We’ve been on a crazy breakfast baked good run recently, mostly focused on bananas. Today we’re baking our favorite gluten free muffin recipe. This one relies on oat flour for a mild, sweet flavor. It’s super quick and easy, and (like everything in life) tastes better with some chocolate chips thrown in.
Gluten Free Baking Tale of Woe
Maybe because it is home to so many skinny people with real gluten allergies and “gluten allergies,” Los Angeles is teeming with gluten free bakeries. We’re sorry to report that none of them are any good (that we’ve found so far, at least…feel free to send us recommendations, if we’re missing something).
A Very Short Inexpert Treatise on Gluten-Free Baking Science
Gluten free baked goods tend to be either very dry and crumbly, or very dense and gummy. Neither alternative is terribly appealing and, to be frank, we had pretty much given up on gluten free baked goods (although for those food chemistry nerds among our readers, here are some great explanations of the reasons your gluten free baked goods might be gummy or crumbly).
Gluten-Free Baking Science as Applied to this Gluten Free Muffin Recipe!
This recipe relies on oats instead of all purpose flour. The oat flour has a natural sweetness, but can result in heavy, crumbly baked goods if not paired with appropriate leaveners and liquid ingredients. Here, we use both baking soda and baking powder, to counterbalance the natural heaviness of the oat flour, and a significant amount of liquid (milk, oil, egg, and yogurt..phew!) to counterbalance the oat flour’s natural dryness. This recipe is super easy because we blitz oats into oat flour in the food processor, and then add the rest of the ingredients straight into the food processor. It’s quick, and doesn’t require the use of ingredients we can’t spell (still looking at you, xanthan gum). The flavor, with the oats, cinnamon, and chocolate chips, is reminiscent of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Unsurprisingly, these dissappeared with astonishing speed.
Recipe Facts
- Yield: 15 muffins
- Active Time: 10 minutes
- Bake Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients for this Gluten Free Muffin Recipe
- 2 cups old fashioned oats (to make oat flour)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/2 cup regular milk
- 1/4 cup canola oil or coconut oil (melted)
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats (to mix in whole)
- 1 cup chocolate chips (or fresh blueberries, if you’re feeling healthy)
Instructions for this Gluten Free Muffin Recipe
- Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease muffin tins or line with parchment paper or paper liners.
- Make oat flour by placing 2 cups of old fashioned oats in the bowl of a food processor. Blend the oats until they turn into a fine, powdery flour, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the dry ingredients (brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt) and blitz to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients (yogurt, oil, milk, egg, and vanilla extract) and pulse several times until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup oats to the food processor. Pulse 2-3 times until just combined.
- Stir the chocolate chips into the muffin batter.
- Divide batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through, until the tops are golden brown and spring back when touched.
- Cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes and then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- These apparently keep well in an airtight container, but we’ve never had leftovers to test that theory.