Gluten Free Pancakes (and GF Flour Mix)

So I've noticed that when I eat foods with gluten, I get a little heartburn, and have certainly heard and read enough to know that there are a lot of people, who though are not allergic, think they feel quite a lot better when they eliminate gluten from their diets (less inflammation, more energy, weight loss, clearer brain).  A friend whose son was just diagnosed with mild autism was counseled by doctors to try a gluten free diet to see if it helped him.

Basically, we're talking about carbs here.  Gluten is in wheat and any wheat-like grain.  See here for the list.  If you're highly allergic (celiac disease), then you also avoid grains that have been cross-contaminated with gluten-grains (as many oats are during the milling process).  I'm not highly allergic, but thought it couldn't hurt to try incorporating more of the non-gluten grains into my family's diet.  I will say here, though, that I'm not at all impressed with what the stores pass off as gluten-free products.  From what I've seen, they're basically just starchy rice or potato flours, and that's NOT what I want to be adding to our diets.  I've done some hunting around on the internet, and like this website for ideas.  The GF flour mix I found there seems to me to be mostly whole grains, nuts and seeds, and I can feel good about that.  I also like that this "Gluten Free Girl" now uses ground flaxseeds or chia seeds instead of xantham or guar gum in her GF recipes, since these additives are expensive and just don't sound natural.

Making the GF Flour Mix is a little bit of trouble, but once it's in the freezer, I've been able to use it as a substitute flour in most recipes.  If you live by me and don't have a grain mill, please come use mine.

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Let's start with the Pancake recipe to get you excited.  Serves 5-6.

2 1/4 c. GF flour mix (see below)
2 Tab. ground flaxseed (can do it yourself in your blender or buy pre-ground)
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
shakes of cinnamon

2 Tab. honey
2 eggs (could sub with a flaxseed slurry, see below)
2 c. milk (feel free to sub with almond or coconut milk)
4 Tab. canola oil (find one that says "expeller pressed" on label)

Whisk dry ingredients together in a big bowl.  Whisk wet ingredients together in another bowl.  Pour wet into dry and whisk together.  Let it sit at least 2-3 minutes.  Pour onto well-greased hot griddle.  Flip when bubbling, cook until browned on both sides.

We have a favorite new pancake topping combo - yes, all of these together:
yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, berries/bananas, raw honey - AWESOME!

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Here's the GF Flour Mix recipe.

Combine in a huge bowl:

7 cups of any combination of these flours: (I used about 1 cup of each.)

groats (whole oat grains)
millet
amaranth
buckwheat
quinoa*
brown rice
almond meal or flour **
Could also use sorghum or teff, but I haven't tried these yet.

*Not sure I needed to, but I rinsed well in a strainer to remove the bitter coating, spread on a cookie sheet and dried in a warm oven for a couple of hours.  Make sure it's totally dry before running through your grain mill.
**I bought them all (except almond meal) in whole-grain form and ran them all through my Nutrimill on the fine-flour setting.  DON'T run any oily seeds or nuts through your mill, though (no flaxseed, sesame or almonds).  It's bad for the machine.

Add to your flour mix bowl,

3 cups of a starchy flour combination: (I used mostly the tapioca flour.)

tapioca flour (bought Bob's Red Mill brand)
white rice flour (run through the Nutrimill)
Could also use cornstarch, arrowroot, or potato starch.

Mix it all up, bag and freeze until use.

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Here's the Flaxseed Slurry recipe.
I have read that you can substitute ground flaxseed for eggs if you follow these instructions and have tried it with success.

For each egg you are substituting, whisk together 1 Tab. ground flaxseeds with 2 Tab. boiling water.  Cool the mixture a bit before adding to your other ingredients.