* CHOOSE A RECIPE: Choose a recipe that gets some of its moisture from grated fruit or mashed bananas or applesauce, grated vegetables, or nut butters - something with substance. Choose a recipe with 2 cups or less of regular flour per 12 muffins.
* REPLACEMENTS: Replace flour with a proportional amount of gluten-free mix. For 2 cups mix:Try 3/4 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup amaranth flour, 1/2 cup potato starch, and 1/4 cup tapioca starch. Or, al- ternatively, soy flour often works well with fruit and nut loaves.Try 1/2 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup soy flour, 1/4 cup amaranth flour, 1/3 cup potato starch, and 3 tbsp tapioca starch.
* GF NECESSITIES: Add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum and 1/2 tsp gelatin to the dry ingredients.
* EGGS: Choose a recipe with eggs in it. Then, increase the egg. If the recipe calls for 1 egg, use an ultra-jumbo egg or 2 small eggs. If the recipe calls for 2 eggs, increase it to 3.
* FLAVOURING Increase spices, vanilla, or other flavourings to compensate for the bland flavour of rice flours - though using amaranth flour will make a big difference to the flavour, too.
* LEAVENING: Increase baking powder and baking soda a bit - use heaped teaspoons rather than level teaspoons.
* DON’T: Don’t bother adapting bran muffin recipes. Rice bran tastes like sawdust. Really, really low-fat muffins and loaves are likely to adapt poorly, too.
* VEGETARIAN NOTE: If you omit the gelatin for vegetarians, you may want to get the same effect by whisking the flaxseed meal in the recipe with the milk, buttermilk, or other wet ingredients and letting it sit for half an hour, so that it softens and gels. I almost always include 1/4 to 1/2 cup flaxseed meal in every muffin or loaf recipe to get this effect and to increase the fibre content anyway.
* STORING AND FREEZING: Always freeze muffins and (sliced) loaves soon after they have cooled completely. Gluten-free baked goods do not keep at room temperature. For some reason, gleten-free food with baking powder or baking soda is especially prone to spoiling. By day four after baking, your muffins will be inedible.
