Apple Spice Muffins

Some of my best memories of childhood come from baking muffins with my mom. Few memories can puncture the sweet smell of something warm in the oven, teasing the impatient belly while quietly teaching the intuition of readiness. Save for twirling in the rain (in a twirly dress and muddy sneakers) staring at ants and worms, and being read to, no memory is as crystal, as salient, or as rich. And so as the spring worms uncurl their bodies and as the obnoxious but inevitable ants crawl happily over discarded cat food, I am much inclined toward nostalgic reminiscing and momentous discoveries of new traditions.
One of my all-time favourite food-writers, Karina, the quirky Gluten-Free Goddess, posted some years ago a recipe for gooey-delicious apple muffins. As the Canadian season of apples has now come nearly full-circle with new buds blossoming, and with worms, and muffin-needs, the words of Rambling Richard of Twice Upon a Time (Irwin Shapiro and Adrienne Adams) forever mulling in my brain, and Apples in my stereo... Life is just about starting to make sense!
Inspired, I made a fusion of my hand-me-down recipe (circa 1980), Karina’s rustic delight, along with some sorghum-free tricks of my own (because no matter how good life gets, it’s made all the better with a rant!) of a vegan, gluten-free apple-spice muffin--tested and improved by the wise maternal powers that be.


 
“Green Machine” was one of the first tracks I heard by Apples in Stereo, off of Fun Trick Noisemaker, on my very first computer--blew my 14 year old mind and helped me enter high school on the right musical note.

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Dry Mix
1 ½ C white or brown rice flour
¼ C potato flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp xanthan gum or guar gum (see below)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ -1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp all-spice
Moist mix
1 C apple sauce
½ C organic brown sugar (check side-bar for conversions on granulated-alternatives)
1/3 C organic vegetable/olive oil
½ C Unsweetened organic apple juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 C apple

Preheat oven to 375 and prepare 12 muffin cups
Fill muffin cups entirely and bake for 25-30 min.
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If you tend to shy away from muffins because they end up a spilly-over gloop, or hockey pucks, I implore you to attempt this recipe. The key to muffins is the simple act of mixing. More than the chemistry of the ingredients themselves, muffin-chemistry is all about circulation. Your mixture of dry ingredients should be well mixed so the leavening agents are fully distributed, just as your moist ingredients should be well-mixed so that by the time you put the two together minimal mixing can happen. If you over-mix your muffins they are guaranteed to be tough. Clumps and flour tuffs are more than welcome, they are necessary to the rising process. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to gently fold wet and dry together.

These muffins are exceptionally moist and fluffy, which means they keep incredibly well and may be best enjoyed the next day. Gluten-free xanthan or guar gum easily make up for the lack of binding wheat gluten, however, be aware of where these fibrous starches come from. Xanthan gum has been scrutinized for its generic use as an emulsifying agent in many products, though most significantly in formula breast-alternative milk; its dust may be a potent allergen, and it is not always clear where it comes from, so vegans take note. However the common gluten-free, corn-derived xanthan has also proven troublesome for some. Not as potent as highly processed corn starch, xanthan has been good to me, but if corn-derivatives are a no-go for you, the légume-derived and more efficient guar gum is a good bet. Simply be aware of your body--if you experience upset from légumes, guar may not be for you, however, consider what part of the food triggers the response; is it an allergy or an improperly stripped shell (the shells of légumes and many ancient grains are known to have a potent laxative effect) or a desire to minimize that particular ingredient?
If merely reducing foods for the sake of “starch is bad” consider your ingredients through a different lens. Many who scoff at xanthan gum for its corniness will often turn to sorghum, a dry and flaky starch derived from a type of grass that is in fact far more difficult for the digestive system and causes far more troubling gastrointestinal issues. My own allergies create a bias, here--the closer to hay a grass is, the more likely it is to cause a severe anaphylactic response. However, high-heat baking causes the retrograde effect of turning the sorghum from soluble fibre (which occurs in its heavy processing and steaming) back into a heavily insoluble fibre, creating a starch with greater digestive difficulties than corn. Translation: the body cannot create the enzymatic response to properly break down the vitamins, minerals, and proteins present in the starch. However, if you are in need of a tough insoluble fibre to quell the laxative effects of other foods, sorghum may be just what you are looking for.
No starch is outright bad, it may simply not be right for your body’s needs. Having low blood sugar and a Scot-Irish background makes potato starch a far more efficient candidate, but a peek into your own body’s sugar-starch-protein needs may reveal the opposite. When making warm-homey-gooey comfort food such as muffins, the key is merely to keep it as comfortable as can be. Keep an eye out for my foray into my go-to tumbleweed cousin, quinoa, and my blind journey through the herbal, poetic lands of amaranth and arrowroot. Simply relive the nurturing, childhood comfort of a freshly baked, mouth-watering delight.

For further reading:
The lovely and funny Gluten-free Goddess http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca/2008/11/cinnamon-apple-muffins.html
A more objective take on sorghum and farming practices
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum#Nutritional_profile_of_sorghum
A fantastic resource for all walks of cooking
http://www.foodsubs.com/ThickenStarch.html