Whether you're allergic to wheat, giving your tummy a rest, or just want to experiment with tasty and nutritious flours, these pancakes belong at your brunch table. They're light, airy, and really perfect for absorbing lots of maple syrup. Unless you have a gluten allergy, you may not have all these flours sitting around. You can play around with this recipe's flouor ratios pretty interchangeably, so if you need to use all corn flour or all quinoa flour that's okay.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 8 four- to five-inch pancakes

　　1/2 cup buckwheat flour

　　1/4 cup quinoa flour

　　1/4 cup corn flour (not cornmeal; corn flour is finer)

　　2 tablespoons tapioca flour (cornstarch or arrowroot would be okay, too)

　　1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (or flax meal)

　　1 tablespoon baking powder

　　1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

　　1/4 teaspoon salt

　　1/2 cup soy milk (or other nondairy milk)

　　1/2 cup water

　　2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

　　2 tablespoons canola oil

　　1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　Cooking spray

　　

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all flours and the flax seeds, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Create a well in the center and add the remaining wet ingredients. Use a fork to mix wellfor about a minute. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes and preheat a large, heavy-bottomed, nonstick pan, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat.

　　

Step 2

When pan is hot, spray with a thin layer of cooking spray and use an ice cream scooper to pour batter and form pancakes. I usually make two at a time, but do as many as you can fi t. The pancake should start to form little air bubbles, but not as much as "normal" pancakes do, so don't worry. Cook on one side for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook for 2 minutes more.

　　From Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Copyright © 2009 by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Used by permission of Da Capo Press.