Your ticket to an easy, impressive brunch. Also called an oven pancake or German pancake, this gluten-free Dutch baby gets a dose of tangy richness from buttermilk and tender texture from sweet rice and sorghum flours all topped with thick yogurt and crimson maple cranberry compote.
Did you all have a good holiday? Mine was pretty sweet. It started out with the best present I could ever get – a printed out copy of my cookbook manuscript, which arrived on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. I resisted the urge to rip it open in front of the UPS guy and scream, "I WROTE THIS!!!" I can't stop gazing at it with love and a bit of fear. I have the next week to give it a thorough proofread before it goes to print (!!!) in January.
We reluctantly left both Catamus and the manuscript at home and headed to Berkeley to drink prosecco and eat gumbo and banana butterscotch pudding (a recipe from the aforementioned book) on Christmas eve with my family.
Christmas day was spent basking in sunny Santa Cruz with Jay's folks and gorging on Mary's epic snowball cookies (which I've duly adapted and raved about here) and persimmon pudding (which I've posted a different although still delicious version of here). There was oodles of cheese, two kinds of potatoes, salad, brussels sprouts, a cat and dog tolerating each other by the fire, a walk in the hills and a gorgeous sunset.
Throughout these festivities, I've been doing a bit of an experiment. I went to a yoga retreat a couple of weeks ago, an early birthday present to myself, and the days started with a class at 7 am. If left to my own devices, I tend toward night owl-dom, relishing the late hours for focusing on internet shopping work. But in the morning, I would sleep in later and later, regretting losing those precious hours of winter daylight. What to do?
During the workshop, it dawned on me (no pun intended) that I could harness the same sort of calm in the early morning, getting up with the sun and being productive from the get-go. The first two mornings of the retreat were painful, but on the third morning, I woke up on my own before 7 and felt ready to start the day.
I'm trying to make this habit last, and I'm 2 weeks in and going strong (though I'm meeting a friend for a late and probably boozy dinner tonight, so we'll see what happens!). For now, I've been grateful for a reason to crank up the oven first thing. It's been COLD here in SF, especially in the mornings, so the 450-degree oven needed for dutch babies gives me even more incentive to bake one up. Another incentive is to make use of the fresh cranberries that are still about, and yet another is that the batter comes together in an instant in the blender, with little clean-up.
Dutch baby batter is similar to popovers – a thin affair of eggs, milk and flour – and magic happens when the batter hits a hot, buttery skillet, creeping up the sides and rumpling in the middle. The top and edges crisp and brown, while the fallen pancake stays moist and custardy in the middle. I've been making this version with buttermilk, which adds extra body and richness, and sorghum flour, which adds a bit of nutty flavor.
I've been pairing it with this easy cranberry compote, flavored with tangerine and cinnamon and sweetened with maple syrup, and a big dollop of Greek yogurt or skyr.
Safe to say, I've got a bit of a dutch baby obsession going on now. But hey, if getting up early = Dutch babies for breakfast, count me in.
More Brunch Recipes:
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this buttermilk dutch baby recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Sorghum Buttermilk Dutch Baby with Maple Cranberries {gluten-free}
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk (235 ml)
- 1/3 cup sweet rice flour (50 g)
- 1/3 cup sorghum flour (35 g)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (30 g)
- powdered sugar, Maple Cranberries, and plain yogurt (I like Siggi’s plain 4% skyr), for serving
Instructions
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450ºF. Combine the eggs, buttermilk, rice and sorghum flours, salt and vanilla in a blender. Puree until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the blender once or twice to make sure the batter is well-combined and free of lumps.
- Place the butter in a 10” ovenproof skillet (I like cast iron) and place in the oven to melt the butter and heat the pan, 3-5 minutes. Swirl the butter around in the pan to coat it, then pour in the batter and return the pan to the oven. Bake until puffed, golden and cooked through, 18-25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle all over with the powdered sugar, then cut into wedges and served with dollops of yogurt and cranberries. Should you have any leftovers, they keep well, refrigerated airtight, for up to several days. Reheat in a skillet or hot oven for best results.
Christine // my natural kitchen says
This sounds so so so delicious! And that list of other dutch babies ... there's enough inspiration to last all the weekends of winter here! Cannot wait to try yours - maybe we'll do breakfast for dinner tonight!
Gaby Dalkin says
There's something so warm and nostalgic about dutch babies that I can't think of a better way to start the day. Your holidays sound so lovely! Can't wait to see your book! :)
Amanda says
These look so good and what a great combo you've got going on with the cranberry and the Siggis. I'm obsessed with them, putting them in scones and pancakes. I'm not on board with the waking up early business, especially these days when I go to bed so so late so I'm doubly impressed with this breakfast! You're killin it in the kitchen these days :) Glad you had a good holiday.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
A dutch baby obsession sounds perfect to me and I love the maple cranberry topping!
Amanda Paa says
what a fantastic surprise on christmas eve! it sounds like you celebrated with family in the best of ways. your yoga retreat, also timely, and such a useful gift to yourself. i find peace in the morning as well, when i can convince myself to embrace it.
now to make this dutch baby on a cold minnesota sunrise! xo
Alanna says
Aw, thanks sweets! Did you do it??!!
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits says
That's so great that you're starting your days early! Towards the end of last year, I turned into a night owl, and I felt so guilty for waking up at 8am every day! Sounds like the yoga retreat was just the thing you needed. This is a beautiful dutch baby, Alanna! Just want to dig right in!
Asha says
Congratualations!! I am looking forward to the release of your book!! Love how you use alternate flours and as an wheat allergic person, I have been playing with other flours for the last couple of years. Always looking for more inspiration and your blog has provided that in abundance! :)
Tessa | Salted Plains says
Two weeks in already! I'd say you are right on track for making early mornings a habit! I love the stillness and quiet that being up early provides and always feel the most productive when I can keep to that schedule. (I think years of early morning swim practices had something to do with it! ;) ) And what a perfect Christmas present it was to receive your manuscript. Yay!!
I love that you used sorghum in this dutch baby. It's beautiful. xo!
Lili says
These look so good, it's evening now and I would have them for dinner, yum! :-) How exciting that your cookbook is almost done, can't wait to have it on my shelf, love your work dear Alanna!
Carol says
I made this yesterday and it was wonderful! I haven't had a Dutch baby since going GF 4 years ago. I used blood oranges in place of the tangerines in the cranberry sauce, only because they were already on my countertop - was delicious! Thanks so much for this Dutch baby recipe!
Pippa Clark says
Looks so tasty! You got me, I'll try the recipe for sure!
Nadine Luscombe says
Can I sub out the sorghum flour for buckwheat flour? Also I've just ordered your Alternative Baker book all the way to New Zealand. I absolutely cannot wait!
Alanna says
I *think* that should work, though you may find you need to wiggle the amount up or down since every GF flour behaves differently. Please let me know if you try it! And thank you so much for ordering my book - I hope you love it!