Gluten-Free Lemon Pancakes

Aren't these the most lemony looking pancakes you've ever seen?

Bright as a summer sun, their color comes from eggs, and whole-grain cornmeal, and grated lemon peel. A totally golden triple play if ever there was one.

One thing these pancakes DON'T have: wheat flour.

That's right – the protein in wheat that bonds with liquid to form gluten is absent from these gluten-free pancakes.

But that doesn't mean they won't rise into light, fluffy pancakes.

Xanthan gum, your best friend in the kitchen when you're baking GF, steps in for that absent gluten to give these cakes the structure they need.

Still, that structure can be fickle, depending on subtle differences in your other ingredients, and how you combine them.

To whit, when I was making these pancakes in the test kitchen, my fellow baker, Sue, took one look and said, "What happened to those? That's not how they're supposed to look."

"Well, I noticed the recipe photo online had them quite a bit thicker. But I followed the recipe exactly. What's up with that?" I said.

Sue and I did a quick huddle, and discovered that I'd used a different brand of cornmeal than she and fellow GF baker Andrea had, when they originally created the recipe.

In addition, they'd assumed a 10- to 15-minute rest period before cooking, because that's how long it took to preheat their griddle. I used a different griddle, and started preheating before I made the cakes – so my batter didn't rest at all.

We surmised these two factors – one slightly different ingredient, one minimally different technique – could spell the difference between thick and thin pancakes.

Still, we had to test our hypothesis. Which Andrea promptly did, following her original recipe.

Ah-ha! Mystery solved. Andrea's cakes, using store-bought cornmeal and incorporating a rest for the batter, were thick.

Mine, using organic whole cornmeal and going immediately from bowl to griddle, were thinner.

And you know what? Both versions were tasty as all get-out.

You just can't go wrong with these Gluten-Free Lemon Pancakes.

As "Mary from California" says in a review of this recipe, "My husband, who refuses to try anything gluten-free, said these were the best pancakes he has ever eaten! I was very impressed with how high they rose!"

(She must have been using store-bought cornmeal!)

Let's make a gluten-free breakfast, shall we?

Whisk together the following:

1/2 cup (74g) potato starch
3/4 cup (103g) cornmeal (whole-grain preferred)
3 tablespoons (35g) sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/8 teaspoon xanthan gum

Next, get your lemon ready.

My favorite grater is a Microplane zester. Unbelievably fast and efficient.

Whisk together the following:

2 large eggs
3 tablespoons (43g) melted butter or vegetable oil
3/4 to 1 cup (170g to 227g) milk
1 to 2 tablespoons grated lemon rind (the rind of 1 or 2 medium-large lemons); or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil

I used vegetable oil rather than butter here; I find hot melted butter combined with cold milk and eggs turns into butter globules. And, since I didn't warm my milk and eggs to room temperature (ALWAYS in a hurry), I subbed the oil.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Stir gently to combine.

See how thin my batter is? If I'd given it a 10- to 15-minute rest, it would have thickened up; and my pancakes would have been taller.

But no need to wait, if you like thinner cakes.

Pour about 2 tablespoons batter at a time onto the griddle.

Cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes, until their tops are bubbly, their edges look dry, and their bottoms are golden brown.

See how the pancake is beginning to lose its wet shine? Time to flip.

Turn over and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.

Serve hot, with butter...

...and with a sifting of confectioners' sugar, rather than syrup.

Though if maple/lemon sounds good to you, go for it!

Any kind of fruit syrup would be good here, too. As would a garnish of fresh berries.

Read, make, and review (please) our recipe for Gluten-Free Lemon Pancakes.