<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

On 10/1, I posted:
Has anyone found a Gluten Free English Muffin that has the crispy texture
of regular English Muffins when toasted?  Please reply and I will
summarize.  Thanks.

I received many responses. For English Muffins already made, I received the 
responses below.

Foods by George - 10 votes
Kinnikinnick - 5 votes
Sherrie's GF English Muffings - 1 vote
Dietary Specialties - 1 vote 

Another person recommended Glutino's bagels as an alternative.  I have had 
these and agree they are very good.  So are Kinnikinnick's bagels.  

For those ambitious enough to make your own.  I also received the recipes 
below.

Most commercial gluten-free bread doesn't have a good texture, even when 
toasted. Bread made with Expandex has a more "normal" texture. 

Since you asked your question at a particularly fortunate time, I pinched 
off an English-muffin-sized piece of dough when I made bread and prepared 
an English muffin. We had made English muffins in the past (before the 
celiac diagnosis), and since Thomas' English muffins are so good, it did 
not seem worth it for the extra work. Things are different now. 

You can start with any bread dough recipe. I've noted the latest 
experimental bread dough recipe below. Form the dough into round, flat 
objects, abou t 3/4 the diameter of an English muffin. Don't make them 
taller than 1/2 the finished height. Spray the tops with olive oil to keep 
the plastic wrap from sticking. You can raise these in bowls with square 
sides. Let the English muffins rise a long time, until at least doubled in 
bulk. You want big bubbles. 

Bake them on a frying pan or griddle at medium-low heat. Heat for 10 
minutes. Cover the griddle with cornmeal. Then put the muffin dough cakes 
on top of the hot cornmeal. Cook 10 minutes or so or until golden brown on 
the bottom. Flip them over. When cooked, cool on a rack.   When you are 
ready to eat them, fork-split them and toast. 

The crispiest muffins will be made from a bread dough that does not have 
milk or lots of shortening.  However, these will be the least tasty.


Latest Expandex recipe (use regular tapioca flour if you can't get 
Expandex. The result will be more crumbly. You can find out mo re about 
Expandex and where to buy it by going to 
http://www.expandexglutenfree.com . Click on "Consumer." 


Flour mix (Modified version of Carol Fenster's)
1/2 Cup Corn flour (masa harina or Bob's Red Mill) 
1-1/2 Cups Sorghum flour (Bob's Red Mill) 
1-1/2 Cups Potato Starch
1 Cup Expandex (a type of tapioca flour)

Ingredients
In a 2-cup measuring cup, put:
1 Tablespoon rapid-rise yeast thoroughly mixed into 
1 Cup 110 degree F water to which two pinches each of GF flour and sugar 
have been added
Cover the measuring cup with plastic wrap, put in oven and turn on the 
light. Yeast mixture will create foam and should reach the 1 1/4c. mark on 
the measuring cup. 

Dry ingredients
3-1/2 Cups GF flour mix
3 Tablespoons potato flour (not starch)
4 teaspoons of Xanthan gum or preferably a 50%-50% mix of Xanthan and Guar 
gums
1-1/2 teaspoons salt (needed to retard the yeast and for taste) 
1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (King Arthur Flour/Bakers Catalogue - this is a 
yeast conditioner - optional)
1/4 - 1/3 Cup sugar

Wet ingredients (in addition to yeast-water) 
3 Whole eggs or 3 egg whites plus 1/4 cup light flavored olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cider or rice vinegar

1. Add the wet ingredients to the mixer's work bowl
2. Mix on low until thoroughly mixed
3. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time 
4. Mix on medium for 5-10 minutes
5. Batter will be sticky but workable. You can form* it on a floured 
surface or put it into a baking pan without forming it.
6. Let rise until doubled in bulk
7. Bake at 400 degrees F until a cake tester comes out clean - about 30 
minutes. You can put an aluminum foil tent over the bread while it is 
cooking to keep it from over-browning. 
8. Cool on a rack until thoroughly cool before freezing or slicing. If you 
are going to freeze the bread, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then put 
that in a freezer zip-lock bag. Get the air out of the bag, so the bag will 
fit snugly around the plastic-wrapped loaf. Freeze when the bread is cool, 
but do not allow to stand at room temperature for an extended time period. 

*Ideas - roll out to 3/8" thick, coat with egg white, sprinkle with 
cinnamon and sugar, dot with raisins, roll up. If you make a thin roll, cut 
these up into 2" tall cylinders and bake snail-side down on greased 
parchment paper. You have cinnamon rolls. Put the roll into a bread pan, 
and you have cinnamon bread. 


Thanks to everyone who responded!

Casey Braddock
Chattanooga, TN

*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List*
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC