinegar, but I think that you cannot really hide that vinegar flavor. Also I would rather every ingredient add flavor to the end result.
Now, the “egg.” I have about 3 cans of unsalted chickpeas; chickpeas have been my self-isolation survival staple. Aquafaba, also known as the liquid that chickpeas sit in, is my new favorite egg replacement. The liquid is packed with starch and proteins that really are a great facsimile to an egg. Make sure that you are using unsalted or low salt chickpeas. Unless you want salty pancakes; your call.
Mix-in’s
If you want to add anything to these pancakes, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, whatever, then add them once you have ladled and spread the batter into the pan. I do this mostly with fruit. I do not want the fruit to break down in the batter and lose its integrity. You can definitely add the chocolate chips the batter before ladling.
RECIPE
88g (1/2 cup) sorghum flour
82g (1/2 cup) sweet rice flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
108g (1/2 cup) cashew milk + 2-3 tbsp to loosen batter if needed
85g (1/4 cup) almond milk yogurt (not the greek style)
40g (3 tbsp) water
32g (3 tbsp) aquafaba
16g (2 tbsp) olive oil
20g (1.5 tbsp) maple syrup
1 tbsp lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon (well washed and dried)
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. In a measuring cup, combine the wet ingredient and whisk together.
Pour the wet into the dry and stir together. If the mix looks a little too thick, add more milk. You want it to be thick, but not so thick that you cannot ladle it into the pan. Refer to Cook’s Illustrated opinion on pancake batter viscosity.
Let the batter sit for 15 minutes. Now you have some time to clean up and set your oven to 300F and place a wire rack on top of a baking sheet (I use an overproof cooling rack). Why the oven for pancakes? I use it to keep the pancakes warm and finishing cooking them in the middle so I can avoid burnt pancakes.
Use a nonstick skillet (or a very well seasoned cast iron skillet). Set it over medium-high heat. Since I use a nonstick skillet, I do not add additional fat to the pan. Use a ladle to dollop the batter into the center. Spread the batter, using circular motions, to make an even round of pancake batter in the pan.
When the edges of the pancake starts to look dry and bubbles form on the top, they are ready to flip. Only flip pancakes ONCE. The other side will cook faster, about 2 minutes.
Place the pancake onto the rack-baking-sheet setup and into the oven while you cook the rest of your pancakes.
Stack and enjoy any way you like!