Hamberger "Bun" Solution

Anyone who has is forced to eat gluten free, has also been forced to be creative. One area that we have had to be creative in is sandwiches. In particular: hamburgers.

Now my husband really misses having a good old hamburger... you know, light bun, grilled paddy, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mushroom, onion, relish, mustard, ketchup... the works.

We have tried baking different kinds of buns, but none have really turned out how he likes them: light. We just have to face the fact that GF breads are denser and heavier than wheat breads. So we came up with another solution...

"The Pancake Burger"

OK, don't turn me off, I am serious! My husband says this tastes almost like a McDonald's burger - and that the pancakes are about as thick as a McDonald's hamburger bun, anyways. :)

So, now when we have a BBQ, we make up a batch of these little pancakes that just fit the hamburger paddies perfectly. They are tidy and easy to hold onto and make us feel like we are eating a real hamburger again.

By the way, this recipe makes fine breakfast pancakes, too. Since I avoid yeast, I keep some of these in the freezer to toast for lunch to eat with my chicken salad or whatever. They really are a solution for a lot of problems at our house! :)

BASIC PANCAKES

1 cups brown rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 Tbsp glutenous rice flour* or instant mashed potato flakes*, optional

pinch of xanthan gum (less than 1/8 tsp)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

2 eggs

1 cup water or milk

METHOD:

-Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.

- Add the oil, eggs and water all together and whisk until smooth.

-Pour onto a hot, greased griddle in small rounds. Turn when the edges appear dry and they are browned.

*The glutenous rice flour does NOT have gluten in it... it is just ground from a sticky rice. I get it in the oriental section in my grocery store.

*Make sure that the mashed potato flakes are gluten free.

The purpose of the glutenous rice flour or the potato flakes is it makes the pancakes more moist and gives them a nicer texture.