Gluten-Free Sourdough Snickerdoodle Muffin Recipe - Fearless Faithful Mom (2024)

Gluten-Free Sourdough Snickerdoodle Muffin Recipe

Sourdough starters are the bunnies of the culinary world. Stick with me here for a minute. What are bunnies known for? Multiplying rapidly. Guess what a good sourdough starter will also do? You guessed it, multiply rapidly! Starters need regular feeding and when you feed you have to ‘discard’ some of your starter so that you are only feeding a small amount. If you’re like me and hate to waste perfectly good food you’re going to need something to make with all that discard! This gluten-free sourdough snickerdoodle muffin recipe is the perfect way to put your discard to good use!

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Gluten-Free Sourdough

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the last year you probably know that sourdough has becomeall the rage. This old school method of bread-baking has become new and hip again. You don’t have to want cool points to make sourdough, though. It’s got a ton of uses beyond just baking bread, and it’s delicious! After spending the better part of a year getting familiar with gluten-free sourdough baking, here are some pointers I can offer you.

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The Starter

I researched, debated, and sat on the fence about making a GF sourdough starter for about 6 months before diving in. I know, that’s a bit ridiculous, but it all felt so complicated and overwhelming. If you’re like I was and feel like making a sourdough starter is way past your skill level, let me assure you that it’s really NOT that complicated! I finally stumbled upon a super simple method for building and maintaining a GF starter written by What the Fork Food Blog. Follow her method and you’ll be baking up a storm in no time!

Baking Bread

There are about eleventy billion gluten-free sourdough bread recipes out there. Let me share a few of my favorites so you don’t get lost in the deluge of options.

For sandwich bread, our family absolutely adores this recipe by GF Jules. It’s a great for a PBJ but also makes fabulous french toast! You can use her flour in the recipe or you can use a different blend. I have baked it many times with with Manini’s Old Fashioned Bread Flour.

If you’re looking for something with that old school sourdough flavor, these rolls from the Better Batter site are fabulous. They work really well with their new artisan blend.

Don’t Dis your Discard

Discard is a rather misleading name. It makes it seem like it’s something you just toss aside and forget about. Don’t do that! The part you remove at each feeding is fantastic for baking. You can use it to make a new starter for someone else (sharing with friends is great) or to make cake, cookies, and more. First, though, make these gluten-free sourdough snickerdoodle muffins!

The Flours

There are a plethora of gluten-free flours available today. You can choose from a multitude of high quality pre-made GF mixes or blend your own flour mix. I do both, depending on the dish I’m making.

My Flour Mix

To get a good blend you need a balance of flours and starches.For most of my baked goods I use my standard gluten-free flour blend that is equal parts (by weight) of sorghum flour, millet flour, cornstarch, potato starch, and tapioca starch/flour. Weigh them, whisk them together, and store in an airtight container.

Expandex

If you have made myCinnamon Streusel Muffinsyou know about Expandex. It is a modified tapioca starch that improves the texture and shelf life of gluten-free baked goods. If you absolutely can’t get your hands on this, you can replace it with regular tapioca starch. It won’t give quite the same texture as the original snickerdoodle muffin recipe, but should still turn out well.

Weight vs. Volume

The recipe includes both weight and volume measurements. Whenever possible it’s best to weigh your ingredients. Why? Simply put it’s more accurate. There can be a lot of variance in how much flour goes into a ‘cup’ but 50 grams is always 50 grams.

Substitutions

I know I’m going to get questions about substitutions so I’m just going to tackle a few head on here.

Can I use dairy?

I know that not everyone who is gluten-free needs to avoid dairy. If you can have dairy, you can absolutely substitute melted butter for the melted margarine and regular milk for both portions of coconut milk. While I haven’t tried this particular substitution since I can’t have dairy, I’m confident that a 1 to 1 swap will work well.

Can I use eggs?

You can absolutely use eggs in this snickerdoodle muffin recipe. Leave out the hot coconut milk and ground flax and instead use two beaten (room temperature) eggs.

Can I use a regular sourdough starter?

NO!!!

I can’t put this strongly enough. Absolutely no. You cannot use a regular sourdough starter in GF baking. There is a persistent myth that if wheat-based sourdough is allowed to properly ‘ferment’ it will become gluten-free. First, this snickerdoodle muffin recipe doesn’t ferment. Second, that is just plain isn’t true. It’s a myth. Please don’t believe the lie that wheat-based sourdough can be made safely gluten-free!

This Snickerdoodle Muffin Recipe is Made for YOU!

Don’t let gluten-free sourdough intimidate you. It’s fun and easy to do. Get your starter going and make these gluten-free sourdough snickerdoodle muffins for your family!

To get more support, encouragement, and recipes join my Fearless Gluten-Free Living group on Facebook.