Apparently the main problem was that the batter I made according to the instructions on the bag of pancake mix was way too viscous. A friend told me to add more water and showed me the consistency it’s supposed to have. Now my pancakes are round and thin instead of being two-inch thick lumps. I still need to work on finding the right temperature. I used to burn the outsides without cooking the inside and I’ve gotten better but I think I still had the heat up just a little too high today.
The off-the-shelf mix has the advantage of somehow being vegan. Technically it isn’t because it advertises “buttermilk pancakes” but in practice buttermilk is the last ingredient and there’s so little of it that I don’t count it. I admit that I’m not sure whatever alchemy produced it is good for me.
I have used off the shelf vegan mix. The one I had needed milk (substitute) added to it. Maybe you need to do that rather than add water?
You kind of buried the lede. Obviously the pancakes are going to turn out differently than traditional pancakes if you sub out like half the usual ingredients.
I won’t deny that vegan baking is quite limited. These pancakes are not going to taste just like traditional pancakes (and to the extent that they’re different, they’re probably worse) but they can still be round, golden-brown, and cooked all the way through without being burned. I’ll be happy if I get to that point.
Minimalist Baker has some delicious vegan (and gluten-free, etc.) recipes, although I admit that I haven’t tried any of their pancake recipes yet: https://minimalistbaker.com/best-vegan-pancake-recipes/
Most of those are incredibly solid. I’m not a vegan but I actually prefer standard pancakes made with oil and almond milk instead of buttermilk and butter with a little touch of coconut sugar. They tend to come out better and I like the almond milk flavor.
I mean, apple sauce instead of egg works wonders. (Or banana if you like the flavor. Or pumpkin. Or plenty of things. Bob’s red mill makes an egg substitute that works fine too.) Make sure if you’re using baking soda you add some lemon juice or some acid of some kind to activate it (apple sauce generally does that but other egg subs won’t.)
Do you not add an egg to it? I’ve tried using mashed banana instead which sort of works but still isn’t as good.
The instructions said to just add water, although the alternate recipe for waffles did have an egg.
Are there any ingredients in there that would substitute for egg as a binding ingredient? Pancakes with just flour salt and baking powder have problems.
It’s this stuff.
So i think that’s a no, but I don’t know what the “food starch-modified” does.
Supposedly starch can work as a binding agent, so that might be what does it.
I guess so, because what I cook looks like a pancake (when I don’t burn it) and is actually a little gummier than I consider ideal (which is why I need to try cooking them longer with lower heat) rather than crumbling.
Not Milk or Next Milk sub in well for regular milk