"Banana and Pancakes are Pretty Much the Greatest Thing Ever"

Better rise than I expected!

So spoke my friend from Manitoba who's visiting for several days and was hanging out in the kitchen while I made my latest batch of gluten-free, vegan pancakes.  I'm not entirely sure I agree (I am a huge fan of strawberry and/or apple pancakes as well), but I think they're definitely in the top 10.

I've gone through many iterations of trying to make pancakes I could eat.  First I wanted them dairy-free; then vegan; finally, vegan gluten-free.  I've used some very weird substitutions that led to some very weird-tasting pancakes, but I think I've finally arrived on a recipe that works!

(I should also add that these pancakes passed my critical test for awesomeness: roommate approval.  None of my roommates have crazy food restrictions, so when they eat a gluten-free vegan anything and proclaim it delicious, I know that it's truly good, and not just a pale imitation of out-of-reach delicacies).
The original recipe I modified is here for reference (it is gluten-free but not vegan).  My version is below:

• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/4 cup almond milk (plus 1 tbsp vinegar, optional)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey, or fruit juice concentrate, or any other sweetener)
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• cinnamon, to taste (optional)
• 3 bananas, sliced thinly

Combine wet ingredients until well combined.  Mix together the dry ingredients to ensure the baking soda/powder are well incorporated.  Add liquid to dry (or dry to liquid, it doesn't really matter). 

Stir until blended but don't overstir.  Fold in bananas.  Batter will be slightly lumpy (and not just because of the pancakes).  Lightly grease a frying pan on medium heat (or an electric skillet set to 375°), and cook until dark gold on each side.  These pancakes are brittle and sticky when cooking (not so much once done), and can be a bit hard to flip (they like to split in half), so I recommend using a larger frying pan just for better surface area and maneuverability.  The batter is very thick, though, so they don't spread much.  I got 10-11 pancakes (of varying sizes) out of this recipe.

The pancakes are quite tasty eaten plain, or with a variety of toppings.  For a hearty breakfast I generally spread almond butter on top, then add a thick layer of applesauce and finish off with a small drizzle of maple syrup.  These pancakes also freeze well.  Just microwave til just defrosted and then drop in the toaster or toaster oven to re-crisp.

The original recipe calls for buttermilk.  The handy substitution for buttermilk in any recipe is to take almond milk/soy milk/regular milk and add 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice for every cup of milk.  However, I totally forgot to do that today, and my pancakes turned out great, so it seems to be a dispensable ingredient.  I also think cinnamon would be great in these (given the apple and banana), but once again forgot to add it, so I can't vouch for it out of experience.

Gluten-free pancakes have a tendency to be quite dry, and I've had to work this recipe a few times to find a way to keep them moist.  There seem to be two major keys to proper moisture. Firstly, I used applesauce as opposed to a more glutinous, less-moist egg replacer like flax seed.  Secondly, and more importantly, the three bananas really do make a difference. (I know it seems like a lot of banana, but it's not really, given the overall amount of batter).  If you don't like banana, then I HIGHLY recommend subbing in lots of another moist fruit (maybe berries?) to keep the moisture level high.  The chunkiness of the fruit combined with the applesauce, the baking soda, and the overall thickness of the batter actually gave these pancakes a lot more lift that is normally achievable with gluten-free baking.

My roommate described these as "dessert pancakes", because the bananas add a lot of sweetness.  But the rest of the recipe is pretty healthy - whole grain and very little non-fruit sugar - so once I've added almond butter as a topping I tend to consider these acceptable as an everyday breakfast food.  The only major unhealthiness is that these pancakes tend to absorb oil a LOT more than I find wheat pancakes do.  So they are very much fried, and not just lightly toasted.

Happy breakfast-making, and if you discover other good modifications to this recipe, keep me posted!