The Dry Muffin Dilemma

[andanin]

Hi all,

My mum's just found out she has a gluten intollerence (maybe allergy, I'm not cear on which), so I thought I'd try my hand at whipping up some of her favourite muffins, minus the gluten. The problem is, they are very dry, and don't have the same springy texture without the gluten. I've used the recipie below, just substituting the normal flour for a gluten-free one (made of maize, tapioca, potato and rice). If anyone could suggest something to help bring the springiness back, I'd be much obliged!

Raspberry & White Choc Muffins

300g flour (using gluten-free)

2 teaspoons baking powder

150g castor sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225ml Milk

50g butter

100g raspberries

75g white chocolate

[YoloGx]

  andanin said:

Hi all,

My mum's just found out she has a gluten intollerence (maybe allergy, I'm not cear on which), so I thought I'd try my hand at whipping up some of her favourite muffins, minus the gluten. The problem is, they are very dry, and don't have the same springy texture without the gluten. I've used the recipie below, just substituting the normal flour for a gluten-free one (made of maize, tapioca, potato and rice). If anyone could suggest something to help bring the springiness back, I'd be much obliged!

Raspberry & White Choc Muffins

300g flour (using gluten-free)

2 teaspoons baking powder

150g castor sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225ml Milk

50g butter

100g raspberries

75g white chocolate

[YoloGx]

  andanin said:

Hi all,

My mum's just found out she has a gluten intollerence (maybe allergy, I'm not cear on which), so I thought I'd try my hand at whipping up some of her favourite muffins, minus the gluten. The problem is, they are very dry, and don't have the same springy texture without the gluten. I've used the recipie below, just substituting the normal flour for a gluten-free one (made of maize, tapioca, potato and rice). If anyone could suggest something to help bring the springiness back, I'd be much obliged!

Raspberry & White Choc Muffins

300g flour (using gluten-free)

2 teaspoons baking powder

150g castor sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225ml Milk

50g butter

100g raspberries

75g white chocolate

Hi,

I have found adding some quinoa flour can help. The amount varies however on the proportion of the other flours you are using. I suggest generally putting 1 cup of quinoa flour and one cup amaranth flour with 1/2 cup tapioca flour with just 1 teaspoon of potato flour can make it less dry. Use more potato flour at your peril!--it will never really seem cooked. I don't know about using corn flour for this. Its hard too to find corn flour that truly is gluten free--though possible in special packages.

1/2 to one cup applesauce or half to one smashed banana will probably make it more moist. Or you can cook and smash a small amount of yam or sweet potato. 1/4 cup is enough.

I suggest too consider using less sugar. This celiac etc. condition often creates fungal problems and candida overgrowth. You can replace some of the sugar with stevia powder to taste. Too much however and it will be bitter...So maybe use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon stevia max and halve the sugar to taste.

Again the milk might be better as non-fat plain yogurt since many celiacs can't tolerate regular milk especially at first. You can just add some extra water to liquify it. Given that however if you use baking soda it will react to the yogurt which will help the muifins rise better (like buttermilk). Thus maybe one teaspoon baking powder and one teaspoon baking soda?? Or just 2 tsp. baking soda?

Don't forget a pinch of salt.

Hope this helps make your muffins more yummy!

Yolo

[celiac-mommy]

I would try maybe adding an extra egg and sub oil for the butter. I always use oil in all of my muffins and cakes.

[MNBeth]

I'm still pretty new at all this, but I've had better success with muffins that have some extra moisture and flavor as part of the batter itself - pumpkin and banana are our two favorites. I've also done a carrot muffin modified from my favorite carrot-pineapple cake recipe, and they also came out pretty well. I wonder if applesauce in the batter might also help, but haven't tried it yet.

I had a muffin yesterday from a local gluten-free bakery, and I see that they use almond meal and flax seed meal as well. I have almond meal in my freezer, but haven't used it for anything yet.

Do let us know how you get on. I have a newly gluten-free 15 yo boy I'm trying to keep filled up, and he loves muffins!

[Juliet]

Adding almond meal can definitely add moisture (and a little texture). Another thing I do is add ground flax seed for both the added fiber, Omega 3 fatty acids, and moisture. The oils make things stay moist longer, even when the muffins form a bit of a "crust." I just add extra ground flax seed rather than substituting a portion of the flour with the flax seed itself.

You can also try adding a bit of yogurt. I have a great muffin recipe that always turns out moist, flavorful muffins that are so close to regular "gluten" muffins that non-Celiacs always ask for more. It uses lots of butter, eggs, and yogurt, and as I mentioned before, a little extra ground flax seed, too. How are your ingredients mixed together? Maybe you could modify another recipe and just include the white chocolate and raspberries for the same flavor elsewhere in the process.

[larry mac]

I throw everything but the kitchen sink in mine, but one thing I've noticed with many recipes is to make adjustments as needed to ensure that the batter is neither too thick nor too thin. I just don't think you can always blindly follow the recipes.

best regards, lm

[Mango04]

I'd add extra butter and some ripe banana. Applesauce might be a good addition too.

[tarnalberry]

I'm not used to metric measurements as a matter of course, but it looks like to little fat and/or moisture. some xanthum gum might help a bit as well. you can't really expect the exact same texture - gluten is what gives baked goods that springyness, and is exactly what we've removed - but you'll get something that's not too far off.

[susieg-1]

I add small amount of nut meal to all of my gluten-free baked goods also cream cheese or sour cream to add moiture hope this helps

[HomesteadMommy]

  MNBeth said:

I wonder if applesauce in the batter might also help, but haven't tried it yet.

I have found adding applesauce to my baked goods makes a HUGE difference! Much more moister.

[RiceGuy]

If the flour mix doesn't have a gum such as guar or xanthan, that would explain a lot. I also agree with the idea of adding nut meal. I've read coconut flour is great for cakes and muffins, etc, but have not tried it. Though fat can add moisture, I find it will make things less cohesive - that is, they tend to be more crumbly. Makes sense when you consider how much oil is used in pie crust recipes.

[buffettbride]

We use Pamela's pancake/baking mix to make muffins and also add about 2/3c sour cream to muffin recipes and haven't had any trouble with springiness or moisture.