Apple Buckwheat Muffins (Gluten-Free)

When I made Buckwheat-Corn muffins, I loved the texture -- crisp on the outside, crumbly inside.  They tasted great and the frozen leftovers thawed and reheated well.  I know a recipe is a winner when Nick asks if I've blogged it.  I just made a second batch with apples and spice. This recipe is lightly sweet...so you could add a dollop of apple butter or a drizzle of honey.  See the note at the end for the modifications to make a savory dinner muffin.

1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. gluten free buckwheat flour
4 T sugar
2 1/2 t Baking Powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t Penzey's Cake Spice blend
1 T whole psyllium husk
2 c. of peeled, diced baking apples (Cortland, Jonathon, Granny Smith)
6 oz. plain Greek Yogurt*
1/2 c. water*
2 eggs
1/2 t Penzey's Double-Strength Vanilla
1/4 c. butter, melted and cooled

Grease or line 12 muffin cups.  (I use foil cupcake liners, sprayed with cooking spray.  The pans stay clean, and the liners come off easily for a crispy outside on your muffins.)
Preheat the oven to 400°F, using a convection setting if you have it.

Melt your butter in the microwave and set it aside to cool.   Peel and dice the apples.
Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine thoroughly.
In another bowl, combine the yogurt and water and beat with an electric mixer until it's smooth and lump-free.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and beat in the eggs.  With the mixer running, drizzle in the butter.
Add the apples and dry ingredients and stir until everything is well combined, with no dry lumps.
Fill the muffin cups almost to the top.  (I used ~ 4 T of batter per cup.)  Leftover batter can be baked in greased custard cups.
Bake 14 - 18 minutes, until browned and firm.

* The Greek yogurt and water can be replaced 1 1/4 c. low-fat buttermilk or 1 1/4 c. kefir.  I use the three pretty much interchangeably for quick breads and muffins.

TO make a SAVORY DINNER MUFFIN :  Omit apples, Cake Spice, and vanilla.  Reduce sugar to 2 T.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread and Faux Pumpernickel

I made this lovely loaf of sandwich bread using the recipe from Shauna James Ahern's book Gluten Free Girl Every Day.  I'm not going to post the recipe because she makes her living developing recipes, but I am going to rave about it. (Pardon the exclamation points.)

The finished product is light and crusty, slices beautifully (when cool) and toasts up beautifully.
It's >50% whole grain!
It's faster and easier to make than any of the GF bread mixes I've tried!
The loaf released from a pan that had merely been sprayed with olive oil!  Most of the bread mixes I've tried create an adhesive-like batter, which sticks unless I use solid fat (butter, coconut oil, or shortening) to grease the pan.

OK, raving over.   To provide a full and fair review, I will warn you that this recipe contains 3 eggs and 1/4 cup of butter, so it's not suitable for a vegan, low-fat, egg-free diet.  It's also a batter bread, and came out looking like it had been baked in a Pullman pan.

I made the loaf in the picture using buckwheat flour for the whole grain, and my  All Purpose blend, which is a recipe I got from the Shauna Ahern's blog, Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.  I sprinkled the top with golden flax seeds.  I also used my 4" x 10" bread pan, because the narrower, longer pan seems to work better for GF loaves.

The bread was so good that I immediately made a second loaf, adding 1 T of instant espresso, 1 T of cocoa powder, 1 t of caraway seeds and ~ 1 t of molasses.  It was a wonderful faux pumpernickel (faumpernickel?) for pastrami & Swiss cheese sandwiches.

Buckwheat Pancakes - Gluten Free

2 1/2 c. kefir, unsweetened
4 T butter
1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs

125 grams 40/60 all purpose gluten-free flour blend
125 grams buckwheat flour
  15 grams psyllium husk powder
2 t baking powder
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
Fresh blueberries (optional)
Sliced banana (optional)

Sometimes my weekend shopping trip is to the Natural Foods store, which has a great selection of gluten-free pasta and flours, but doesn't carry buttermilk.   They do carry kefir, and I've found that this makes a good substitute for muffin and cake batters.

If you're only feeding 2 people and don't want leftovers, you may want to cut the recipe in half. We freeze the leftovers and toast them for breakfast sandwiches or snacks.

Preheat a non-stick griddle or skillet over medium heat.

Place 1 c. of the kefir and the butter in a microwave safe container, and microwave on medium power (or in short bursts, stopping to stir every 30 seconds) until the butter is melted.  Pour the butter and kefir into a bowl, and whisk in the rest of the kefir, the eggs, and the sugar.  Add the dry ingredients and stir until everything is well blended.  Remember, you can't make gluten-free pancakes tough by over-developing the gluten.

If your batter is thicker than you like, think it with a little water.

Wipe the skillet with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil.  Measure out 3 - 4 T of batter for each pancake.  I you wish, you can add banana slices or berries on top of the pancake batter while the first side cooks.  When the edges are set and bubbles are breaking in the center of the pancake, flip and cook until the pancake feels spongy and set when you press on the top.

To freeze, cool the extra pancakes on a wire rack.  Cut strips of wax paper or parchment to layer between the pancakes so you can remove one or two without defrosting the entire package.