Porridge Pancakes

Well, not really anything to do with porridge, except for the containing oats bit. These are more a cross between Pikelets (yeasted pancakes) and Staffordshire oatcakes.

We had sweet toppings today, but they also work really well with savoury toppings too.

I topped mine with fresh peach, frozen berries, coconut milk yogurt and chocolate sauce.

L went for the classic lemon and sugar, M drowned his in maple syrup. 

1 1/2 Cups Gluten Free Plain Flour (I used Dove's Farm White Bread Flour, you may need to adjust fluid for different blends)

1 cup Gluten Free Oats

1tsp Dried Yeast

3 Cups Milk Substitute (plus 1/4 cup)

Put dry ingredients in a bowl.

Mix in milk substitute with a balloon whisk.

Cover and leave in fridge over night.

Stir in extra milk substitute.

Heat a lightly oiled skillet or frying pan on medium heat.

Pour in 1/2 cup of mix and leave until bubbles formed and top beginning to set.

Flip over and brown lightly on other side.

Repeat until all mix used up. Mine made 8 about 6 inches across.

Reindeer Pancakes

It's the boys first day of school holiday's today, so before we head into town and dash around for the last Christmas bits, were starting with a breakfast to get us into the festive spirit.

I know I posted these on Twitter last year, but never got round to typing up a recipe, so here goes...

Yes, there was an argument over who got the plate with the
smaller one and who got the one with a broken antlers!

200g Gluten Free Plain Flour (I used Doves Farm Bread Flour, which I use for most things as it's buckwheat free, you may need a slightly different amount of fluid for different flour blends)

300mls Milk Substitute

2tsp Baking Powder

1tbsp Sugar (any will do, I used light muscovado for this)

1tsp Mixed Spice (or other christmas spice flavours)

1tsp Vanilla Paste (or extract)

Enough eyes and noses for 6-8 reindeer (depending on size). I used chocolate chips and frozen raspberries.

Put dry ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.

Add milk substitute and whisk to form a smooth batter.

Put a couple of tablespoons of batter in a cone of greaseproof paper for piping the antlers. Snip the end off.

Place one tablespoon of batter on a hot oiled pan and spread a little to form an oval.

Place another, slightly smaller, spoonful above the first.

Pipe antler shapes.

When bubbles are beginning to form on the surface and underside lightly browned, flip over and cook on the other side for a few minutes.

Put on plate & place on eyes and nose.

Repeat until all batter is used up.

GBBO - Week4 - Batter

Well, while most of us are still reeling from the news that Great British Bake Off is moving from the BBC, it's important to keep sight of what we're here for. Baking. Specifically free from baking. This week it's batter. Still not sure what my bake off challenge is going to be this week, but if you're new to free from cooking, batter is your friend! Thought I'd just post a couple of old recipes to get you started.

When my first son came up in blisters where he'd touched some eggy bread at 7 months old, it was time to start approaching cooking a bit differently. I've been lucky that the progression through exclusion of egg, milk, soya, wheat and pulses (lentils or any type of bean) has been gradual, allowing me to adapt recipes one step at a time. 

I was delighted to discover pancakes worked just as well without the egg. All I had to do was increase the fluid by 50-60mls per egg. I used egg replacer initially, but since forgetting to add it one day and finding they worked just as well, I stopped bothering. The switch to wheat free was just as easy.

Pancakes are a great thing to start off with if you're not used to baking. There is much less to go wrong than with cake and the possibilities are endless. Basic thick pancakes are so simple, even my 6yo can make them on his own!

Basic Thick (Scotch/American) Pancake

Raspberry Pancakes (has pictures of basic steps not shown in above recipe)

Basic Thin Pancake (scroll down for the wheat free version) 

If you're feeling more adventurous and want to try a less forgiving batter, my Yorkshire pudding recipe is here…

Technically waffles and my baked doughnuts use a batter type mix too... 

Waffles

Herb Waffles (great for packed lunches)

Baked Doughrings

Basic Thick Pancake (Scotch/American) Batter

There aren't many things you can make with only two ingredients!

Basic Batter with added vanilla paste

I Cup* Gluten Free Self Raising Flour

1 Cup Milk Substitute

*size of cup doesn't matter, you just need an equal volume.

Put flour in bowl, make a well in the centre, add the milk substitute and whisk in with a ballon whisk.

Add flavours, if using, and stir in.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan.

Add spoonfuls of batter (or more if making American style ones).

Turn over when you start to see bubbles forming on the top.

Continue to cook until lightly brown and puffed up.

I've attached a few of the ones we've had in the last few months to give you some ideas:

The boys had a competition to see who could come up with the best one…
Blueberry & Lemon (zest) or Apple (grated) & cinnamon. 

 Which would you prefer?

Peach and Chocolate chip (added vanilla, chopped tinned peach and Doves Farm Chocolate Chips)

I made these when we had friends over from New Zealand, half with mashed banana, half without.
The kids had no allergies, but happily guzzled these for second breakfast!

Blueberry pancakes with coconut milk yogurt & toasted pumpkin seeds

Mini Fruit Strudels

My 7 year old is going to cooking club after school this term. They are not allowed to eat the food at school, which means forward planning to make sure Mini Monster has something similar. So far, we've had salad, fruit salad and chocolate chip cookies, which are all pretty straight forward, bit I know they have filo parcels coming up soon. I can cobble together pastry for jam tarts or a pie, but wheat free filo pastry? Not sure even I can manage that one!

I thought about just making thin pancakes, but knew it wouldn't be quite right. I almost feel this is cheating it was so easy, but then I wouldn't have made filo pastry either!

For 2

4 Rice Pancakes (for spring rolls - not spring roll wrappers which contain wheat)

3-4tbsp Stewed Fruit (I softened 1 apple and 3 apricots in a frying pan with vanilla paste and a little water - you don't want it too wet) 

3-4tbsp Wheat Free Bread/Cake Crumbs

1-2tsp sugar

Olive Oil (or other suitable oil)

Hot Water for softening Rice Pancakes

Caster Sugar to caramelise outside (optional)

Cook some suitable fruit and set aside to cool.

Put bread or cake crumbs in a frying pan with a little oil and sugar. Probably about a tsp of each.

Cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently until caramelised and crispy.

Add crumbs to fruit mixture.

I don't have pictures of dipping the pancakes, but dip them in a bowl of hot water for a few seconds until soft.

Put 2 softened pancakes onto an oiled worktop (or greaseproof paper makes for easier clearing up).

Place 2tbsp of fruit mix onto the pancake.

Fold in sides and roll up the pancake like a spring roll.

Repeat for remaining pancakes.

Fry in a little oil, turning frequently to brown all the way round.

If you want them caramelised, put a tsp of caster sugar in the pan (it should melt almost immediately) and toss them around in the caramel until covered.

Serve with suitable custard, cream or ice-cream.

Savoury Pancakes

Ok, I know it's a day late, but we didn't eat them until last night, and who says pancakes should only be for Pancake Day? The basic mix only needs 2 ingredients and they freeze well (if your children - or you - haven't polished them off before you get that far… Just put a piece of greaseproof paper or cling film between each pancake to stop the sticking together).

The days of stuffing them, smothering them with a thick creamy sauce, topping with cheese and baking until golden brown are a distant memory, but just think of these as the healthier option… Or get yourself some MozzaRisella and go the whole hog!

Make a stack of pancakes (click here for recipes, scroll down for the wheat free ones).

       

For the filling, use whatever you have, last night we had chicken (left over roast) and ham with broccoli, cauliflower and purple kale (veg the kids are eating at the moment!) in a creamy sauce. Also works well with fish, or, pre my pepper allergy, used to have roast peppers and courgette in tomato sauce…

For this, I stir fried some veg and smoked ham.

Added Chicken pieces and a mixture of dairy free cream and milk substitute (not too much, you don't want too much sauce) and chopped sage.

Mixed a little cornflour, mustard nutritional yeast flakes (gives a savoury taste) and water to a paste.

Added to pan and simmered until thickened.

Spoon filling along the middle of a pancake.

Roll up and place in oven proof dish.

Continue until you have enough. Drizzle with a little olive oil.

Bake in hot oven for about 15 minutes or until slightly crispy on the outside.

Raspberry Pancakes

Last years pancake day was cancelled by Mini Monster picking up stomach bug at pre-school, this year he has temperature… Thought we better start the day with pancakes too, just in case… So far he still seems to have an appetite.

I prefer a thin crêpe style pancakes for pancake day, and we will have those for dinner, child permitting, but this morning I was outvoted and we started the day with thicker Scotch pancakes.

While they were cooking, Mini monster came up with a selection of chocolate based toppings to put on his. Chocolate sprinkles, white chocolate powder and honey, I did draw the line at chocolate sauce too! The sharpness of the raspberry worked well with a slightly sweeter topping, but I like them plain. What I really wanted was a nice thick dollop of yogurt, but forgot to order any…

100g Wheat Free Self Raising Flour (or just normal self raising flour if you don't need wheat free)

1/4tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Egg Replacer (would probably work without if you don't have any, just increase the baking powder to 1/2tsp)

1tbsp Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)

200mls Oat Milk (or other milk substitute)

6-8 Frozen Raspberries (crushed while still frozen)

Put dry ingredients in a bowl.

Beat in the lemon juice, oat milk, and vanilla with a balloon whisk or wooden spoon.

Stir in the crushed raspberries.

Place large spoonfuls onto a hot greased frying pan (I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup as a scoop).

Cook for a couple of minutes, or until bubbles bag in to pop on the surface, then flip over.

Continue to cook until lightly browned on the other side.

Put on a plate to cool slightly while you cook the rest (we got 8, but a couple got eaten before we could take a picture).

Top and eat!

Stuffed Pancakes

Thought it was about time I posted some more savoury recipes. Have been meaning to have a go at using pancakes as a wheat free alternative to filo pastry and actually got round to it today! I do want to try again with multiple layers of thinner pancakes, but as these were rushed, in the hour and a half between pre-school and school pick-up, while also making sausage rolls (wrapped in wheat free bread dough) and bacon rolls (not bacon, and not rolls, but it's what Mini Monster calls them!) for the freezer for packed lunches, didn't have time to experiment…

Essentially, you could probably stuff these with pretty much anything, you don't have to use fish, or the veg I've used, change ingredients to suit what you have or what you can eat!

120g Wheat Free Bread Flour 

2 Balls of Frozen Chopped Spinach (defrosted) - could leave plain, or use herbs

400mls Milk Substitute (I used Oat milk)

1tbsp Olive Oil

(if you don't need them to be wheat free, there is another recipe on the link in the instructions for egg free pancakes)

1/2 cup Pudding Rice (This is stickier, so a bit less messy for small hands, but any rice will do)

1 cup Water

1/4tsp Turmeric (optional - gives yellow colour)

Celery (1/4 stick, finely chopped)

Leek (about and inch, finely chopped)

Garlic (chopped/grated)

1 Carrot (grated) 

herbs (I used a few fresh basil leaves from the limp plant on the windowsill)

Salmon filet (about 8 cm length was enough for me to cut into 6 even sized strips about 1cm wide)

Put rice, water and turmeric (if using) in a pan. Stir and bing to a boil.

Stir again, put on a well fitted lid (don't use pan with spout or won't get a seal), turn off the heat (but leave on the ring) and leave while you make the pancakes.

Mix pancake ingredients in a bowl.

Follow instructions to make pancakes here.

I used 1/3 cup measure for each pancake and made 9 about 15cm diameter. Only 6 made it to stuffing - I had to keep checking they were ok, and hadn't had time for lunch…

Gently fry the chopped celery, leek and garlic (or whatever veg using).

Add veg, grated raw carrot and herbs to the rice and mix well.

 Spread centre of pancakes (about 6 cm square) with about a tablespoon of rice mixture.

 Place piece of fish along edge of rice.

 Fold lower edge of pancake over fish.

Fold in sides.

 Continue to roll up pancake to give spring roll shape.

Place on oiled baking tray.

Drizzle with a little oil.

Bake at 200ºC for about 20 mins, or until crisped and beginning to colour.

*I had one of these cold for my packed lunch the next day, it held together well and was much tastier than the limp looking sandwiches the rep had brought in for us…

**I froze the rest. I used one for emergency quick dinner for Mini Monster. Microwaved for 30 seconds to partially defrost, then fried in a little oil until crispy on the outside. He loved it, but did want it sliced like sushi!