Gluten-Free Pancake Mix
El Peto: A soggy breakfast story
I have to admit, I usually have a pretty good knack for finding tasty and easy to make allergy foods. In fact, when kidding around with friends, Ive been know to say that I have a bit of a nose for allergy products! However, every once in a while an exceptionally bad allergy product has left a bad taste in my mouth. Such was the case with the gluten-free pancake mix from El Peto.
At first sight El Petos pancake mix looked ideal. All the ingredients were allowable, and the package stated that the mix was corn-free, wheat-free and gluten-free - so far, so good! Furthermore, it was even a bit less expensive than other pancake mixes wed used in the past, so I scooped it up with only optimistic thoughts of fluffy pancakes in mind.
I made up the pancake mix as per the instructions on the box. The first thing I noticed was that the mix didnt, well mix! There were a lot of lumps in the batter, and the consistency just didnt seem right. The recipe also called for a lot more oil in the batter than Im used to adding. This was my first sign of trouble; however, after using my hand mixer I finally got the lumps out and was left with a smooth batter I could work with.
First, I heated up the pan and poured the El Peto pancake batter in. Basically, I cooked up the pancakes exactly as Ive cooked pancakes for years. However my end result was a wet and soggy excuse for a pancake. In fact, the texture was so unappealing that I couldnt even bring myself to eat mine although my son, Michael, ate a few pancakes that were extra-well done.
On the side of the box, there was a suggestion that if the pancake batter wasnt the right consistency, more liquid could be added. Ok, so I tried adding more liquid to the batter, and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, I ended up with even thinner pancakes that were still wet, soggy and purely disappointing!
Thinking that my first experiment might have been a fluke, I decided to try the El Peto gluten-free pancake mix again a couple of weeks later. Unfortunately, I got the same mushy result.
Ill be honest; the El Peto brand has given us some problems in the past. Their bread is heavier compared to most other gluten-free breads, and its a bit soggy - even when toasted. So, I suspect that this company caters to a market that likes a heavier, moister allergy product, which doesnt suit the tastes buds in our household.
My overall comment about El Peto gluten-free pancake mix is this: I may not be a chef in the kitchen, but Im a very capable cook. I couldnt get this mix to work for me, and our desires for light, fluffy pancakes ended in a mushy lump of gluten-free batter. As a result, we wont be trying El Peto gluten-free pancake mix again.
