The Secret To Fluffy Gluten-Free Pancakes

Make your gluten-free pancakes pop with this simple ingredient

You probably have a gluten-free pancake problem.

Gluten-free flours don't behave like wheat flours, so many bakeries create their own "special flour blends" consisting of two to three different flours as a base for their delicious products. However, for home bakers, store-bought gluten-free blends can be expensive, and if you don't bake gluten free very often, you don't want your homemade blends to go to waste.

Gluten-free pancakes are notorious for being extremely dense. Between the combination of multiple flours and the extra ingredients to make them "taste good," you can be left with a flat brick that's impossible to save no matter how much maple syrup you drown them with. (Trust me, I speak from experience: I've been living with celiac disease and eating gluten free for the past five years.)

The secret ingredient for fluffy, gluten-free pancakes is seltzer water.

Seltzer can be your savior. Bonus: It also works for regular wheat flour pancakes, too! Next time you're craving a short stack—whether gluten free or regular—just substitute seltzer water any place you would use liquid in the recipe. With this trick you're one stack away from gluten-free pancake bliss.