Happy Shrove Tuesday everyone!!
In honor of “Fat Tuesday” I planned a GF Pancake Dinner of Cranberry-Walnut GF Pancakes, bacon, and pan-fried potatoes (cooked in the bacon grease, of course 🙂
Well, at least the bacon and the potatoes were YUMMO!!
Unfortunately, I tried a new recipe for the pancakes. And I should have followed my instincts when I saw the 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum AND 1/2 teaspoon of guar gum. I checked the recipe I had tried previously (which was good, but bland) and saw that it used NO gums at all. Then I checked another recipe and it used gum, but much less than 2-1/2 tsp (for less than 2 cups of flour). Even so, I decided to try the recipe “as written” (which is usually recommended the first time you try a recipe). Afterall, this recipe was from a popular cookbook by a popular GF blogger, not just some random recipe off the internet. BIG MISTAKE!! The batter was so thick that it didn’t spread at all when it went in the pan. I thought it was because I used walnuts and cranberries (instead of the recommended fruit compote), so I added some liquid. But I ended up needing several CUPS of liquid (far more than should have been necessary to compensate for the fruit difference) before it was of a “normal” pancake batter consistency (and I like my pancake batter rather thick!). I’m certain the problem was that the gums kept binding the batter together, despite the liquids.
I managed to cook three pancakes that were edible, but still rather gummy.  I tried making a few more pancakes to freeze, but decided it wasn’t worth the time and energy, so threw out the rest of the batter . . . what a waste of ingredients . . . at least it didn’t use lots of expensive flours (mostly tapioca flour) . . . but I went through most of a quart of soy milk trying to thin out the batter!
But, like I said, at least the bacon and potatoes were good!
And tomorrow Lent begins, which for me means trying to stick to more grains, fruits, and veggies . . . I’m thinking there may be lots of quinoa in my Lent this year 🙂
Blessings!
