On the weekend I made a gluten free version of the most popular and searched recipe on my blog, the “Extra Thick and Fluffy Japanese Pancakes“.
Some of my blog readers asked me whether the fluffy Japanese pancakes can be made with gluten free flour. Finally, I had time to try it out and am pleased with the result. I used Bob’s Red Mill brand Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour. The pancake texture is quite different from my original fluffy Japanese pancakes, but still super delicious. I actually quite like the gluten free version because the texture is like eating mochi. So if you are fan of mochi, the sticky rice cake, you will love the gluten free fluffy Japanese pancakes.
The pancakes are fluffy while they are warm and freshly made. I did not make much change in the ingredients from the original and I added measuring cups and grams in the measurements. I use the cups and weighted as well. Please note that I am in Australia and the measurement 1 cup = 250ml.
I also still don’t have a mould so I made them myself by recycling a milk carton which you can see in the photo back ground above. I washed the rectangle milk carton and cut the side to make it flat. Make 6 x 4 cm high strips to make about three 31cm long strips. Put two 4cm strips together with a stapler to create round mould and line with baking sheet. You can see a more detailed photo here if you need to.
Now the toppings. You can top with anything you like. I had this gluten free fluffy Japanese pancake with figs and honey comb and rice malt syrup. It also will be great with fresh berries, maple syrup, whipped cream, and ice-cream too. I leave it to your imagination and creativity.
My last tips for making fluffy Japanese pancake is that this need to be cooked through on really low heat. Because of extent of the height, it does take 15- 20 minutes before you flip it, so in order to avoid the bottom or top part getting burnt, cook it on low heat and be patient. For this gluten free version, after you mix the flour in, don’t stir too much, just fold the flour in with a wooden spatula. Also it will be better served and eaten immediately otherwise fluffiness will be lost( still delicious though, if you love mochi).
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Gluten Free Fluffy Japanese Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup 140g gluten free flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar or 50g
- 2 medium sized eggs 80g all together
- ¾ cup Butter milk to make up 1 cup with the egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- Butter maple syrup, ice-cream, etc. for toppings
Instructions
- Sift all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and combine.
- In another bowl (or jug) add the egg, butter milk, vanilla extract and mayonnaise, whisk a little to combine.(Ignore the mayo smell, it will disappear after it’s cooked).
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid mixture in.
- Mix together mix well to combine.
- Place three homemade pancake forms (instructions in the blog post) onto a frying pan over low heat and pour 1/3 of the mixture into each form.
- Place a lid on the frying pan and leave it for 20 minutes.
- Once the pancakes have little bubbles and the edge is slightly cooked, flip them over with your hands (wear gloves to handle them because they will be hot).
- Place the lid over the top again and cook for another 20 minutes on the other side.
- Remove the pancakes from the heat, remove the staples from the forms and take the pancakes out of the form.
- Serve the pancakes with your favourite toppings (e.g butter, syrup, ice-cream, etc.).
Rebecca says
What gluten free flour brand did you use
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Rebecca, I used Bob’s red mill gluten free flour 😀
Kelly says
I very much enjoyed making this recipe
My son is the one who loves Japanese pancakes and I am GF.
I am in the US and used Krusteaz GF All purpose flour which has anthem gum.
What I loved about this recipe:
I enjoyed not having to whip the eggs separately before hand
I liked the consistancy of the batter and found its density served well for making formed and thick Japenese pancakes
We use tinfoil to create the molds and this time I used butter to make sure it didn’t stick
the water in the pan helped with cooking alot as well- I think that is a piece I had been missing in the past.
In the past I would often find the batter too soupy and whole pan a mess- I’m not above making a huge pancake and cutting smaller circles out of the mess to make it look great- thankfully with this recipee that wasn’t needed. The most perfect forms ever!
That being said these were more dense than what my son had hoped for (he does eat gluten ) and I think that he would prefer whisking the egg whites first to lower the density.
This was our first time having the Japanese mayo and it did add a bit of a more tart taste than we had been used to.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Kelly Thank you very much for detailed review of the recipe and feedback. It does really help me to update the post. I am updating as much as I can and entire site soon will be redesigned too.
Isabella says
Hi,
Thanks for this gluten-free recipe! I was wondering if there is an alternative to the butter milk, as we don’t really use it here in the UK. Can I use lactose-free oat milk instead?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Isabella, Thank for 5 star rating and lovely comment. I have not tried oat milk but I think it will work well.
Josh says
Did the flour have xanthan gum? I see someone asked but it was never answered.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Josh, I used Bob’s red mill brand gluten free flour and I am not sure if xanthan gum contained or not. They don’t seems to have the same flour that I can find from their website.
Elise says
while Bob’s red mill does have have more than one type of GF flour. The 1 to 1 in the blue bag does have xanthan gum.
Catie says
Hi there! Did you use a flour mix with Xanthan Gum or without?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Catie, I am not sure to be honest. I did not check the flour label. When I update this recipe, I will.
kytriya says
Namaste gluten free flour is the best and works on a 1 to 1 substitute for wheat flour. My sister uses it all the time. It doesn’t have a grainy texture either that Bob’s Red Mill can sometimes have.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Oh, really ? Thank you for sharing information 😀
Ros says
Thanks for making this recipe available to us gluten free folks.
Sorry for my confusion, but the photos show 2 pancakes per plate i.e. per serving.
Then the recipe says to pour the better into 3 moulds and finally the recipe says it makes 2 servings..
What is the correct answer for a serving and what it makes: 1, 2 or 3?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Ros. Sorry for your confusion, photo does not reflect serving. The recipe makes three. It is quite filling so I would just have one.
Antoinette says
I would like to double or triple the recipe to serve a larger group. How much batter (in cup measurements) goes into each form?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Antoinette, if you click the serving number in the recipe, a sliding scale appears to allows you to change the serving number and also if you click US customary under ingredients list it change to cup measurements 😀
Antoinette says
Thank you, but how much batter goes into each form. In the directions, you say 1/3 of the batter, but don’t quantify the volume each form should contain.
pablo says
so great is gluten free!
Chopstick Chronicles says
Yes it’s great 😀
Ravi says
Thanks so a lot for sharing about gluten-free Japanese pancake. It was really awesome cake.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome Ravi 😀
S. Koeneke says
what is the difference between Japanese mayonnaise and say Miracle Whip is the USA?
Can you substitute? I’m sure I would not be able to find the mayonnaise you used in rural Michigan
Thanks going to try these soon
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi S, I am not sure what is Miracle Whip…. sorry, but if you don’t have Japanese mayonnaise, you don’t have to use it and you don’t need to substitute with anything. What it does is that Japanese mayonnaise is made of egg and oil therefore, it add fluffiness.
Kaytee says
Miracle whip is not mayonnaise. Hellman’s is considered mayo. Then if we compare real mayo in US with mayo in Japan. Japanese mayo is sweeter, but not that much (I compared with Kewpie)).
An says
Thank you so much for this!! I have to eat gluten free but I’ve always wanted to try Japanese pancakes! They look delicious!