Red Mill Corn Muffins

Can I tell you how excited I was to receive the Red Mill Flour Sampler Pack I got as a prize on Nazarina’s “Giddy Gastronome” blog? The pack included Corn Flour (which is what I used to make the corn muffins)Whole Wheat Bread Mix, Potato Flour and Garbanzo Bean Flour. How cool is that?

I researched the Red Mill Flour website and found a few very interesting things. But the one item that caught my interest was the gluten factor. I’ve read where more and more people are deciding to go gluten free. Why? Well, apparently gluten is the main cause of celiac disease, which impedes the digestion. That’s serious stuff; take it from someone who continued to have digestion problems even after her gall bladder was remove.

While people who have this condition should certainly stay away from gluten containing products, gluten is a necessary component in bread making. It gives bread dough that elasticity you look for after kneading in order to shape the dough. With the help of starch it helps the baked bread maintain it proper shape. On the other hand, it also contributes to bread going stale. Good or bad for you? Only you can decide that.

Reading through the Red Mill site, I learned that substituting corn flour, which is basically finely ground corn meal, would give your corn bread or muffins a denser quality. You know that texture you experience when you eat corn bread? You can taste and feel the gritty-ness of the cornmeal. I love it, but I wanted to distinguish the variations in texture for myself.

Red Mill was absolutely right. The dough was smoother and much denser making the muffins with the corn flour instead of the corn meal. It had the same taste I’m used to but my mouth certainly did notice the difference in consistency.

Next week I will be making the whole wheat bread. I demolished my bread machine, but my Kitchen Aid Mixer with dough hook is in great shape. Kneading will NOT be a probably for these arthritic fingers. Enjoy.

This is the recipe I use for Corn Bread or Corn Muffins. The only change I made was substituting the Corn Flour for the Corn Meal.

Cornmeal Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cornmeal (I used Red Mill Corn Flour)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a medium-sized bowl. Add cornmeal and stir to mix. Set aside.

In a small bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and oil. Add egg mixture at once to dry ingredients; stirring only until the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup up to two-thirds full.

Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Let cool completely on wire rack.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.