Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Pancakes

My dad makes the best pancakes in the world.

When I was little, they were perfect for any occasion- whether they were goofy shapes for my mom's birthday breakfast in bed, or simply to honour a Saturday morning. A sure sign of growing up in Canada is the transition from Aunt Jemima's quadruple-butter-flavoured syrup to pure maple syrup. My organizational skills did not mature with my syrup snobbery, and without a recipe box, it became tradition to call home every month or two throughout university for the recipe.

Now, in my mid-twenties, with flour, egg and milk substitutions, it's not as simple as it used to be - but I think it's one of the easiest recipes to play with as far as ingredients go. I won't deny that it could be partially due to the fact that texture and fancy flavours are less of a concern since they'll soon be soaked in sugar, but even before their inevitable fate, these could not have turned out better.

I had a slow, rainy, grey backdrop through the windows to my kitchen, memories of standing next to my dad on my tiptoes while he made works of art out of pancake batter, and a craving for comfort foods. Magic happened.

Banana Pancakes 

Ingredients 

2/3 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
2/3 cup oat flour (flaked oats finely ground - I use a coffee grinder)
1 tbsp potato starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 ripe mashed banana
2 flax "eggs" (1 flax egg = 1 tbsp ground flax and 3 tbsp warm water)
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
Vegetable oil or butter (vegan or non-vegan), for frying

Directions  

Heat a regular sized skillet on medium heat.

Stir 2 tbsp of ground flax into 6 tbsp of warm water and set aside to thicken for approximately 5 minutes.

Sift together flours, starch, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

In a separate bowl, combine banana, soy milk, honey and vanilla until well blended. Check that the flax has thickened to form a texture similar to an egg yolk, and stir into the wet mixture.

Thinly coat the bottom of the pan with oil or butter. Pour about 1/2 cup of the mixture at a time, leaving enough space between them to comfortably flip later.

After 1 - 2 minutes, when the top begins to form holes in the batter and the bottom is golden, flip with a spatula.

Wait about 30 seconds to 1 minute, checking frequently, and when the other side has reached the same shade of golden brown, remove from the pan. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Keep warm in an oven or under some foil until the batter is gone.

Makes 8 - 10 pancakes.