We’re trying the GFCF (gluten free casein free) diet for my son who has autism, so the entire kitchen and eating experience has been transformed for my family. They love these frozen waffles we buy at the store, but they’re $3.50 for 6 which is crazy expensive.
Fortunately for me, my sister Laura Morales has celiac disease and she’s a baker passionate about perfecting recipes. She also makes custom cakes, so if you’re in Chicago check out her cakes in her featured Instagram Stories here. Laura created this recipe for me and my kids so I could freeze the extra waffles, and it’s a winner! My husband hates gluten free bread, but he said he couldn’t even tell these were gluten free.
A bit of a disclaimer: this recipe works much better with waffles than pancakes. I didn’t have any xantham gum, but they turned out fine. I also forgot the vanilla, but I wouldn’t recommend THAT (#momlife). Enjoy, and be sure to tell us in the comments how they turned out!
Gluten Free Casein Free Waffles
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: >15 minutes Yield: 10 to 15 pancakes, depending upon size
INGREDIENTS
Flour Blend: 2 cup + 2 tbsp (total 230g) white rice flour, ½ cup (78g) potato starch, and 1/3 cup (42g) tapioca starch/flour
½ tsp xanthan gum (optional—will keep the edges of the pancakes from feathering. See note below)
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp granulated sugar, or powdered stevia
4 eggs, at room temperature, beaten. (trick: if eggs are cold, put whole egg in a bowl of warm water for a few mins)
1 ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature (to make your own: for every cup of milk ((I use almond milk)), add 1 tbsp of white vinegar. So in this case, 1 ½ cup of almond milk and 1 tbsp + 1 ½ tsp white vinegar. Mix a bit to incorporate vinegar throughout milk and let stand for at least 2 minutes. I usually make the buttermilk before mixing together the flours.)
4 tbsp ghee, melted and cooled.
1 tbsp vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
-If not using premade buttermilk, make your buttermilk now in a small bowl and set aside.
-Melt your butter or ghee; let it cool (I put mine in frig).
-Crack eggs in a large spouted measuring cup and beat.
-In a large bowl, place the flour blend, optional xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
-In the large spouted measuring cup that has the beaten eggs, add buttermilk and butter. Whisk vigorously to combine well.
-Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk and egg mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth. It will be thick.
-Heat a waffle iron and pour about 1/2 cup of batter onto the bottom plate. When pouring the batter, don’t swirl it around; pour straight down. Waffle is done when slightly crispy and easy to remove from iron. Remove from the waffle iron and repeat with the remaining batter.
Waffles can be cooled completely, then frozen in a single layer in a gallon ziplock bag (separate them first). You can thaw them in the toaster oven straight from the freezer.
**A word about xanthan gum: You do not want to use a flour blend that already has xanthan gum in the mix. The pancakes will simply be too gummy, the batter way too thick.