Quick Breads and Muffins

Quick breads are wonderful and can easily be made gluten-free. Due to the fact that you don’t have to allow yeast rise, quick breads and muffins can be made with little effort and in a relatively short period of time. The result should be a delicious, moist, somewhat elastic, flavorful bread or muffin. Your quick breads can be both sweet or savory, served with tea or as a wonderful accompaniment to dinner entrées.

Choosing the appropriate gluten-free flour

As most of you know choosing appropriate gluten-free flours is the key to achieving good gf baking results. You can spend the time and money combining gf flours (rice, tapioca, sorghum, garbanzo flours, etc.), guar gum and xanthan gum (stabilizers). Of course this can be done in your own kitchen and at your own convenience, however, we suggest saving yourself a lot of headaches trying to create a close wheat flour substitute, by using already mixed gf flours. There are many on the market (Sylvan farms, Bette Hagman and The Gluten-Free Pantry, to name a few). We prefer using The Gluten-Free Pantry’s Country French Bread mix flour as a direct substitution for wheat flour. Our baking results have been quite wonderful using this flour.

Essential Equipment

Of course you will need several tools, appliances and bakeware to make quick breads & muffins. Should you find that you are missing something please visit the Glutenfreeda shopping mall. You will find all the items available through our affiliate Cooking.com.

• Loaf pan
• Muffin Tins (Jumbo, Standard or Mini Muffins)
• Large Mixing Bowls
• Large Wooden Spoons
• Cooling Rack

The Basics

Measuring Flours

Make sure that when you are measuring out flour, spoon the flour into a measuring cup and then level off with a knife. If you just scoop out the flour with the measuring cup you may not get an accurate amount of flour due to air pockets or compressed flour. Using the wrong amount of flour (especially gf flours) can dramatically affect the outcome of your bread.

Simple Mixing Method:

Most quick breads and muffins can be mixed in a simple three-step process.

	Step 1 First sift or whisk together dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powders & sodas, sugar, etc.)
	Step 2 Second, in a separate bowl combine wet ingredients (eggs, milk, yogurt, oil, melted butter, honey, etc.)
	Step 3 And finally, create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, fold mixture together briefly. Your batter should be somewhat lumpy. Over-mixed batters will tend to produce rubbery muffins or breads with uneven form.

Storing your Quick Breads

Quick breads and muffins should be stored covered, at room temperature or frozen. If you arefreezing your quick breads, wrap tightly and freeze for 4 - 6 months. To thaw just remove from freezer, keep wrapped and allow to slowly come to room temperature. The wrapper will act as a barrier to condensation resting on the bread.

Tips on Making Quick Breads

The most common problem with gluten-free breads is the gritty, crumbly texture resulting from using gf flours, not to mention the difficulties in getting the breads to rise without gluten flours. In order to compensate for this issue we've discovered a few helpful tips that can be used in all of your quick bread recipes. Our biggest tip was discovered when we made a delicious Strawberry Bread with Cream Cheese Spread. This bread utilizes an unusually large quantity of vegetable oil - you may think we're nuts as you mix the batter together, however, the results are absolutely wonderful. If your bread batter does not contain juices, as in the Strawbery Bread, you will want to add about 8 oz. of gf yogurt. This compensates for the missing liquid required to maintain the proper consistency of the quick bread. Our Lemon Poppyseed Bread and Zucchini Bread are greatexamples of utilizing yogurt. In all of our quick breads, you'll notice that have added a few eggs and increased slightly the leavening ingredients (baking soda's and powder's). This simple modification will help you create beautiful loafs, no different from those containing gluten. So, the next time you bake gluten-free quick breads keep the following modifications in mind:

• Add 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• Add an additional egg
• Increase the leavening ingredients (baking soda and/or baking powder) by up to 1/2 teaspoon
• If your bread does not have a natural moistener such as a fruit mixture, then try adding a cup of gf plain or vanilla yogurt.

Making Muffins

Just about any quick bread recipe can easily be made into muffins. The batters are basically the same, the primary differences being the baking pan (muffin tins versus loaf pans), baking temperature and baking time. Usually the oven temperature is higher for muffins and the baking time is significantly shorter than the time required for loafs. The above tips and modifications apply just the same to muffins. For a wonderful breakfast, treat yourself to delicious Blueberry Muffins. And let's not forget the scrumptious Carrot Spice Muffins - perfect for a Fall dessert.

Quick Prep Tip for Easy Morning Treats

A great time saving idea — Mix dry ingredients, cover and set aside. Mix wet ingredients, cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, combine wet and dry ingredients and bake. Perfect idea for a simple, delicious breakfast treat.

Try these delicious recipes for examples of delightfully moist quick breads and muffins.

- Glutenfreeda