Raspberry Multigrain Muffins

I always want a fast, healthy, delicious breakfast during the week. Do I sometimes thaw out some store-bought gluten-free bread, slather it in peanut butter, and eat while getting ready to catch my bus? Of course I do. But when I have the time, I make a week's batch of healthy, gum-free, delicious breakfast muffins. The beauty of this recipe is that it’s infinitely variable: put in whatever fruit or nuts you happen to have sitting around and watch them bake to light tender clouds of breakfast heaven.

I love teff flour. When I met Shauna Ahern a few weeks ago at the Whole Foods cooking class, she asked me what my favorite new discovery was since going gluten-free ten years ago. I had trouble answering. You see, I grew up with parents who love food. Moroccan stews, bisteeya, baklava, homemade dill bread rolls, tabooli, and hummus graced our table. I already knew what quinoa, buckwheat, and teff were. But I didn’t really know teff. I’d tasted injera, the Ethiopian flat bread, but I didn’t start to bake with teff until the last few years.

It’s delicious. The fine flour nearly melts in your mouth while it lends a hearty nutty flavor to the muffins without attempting to overpower the rest of the ingredients. These wouldn’t have the same multigrain flavor and mouthfeel without teff. So I will amend my answer of a few weeks ago. My favorite new discovery since going gluten-free is teff flour.

Did I mention it makes love to fresh raspberries? Try it.

Raspberry Multigrain Muffins

Makes 1 dozen

110g (3/4 cup) sweet rice flour

30g (1/4 cup) amaranth flour

30g (1/4 cup) teff flour

30g (1/4 cup) almond meal

40g (1/3 cup) tapioca starch

1 ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp sea salt

30g (1/4 cup) gluten-free rolled oats

100g (1/2 cup) brown sugar

1 tsp whole chia seeds

½ cup canola oil

2 eggs

½ cup unsweetened soymilk or almond milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

¾ cup fresh washed whole raspberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease your muffin tin with coconut oil or shortening. Bring out your eggs so they’re room temperature when you use them.

Measure dry ingredients into a large bowl (use grams if possible!). Break up baking soda and brown sugar lumps, mixing flours well. In a separate bowl or glass measuring cup, measure out liquids and lemon zest. Beat in eggs very thoroughly.

Mix wet ingredients into dry. Gently fold in fresh raspberries. Fill muffin cups nearly to the top, dust each with a few whole oats, and put them into the oven immediately. They’re rise higher the faster you’re able to do this.

Bake about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool at least 10 minutes before moving them from the tin. Store in a sealed container for 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.