Gluten-free baking has been lacking in flavor, fiber, and nutrition for too long, like most recipes, rely on gums, starches and refined flours. In comparison, this baking process uses presoaked whole grains and is a fantastic alternative because it creates baked goods with great texture, taste, and nutritional quality. Preparation is therefore much less expensive than gluten-free blends and conventional gluten-free recipes. This has the added benefit of making safe, gluten-free meals accessible and appealing to the whole family. (No longer to make gluten-intolerant family members behave differently from the rest!).
I generally refer to these recipes as “blender recipes” because the whole grains are soaked for a period of time to allow the breakdown of enzyme inhibitors and increase the nutritional value, and then processed in a blender for use in a pancake, muffin, cake or cookie recipe.
The texture of baked goods made from mixed soaked grains is superior to those made from gluten-free flours and is much more similar to the white flour products that we are used to. They too are more nutritious and more economical! Gluten-free “blender” recipes are some of my favorites and certainly worth the extra work that has been expended on setting some grains to soak before baking time.
So here’s a simple recipe for blender-
Gluten-free Flour-free Banana Muffins
1 1/3 cups brown rice
1/2 cup whole millet
1/3 cup raw buckwheat
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
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1 1/4 cups water
2-3 ripe bananas
2 Tbsp. oil/butter
3+ Tbsp. honey*
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ground flax
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. sea salt
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2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
Soak the grains in plenty of water overnight (or for at least 8 hours) plus the 1 Tbsp. Vinegar …… vinegar. Drain and then add in the correct column to the blender with the ingredients. Gently mix in baking powder and soda when the batter is relatively smooth (sift through a sieve and whisk in to prevent lumps). Pour over into oiled cups of muffin. Bake for about 20 minutes, at 400 degrees. Makes approximately 1 1/2 dozen muffins.
* Or maple syrup or agave syrup
Option: add 1 cup of raisins before baking, to the muffin batter.
Make sure your muffin cups are well oiled, so they can quickly release. I like to use a baking stone (top style muffin) because it simplifies the cleanup.
Such muffins stay fresh and freeze well!