I wanted to make a gluten free dairy free muffin filled with poppy seeds, using whole grains and not too sweet. I, of course, also wanted a muffin that actually tasted like a treat and was light and fluffy, with a delicate crumb. Could I do that while grinding my own flour? The answer is YES!
I like my muffins to be seasonal, but in the cold winter of Minnesota where I am, there are not a lot of seasonal fruits or add, so I stuck with a poppy seed muffin. Because I am an equal opportunity muffin baker, I made these with almond or lemon optional flavors. I have really been loving how the WonderMill grinds the gluten free flours. I have not detected any grittiness in anything I have made with the home ground gluten free flours I have made so far. Thank you, WonderMill!
If you like a sweeter muffin, feel free to add the optional lemon or almond glaze on top, but we liked these muffins equally well without it. The glaze is lovely for dressing them up a bit for a brunch and increases the lemon or almond flavor. But, as an everyday muffin, I skipped the glaze as it was a nice start to the day without a sugar rush. 🙂 I enjoyed a lemon poppy seed muffin with a cup of tea in the afternoon. It was a wonderful break and pick-me-up. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup freshly ground sorghum flour
- ½ cup freshly ground brown rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch (I ground cracked tapioca beads)
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsweetened milk substitute of choice (I like almond or coconut milk)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 large eggs (or 2 T ground golden flax mixed with 6 T HOT water, set aside until thickened.)
- ⅓ cup mild tasting olive oil
- 1½ teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
- For lemon: Add 2 tablespoons fresh, finely minced lemon zest and ½ teaspoon gluten free lemon extract with wet ingredients.
- For almond: Add 1½ teaspoon gluten free almond extract with wet ingredients. Add a sprinkling of slivered almond on top of muffin batter before baking, if desired.
- Optional glaze for lemon: Cook 2 tablespoons lemon juice and ¼ cup sugar together until sugar is dissolved. When muffins come out of oven and on cooling rack, brush with hot glaze.
- Optional glaze for almond: Cook 2 tablespoons water and ¼ cup sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Stir in ½ teaspoon almond extract. When muffins come out of oven and on cooling rack, brush with hot glaze.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In your mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, baking soda, xanthan or guar gum, and salt.
- In another bowl blend milk substitute, lemon juice, eggs (or flax mixture), olive oil and vanilla. Add lemon zest and lemon extract at this time if making lemon muffins or almond extract if making almond muffins.
- Mix wet with the dry ingredients until just blended. Divide batter into 12 lined muffin tins. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool muffins on cooling rack. If adding the optional glaze, brush hot glaze onto the hot muffins before cooling.
