Gluten Free Pumpkin Sprouted Buckwheat Muffins

This is the recipe that never dies.

I invented the first iteration of it when on a very limited diet, during which I scraped together the ingredients I thought I could eat and tried making waffles.

It worked. #huzzah

So I tweaked and tweaked this recipe depending on my body’s changing preferences. After my waffle iron went kaput, I added some water and made pancakes. (It was probably good that the waffle iron was basically unusable, since it was coated in flaking Teflon anyway. Here is some info from Chris Kresser on cookware and toxicity.),

I then got tired of standing in front of the stove making pancakes every other day.

So I tried it as muffins, and huzzah again! Less labor, more yum.

My next dilemma was to get the muffin out of the pan without losing half of it to stickage (totally a word). I tried paper wrappers, greased paper wrappers, and then just baking them in the bare pan, exposing them to who-knows-what in the coating of the pan. (Again, with the potential for toxicity in cookware. Argh.)

I searched for less-toxic muffin pans, looking for something glass or possibly ceramic, knowing the stickage would probably be significant. I had thought about a silicone pan, but they’re floppy (an accident waiting to happen), and there’s toxicity debate there, too. It’s impossible (at least for me) to determine if there is actually a risk with food grade silicone being contaminated with other plastics. Just Google “silicone pinch test” and prepare to be confused.

Enter silicone muffin cups as a nice compromise. My IG friend recommended them to me, and I immediately snatched them up on Amazon*. Thanks, Sarah, for helping a sister out!

I’m sure hoping they don’t somehow turn out to be toxic, because they’re lifechanging. #dramaticmuch?

The muffins slide right out, and they’re so clean I could use them again without washing! #iwouldneverdothat #exceptitotallywould #anddid

The next picture is merely a suggestion that you not try to make a double batch, unless your blender is way bigger than mine and you have some big-ass bowls in your kitchen. I made a mess…

Oh yeah, the recipe. Disclaimer: I don’t often follow recipes, even my own. So my tweaking usually results in weird measurements or times or yields or cooking temps… Just bear with me. (Don’t bare with me. That would be awkward.)

This recipe calls for soaked/sprouted buckwheat. If you’ve never heard of soaking and sprouting grains (or nuts, seeds, and pseudograins) before, here’s the how and why. It’s not complicated. (I don’t do complicated.)

I measure the buckwheat prior to soaking. Buckwheat is a little weird in that it doesn’t require a continuous soak, but it can be taken out of the water after about half an hour and allowed to sprout. Sometimes I remember, sometimes I forget. #reallife

Wet Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup (dry) soaked buckwheat
• 3 T chia seed
• 1/2 cup water (1/4 for waffles)
• 1 15oz. can pumpkin
• Scant 1/4 cup honey
• 3/8 cup olive oil
• 1.5 t vanilla

Dump wet ingredients into a high-powered blender. I use a Vitamix like this one* and LOVE the heck out of it. #thanksmomanddad

Blend on high speed until smooth.

Dry ingredients:

• 1/3 cup rice flour
• 1/3 cup arrowroot
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt
• pinch ginger
• pinch nutmeg

I used to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add the blender contents. Now that I’ve added a bit more water to make the batter more pancake-like, I find I can dump the dry ingredients directly into the Vitamix and blend on low for a bit until incorporated. #lessdishes #lessismore

Pour into your silicone-lined muffin pan. You may have some extra batter, so you can either eat it with a spoon like my son does (gag), or fry up a pancake while the muffins bake.

Bake at 325°F for 45 minutes. NOW- I say this temp with caution. I used to bake them on 325°, but I’ve had to keep increasing the temperature. Not sure if it’s the recipe tweaks (more water) or my oven being wonky (as it is wont to do). I now turn it up to 340° and it’s perfect. You know your oven better than I do, so watch for doneness starting at about 40 minutes.

 

So how’d I do with my first real recipe? Let me know if you try it or a version of it, and if it was a traumatic experience or if you’d like to give me a high five!