Gluten-Free German Pancakes Recipe

Name: Gluten-Free German Pancakes Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 1/2 stick of butter (4 Tbsp); 6 large eggs; 1 cup gluten-free flour blend *; 1 cup milk; 1/4 tsp Real Salt *

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This gluten-free German pancakes recipe makes the easiest puffy oven pancakes you've ever had. I love the golden taste and the buttery flavor mixed with syrup and fresh raspberries.

Gluten-free German pancakes on a white plate with raspberries and butter on top and maple syrup being drizzled on top. — Gluten-free dutch baby recipe

It's raspberry-picking season here and that means Daddy spends lots of time picking raspberries about every other night. Lots of huge containers of yummy, delicious raspberries that we either eat fresh, give away or freeze for smoothies later in the year.

With all these raspberries around, it got me dreaming about all the delicious possibilities for brunch or dinner. I discovered the very delicious combination of real maple syrup * and fresh raspberries. One of my favorite things to put raspberries on are German Pancakes.

In case you haven't heard of German pancakes before, they are a fluffy pancake you bake in the oven and it gets really puffy if everything goes as planned. They are super yummy with syrup or a good jam.

You may know them better by the names Dutch baby German pancakes or puffy oven pancakes. Whatever you call them, they are a delicious breakfast!

I've made them a few hundred times in my life and it always surprises me when someone says they haven't had them before. I mean, my entire extended family eats them all the time so I just figured everyone in America did. I guess not.

Well, if you are one of those people who hasn't tried a German oven pancake before, you have GOT to try them. I can almost guarantee you will start making them all the time.

My children ask for them all the time and we eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner around here. Making these is very child-friendly. They love to dump in the ingredients and push the buttons on the blender.

Ingredients

Butter - a half a stick of butter goes in the bottom of the pan and gets melted before you add the pancake mixture. This keeps them from sticking to the pan but some of the butter also magically gets absorbed into the mixture. I do save the better quality better hidden in the back of my fridge for recipes like this. You really can taste the difference and it is worth pulling out the good stuff.
Eggs - These are half egg and half pancake, not really at all like normal pancakes and nothing like a quiche or frittata. They are kind of their own thing.
Gluten-free flour blend * - As long as you use a 1:1 blend it will work fine. You may also use all-purpose flour if that's your thing or I have used about 5 other types of flours and they all come out fine, with varying puffiness. You may need to experiment a little and increase or decrease your liquid a tiny bit.
Milk - regular milk is best but I am often out of it so often sub it with either half and half mixed with a little water or whatever plant-based milk I have on hand (such as almond milk). They all work, just sometimes the pancakes turn out a little less puffy or a little darker, etc. than others. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Real Salt * - I don't normally include salt on my ingredient list but with so few ingredients I figured I should include this one. It's really important, not only to the flavor but for the puffiness. But - can that be true? Am I just imagining that? I swear when I don't put enough in then they are not as puffy. Well, they certainly don't taste right.

How to Make Gluten-Free Dutch Baby Pancakes

Pre-heating the oven is an important first step because doing that and melting the butter directly in the pan takes longer than mixing the ingredients.
Once the oven is heated, place the pan in the oven with half a stick of butter and wait until the butter is melted.
Next, gather all the ingredients except butter and put them either in a blender or a mixing bowl.
Either blend the ingredients or mix with a whisk
Bake the pancakes, which will hopefully fluff up in the oven.
Remove from the oven and serve.
Top with fresh berries or one of the other suggestions listed below and serve with fresh fruit.

What do you put on your puff pancakes?

A drizzle of maple syrup *
Fresh raspberries
Powdered sugar
Homemade Jam
Peanut Butter
A combination of the above

Variation

Line the pan with thinly sliced apples and optional raisins after taking the pan with melted butter out of the oven then add the egg mixture on top.

How to store gluten-free German pancakes

These will keep in the refrigerator for about three days, but they really don't make the best leftovers. They get really dense when they get cold so I recommend you only make what you can eat in one sitting.

What is the difference between a Dutch baby and a German pancake?

As far as I can tell, they are basically the same thing.

Why is my Dutch baby dense?

It could be several things. Did you properly measure everything? Did you cook it on too high a temperature (don't forget to lower the temperature by about 25 degrees when using a convention oven. Do you put enough butter? The butter helps make them raise so don't skimp on it. Did you pre-heat the oven? Did you whisk them too long? Over-whisking can cause them to overdevelop. Did you let them sit too long before putting them in the oven?

Can you make Dutch baby without cast iron?

Yes. My favorite is a cast pan skillet but if I don't have one I will use my stoneware and if I don't have them, I regular 9 x 13 glass or metal pan will work too.

I would love to know if you try this Dutch baby German pancake recipe and what you think of it. Please comment below and let me know!

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