Gluten-Free English Muffins

After four attempts we have a gluten-free English muffin we can toast with pride. An English muffin worthy of jam. Worthy of peanut butter. Or a sit down breakfast. Heck, worthy of breakfast in bed. These warm and golden little babies are too crispy-tender good to munch running to the bus stop or strapped in your car, thinking about the onslaught of your daily tasks. These muffins deserve a proper plate. A mug of tea. Your Sunday morning iTunes playlist.

I'm not sure why a simple English muffin is so tricky to recreate gluten-free (and in my case, also vegan- no milk and eggs to help the stubborn gluten-free flours fluff and rise). I thought it would be a snap. So I perused Alton Brown's recipes for inspiration, found his English muffin recipe, and did a quick gluten-free casein-free conversion. It seemed doable. Although I knew from experience that using a griddle to cook the muffins would be trouble (especially here at high altitude).

I opted for baking the muffins on a sheet lined with my trusty Exopat (using a liner keeps those overly sensitive gluten-free flours from scorching on the bottom). I'm using English muffin rings to help shape the dough (I purchased them at Amazon). A reader suggested on Twitter I could use cleaned out tuna cans, but. That seems a tad unappetizing (intellectually, I know tuna cans would work; emotionally, all I keep visualizing is the mystery neighbor in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park who piles his smelly used tuna cans out in the hallway).

Using Alton's basic template the first batch turned out very dense, with no rise, and no crunchy edges- though the dough looked promising (pictured above, rising). Dense was not a quality I wanted in my muffin. So I tried again, this time using my own original Gluten-Free Bread recipe as a template (I'm loving the combo of sorghum, potato starch and millet as a flour base for yeasted breads these days). The result was better- but still not quite there.

After a third attempt I realised that the issue might be moisture. I was creating a dough that resembled wheat dough, and I could shape it a bit and pat it into the English muffin rings, but the result was heavy and more resembled a hockey puck. The fourth try was the charm (sometimes perseverance pays off). I added more warm water to the dough (than seemed wise), until it was more of a thick cake batter than a stretchy playful dough. And sweet John from Cincinnatti! It worked.

Gluten-Free English Muffin Recipe

Those of you still able to consume dairy and eggs, I imagine this GFCF recipe would translate into a more traditional recipe using milk and happy eggs. You might try adding slightly less liquid to start out. The dough is more akin to a thick, sticky cake batter.

Turn your oven on for minute to warm it, then turn it off. Grease 8 English muffin rings and place them on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle a little cornmeal inside the rings if you like.

Whisk together the dry ingredients:

1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup potato starch (tapioca starch will work)
1/2 cup millet flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt

Proof your yeast. You'll need:

1 cup water at 110 to 115 degrees F.
1/2 cup plain hemp milk (or non-dairy milk) at 110 to 115 degrees F.
1 pinch of raw sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast

Mix the warm water and milk; add the sugar and the yeast; stir. Set aside until the yeast begins to get poofy.

Add the proofed yeast and liquid into the dry ingredients.

Add:

4 tablespoons light olive oil
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
Egg Replacer for 2 eggs (1/4 cup mixed with warm water)

Mix thoroughly. It should be more like a thick muffin batter than a bread dough. A wee bit sticky. If you need to thin a little, add a tablespoon of warm water and mix. Allow the dough to rest for a few minutes.

Karina's Note: You can also create this dough in your bread machine. Use the mix/dough cycle. Let it rest a bit in the machine; then spoon it into the muffin rings for rising.

Spoon the dough into the eight English muffin rings. Using wet fingers press and smooth out the tops of the dough.

Place the baking sheet into the warm oven and allow the dough to rise. Check after 15 minutes. The dough needs to double in height.

Bake in the center of a 350 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, until firm and slightly golden (gluten-free dough doesn't brown very much; go by touch to see if they're done).

Remove and cool on a wire rack.

Fork split in half, and toast for maximum crispy edged tender goodness.

Makes 8 English muffins.

Wrap leftover muffins in foil, bag, and freeze for the freshest muffin experience.

Printer-friendly recipe.