Question Re: Almond Flour Pancake Recipe

[TrickyMama]

I have Elana's Almond Flour Cookbook. I made the pancakes this morning for the second time. (I use Honeyville Blanched Almond Four, NOT meal.) The first time, they were super runny and they got super dark. This time I added 1/4 c. extra almond flour, which helped a little. Still, they came out really dark. They don't taste burned but they look burned. Is that the grapeseed oil? Anyone had this happen and figured out how to fix the problem? Your help would be appreciated. I think these are the most nutritious (and second best tasting) gluten-free pancakes I've learned to make and my kids LOVE them, so I'd like to figure out how to perfect making them. Thanks in advance.

[Takala]

I use almond meal for pancakes and quick breads, sometimes mixed with sorghum and amaranth. They typically come out darker than a white wheat flour pancake, a deep golden brown color, but not burnt looking.

Almond meal cooks differently than wheat flour, it is more prone to burning at higher temperatures and needs to be cooked a bit more slowly, and watched carefully.

Grapeseed oil can be used at pretty high temperatures, so that may part of the problem. I use olive oil for everything and it has a lower temperature requirement which means I can't burn things as easily as it's more prone to smoking first.

I will start them in a cast iron pan on the stove top, preheating the pan and oil but not to smoke point, and when the bottom is cooked, (at first the batter will bubble, but then at the lower temp it has to cook a bit longer, I use my sense of smell and pry up an edge to peek at it ) then I finish the tops by setting it under the pre heated broiler, but one does NOT take your eyes off of it under there, because the tops then finish very quickly, and when they are done, they are done and they're going to burn next.

Another thing I have noticed is that if you use agave nectar for the sweetener, it will turn things more of a golden brown color. So will honey or molasses, compared to white or brown sugars.

[HiDee]

I haven't ever made Elana's recipe but I have made my own almond flour pancakes and yes you need to preheat pan or griddle and cook on a low temp so they don't burn. I have read on her website that she makes her pancakes in a very small size, no more than a couple of inches in diameter, and this might be a quicker way to cook them.

[i-geek]

Elena gave advice on her blog: Open Original Shared Link.