The idea for Panera’s Gluten-Free Dream Day came to Marly after she was dining at Panera Bread and was quite shocked to discover that their menu did not offer a single gluten-free option. Marly thought it would be fun to get a group of bloggers together to create gluten-free recipes (and vegan if desired) that would be knock-offs of Panera’s current menu items. Hence, ‘Dream Day’ was born!
I admit, I was pretty scared at the thought of participating. I’ve never combined gluten-free and vegan baking intentionally before and I wasn’t sure I could have success.
But, there’s no fun in negative thinking, so I told myself I would rock out the best GF and vegan muffin I could! For my knock-off recipe, I selected Panera’s Apple Crunch Muffin, filled with apple chunks, cinnamon, and topped with cinnamon/sugar topping. My goal was to create a gluten-free and vegan Apple Crunch Muffin that would please just about anyone!
Come on, how difficult could it be?
Apparently, very…;)
I made the World’s Gummiest Muffin (above) in one trial using Bob’s Red Mill GF Flour and almond flour. I made three different trials using Bob’s GF flour and I never once had success with it. Now I know why many of you warned me about this flour! I’m sure it’s possible to have baking success with it, but I sure didn’t have any luck with muffins. Maybe it works better when not adding vegan into the mix!
Above right, you can see the World’s Most Crumbly muffin. I picked it up from the pan and it literally crumbled like a sand castle in my hand.
Hilarious.
Not.
All joking aside, a vegan and gluten-free muffin was one of the most difficult baking challenges I think I’ve ever had and it left me with a huge respect for this type of baking.
With each failed trial, I grew more and more pissed hopeless PMS-y confused desperate eager and determined to create a successful muffin. I’m a Taurus and I don’t give up very easily (aka stubborn as a bull).
I read up on gluten-free baking and tried to learn the secrets of GF + vegan muffin success. Well, the secret is that there aren’t many. At least not what I came across. And I soon learned that gluten-free baking rules don’t always cross over to gluten-free and vegan baking. It was a whole other ball game and I was way out in left field.
Six trials later, I finally created a muffin that I deemed not only worthy to eat, but delicious too! It’s a good thing because I was running out of ingredients, time,…and sanity! Wait, that’s actually everyday around here…
Oh She Glows
Cinnamon Streusel Apple Crunch Muffin (GF + Vegan)
Adapted from Gluten-Free Goddess’s Blueberry Muffins.
Dry:
- 1 cup brown teff flour
- 1 & 1/3 cups almond flour (I used Bob’s red mill)
- 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
Wet:
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 tbsp egg replacer powder whisked with 1/4 cup warm water
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced (1 cup)
Streusel topping:
- 1/4 cup sugar (I used Turbinado)
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp non-dairy buttery spread like Earth Balance
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a muffin tin with liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and water and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
4. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (except for apple). Add the wet to dry and with an electric mixer, beat until combined. It will be like a very thick cake batter. Fold in the peeled and diced apple.
5. Using a spoon, distribute the batter evenly among the liners to make a dozen.
6. Sprinkle the streusel and bake in the oven at 375F for 27-28 minutes or until muffin slowly springs back when touched. Cool in the pan for only 5 minutes (longer and it will get soggy!) before transferring to a wire rack until completely cool. The muffins will break apart if you unwrap them before they are cooled, so be sure to cool them for at least 30 minutes. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.
I adapted Gluten-Free Goddess’s Blueberry Muffins (<–a great blog by the way!) and I was very happy with the outcome. [Note that subbing 1 cup of Bob’s red mill GF flour for the teff flour produces the World’s Gummiest Muffin <—you were warned! ]
I would proudly serve these to anyone with a gluten sensitivity! They taste just like an apple muffin should and they weren’t beany tasting or gummy like some of my previous trials.
If my husband inhales half a batch in the matter of hours, I deem them a success. ;)
The density and flavour remind me a lot of a bran muffin with a cinnamon twist. Almond flour and Teff flour pair together wonderfully adding a nutty, wholesome quality. Not to mention both flours pack in a lot of protein, iron, calcium, and fibre.
Want to check out more gluten-free recipes?
Check out what the other Dream Day bloggers baked up for you! (Note that their posts will be going up throughout today and I will update the links accordingly!)
Bagels
Allyson Kramer — Jalapeno Cheddar Bagel
Muffins
Family Fresh Cooking — Wild Blueberry Muffins
Veggie Num Num — Pumpkin Muffin
Multiply Delicious — Chocolate Chip Muffins
Scones
Heather Strang — Orange Scones
Breakfast Sweets
Namely Marly — Caramel Pecan Rolls
Diet Dessert Dogs — Cinnamon Crumb Cake
Souffles
Clean Green Simple — Spinach & Artichoke Souffle
Marly says, ‘Right now the only way to try all these gluten-free goodies is to make them yourself. But who knows, maybe someday you’ll be able to pop into a place like Panera and enjoy one right from their menu.’
I couldn’t agree more! Thanks again to Marly for this fun challenge. :)
{ 111 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for all the links, I have been having a heck of a time producing and gf baking that is edible. I see why buying GF things at the store is so expensive, people are willing to pay anything not to make them on their own!
haha so true!
Those muffins look amazing! I never realized Panera didn’t offer GF stuff, hopefully they’ll see these and make a change. Trial and error makes the world go round, or at least really yummy muffins :)
Lol. I have yet to venture into gluten free baking. To be honest, I am a little scared, but the recipes above look so yummy. I have to give this a try.
This is too funny!! I just tried making my little mini bundt cakes, GF + Vegan last night. I subbed in chia eggs instead of real eggs, and they ended up pretty gummy. But…in a weird way they are delicious and I can’t stop eating them. Definitely not a recipe to share yet, but still somehow doughy + good. ;) Your muffins look perfect!!
Thanks so much for your trial and erroring. GF baking is a challenge indeed! I have made some breads that were great when fresh out of the oven, but then promptly turned to pucks. Or, breads that were fine warm/toasted, but otherwise quite disgusting.
A great recipe you might want to try/adapt is Gena’s Ancient Grain Breakfast Bread. I skipped the xantham gum, think the bread was still amazingly moist due to the bananas and apple sauce. These two items might just be the magic keys for GF baking.
I’ve actually never been to a Panera but I think your muffins look fantastic! I’d try one of those for sure even though I eat gluten :D
The muffins look wonderful. I was really looking forward to re-creating the recipe the first time you mentioned the challenge, but alas, it has almond flour and death by nut allergy isn’t at the top of my list. :-)
Guess my hot-pink Kitchen Aid will be getting it’s own experimental workout.
I have basically given up on gluten-free baking. Attempting to bake gluten-free W/O xanthan gum and sometimes experimenting with vegan too? Yeah, completely unsuccessful. I really miss certain things (MAN I miss my old whole wheat banana bread recipe).
I think one trial i made without x-gum was the one that totally crumbled in my hand…i couldnt believe the difference it made.
It totally does!
Thanks for ALL your wonderful recipes! I tried TWO of your bars today Me, my husband, sister and her husband are going on a road trip this weekend and I cannot wait to share them with everybody out on the road! Thanks again :]
Thank you! Have a great trip :)
I love that you’re baking GF now! I went GF at the beginning of the year due to a sensitivity, and it’s probably the hardest dietary change I’ve made yet. It does make it easier to avoid the high calorie sweets I used to indulge in, but sometimes, honestly, I just feel left out. So I’m excited to to have some more recipes to try at home now!
CONGRATULATIONS!!! Definitely in order. I’ve been working on gluten free cupcakes for months…..still not satisfied with the results. I’m taking a wee break from Gluten free cupcake development right now (it’s the hardest baking challenge by far!), but I’ll get back to the drawing board soon. Can’t wait to try these!
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This is such a cool idea for a challenge! As someone with a nut allergy, I can totally relate to the frustration when restaurants and chains don’t offer options that cater to people with intolerances and allergies or who don’t eat animal products. I wonder if any bloggers have ever done a nut-free baking challenge…
Congrats on finally coming up with a good recipe after all that hard work. They look perfect!
Aaah these look wonderful! Congrats on gluten-free vegan success!
I love experimenting in the kitchen and playing around with new ingredeints and recipes too. The only problem (other than occasional frustration) is that it can get soooo expensive!
Wow. that’s dedication.
Panera in St. Louis does have gluten free options. Some friends of mine have celiac’s and we can still eat there! Hopefully it’s a new trend and will be in your area soon!
Congrats on the gluten free success! Speaking of success, because of the postal strike, my latest issue of Best Health JUST arrived yesterday. Congrats on the profile in there!!!!!
Oh cool, I havent seen it yet!
Oh my gosh… this look delicious! Great job! I will have to try out this recipe!
oh my gosh all of these look so wonderful!! what a great ideaa!!!
Great job! I’m proud of your persistence. Gluten free + vegan IS hard! I bake gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, but I don’t always do vegan, because those eggs are hard to replace when you’re already modifying so much. I keep trying though. Good call on using teff flour. It’s great at holding things together (not as much as gluten, but better than other gluten-free flours). I’ve also noticed that using things like psyllium husks and ground chia seeds (chia eggs) help in vegan GF baking too…just in case you want to venture the GF way again!
good thanks! Maybe next time I will try a chia or flax egg in there :)
SO impressive!
And you are right…it’s almost shocking that Panera doesn’t carry anything GF.
THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL THE TESTING!
MY GLUTEN FREE FOOD BABY WILL THANK YOU LATER!
:-)
P.S. I think I would have munched down on those gummy ones too .. hehe
Ummmm delicious muffins!! I would like to stick my hands through the screen–but that wouldn’t be a good thing :)
Gluten free baking is full of trial and error. and lots and lots of error. I haven’t had a lot of luck with Bob’s GF flour and baking either. I found some great GF flour on clearance at my grocery store the other day and it was awesome! I went back to buy them out, but someone had beat me too it.
“Come on, how difficult could it be?”–
Ahhh, you were just tempting the GF Gods with that statement, weren’t you!
Gummy, gooey, crumbly, yep.
And Bob’s. I have NEVER had success with GF flour blends. Sure, can I get something that’s edible and is “fine”. Yes. Would I ooh and ahh and make it for a special guest or even want to “dive right into it” on my own? Nah.
It’s SO HARD to get the balance right with various GF flours, gums, sodas/powders, liquids, baking time, i was nodding in agreement about the 6 batches of muffins. Better you than me :)
Seriously, amazing recipe AND photography. The melted butter shots…oh, swoon :)
This recipe sounds seriously tasty!
Ahh thank you so much for this wonder gluten-free recipe and the gluten-free links! It’s so hard to find vegan and gluten free yummies to make. You made my day!
This made my day! :) I’m so happy teff flour worked out well for you. Looks like a very tasty muffin! P.S. Two other GF baking tips that come to mind: I often add buckwheat groats for the muffin top crunch factor, and making muffins with my juicer pulp always makes for a very moist (and usually lower-fat) muffin. Happy Canada Day!
That is quite astounding about their menu. Those look delicious!
These look scrumptious, and I am so excited that you are doing more gluten-free recipes! I recently had to go gluten-free, and though I love baking, I have definitely found it much more difficult to do it gluten-free (and edibly). I completely admire your determination (and as always, creativity!) in making these– I cannot wait to try them out myself!
These sound delish….I will definitely make these once I can track down the ingredients…never heard of teff flower or egg replacer powder…but I’m also a new “vegan wannabe!”. I think my kids will love them.
I have a vegan pumpkin muffin recipe that I will post on my website if anyone’s interested…they are so moist and delicous … my kids devour them !
I am not in the least bit surprised that Panera won’t declare any of their menu items gluten free. The likely hood of cross contamination in this type of bakery is way too high for someone whose health depends on the lack of gluten.
Yea I was thinking that too!
holy delicious! I admire your persistence!
Oh my gosh. This looks INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gluten-Free Baking is soooo frustrating! For now, I’ve given up, but I will probably try it again sometime.
Yes, GF and vegan baking is so hard! I’ve had way more failures with it than successes! I give so much credit to those who are able to rock it!
mmm these look fabulous!! A great reward for all your trail and error, I gotta say I had just as much fun experimenting with the my GF vegan muffins :) Love, love, love the Streusel topping and the use of fresh apple, yum!!!
Yes, vegan/gluten free baking can be challanging but it looks like you did very well! I hope Panera is listening!
HI – This recipe looks great… wondering, have you ever tried cooking with Coconut flour or oil. I recently tried a modified version of your brownies using the tef flour with coconut oil.. it turned out great.. Coconut flour, I am not sure about. The texture is not the same as other flours, although tasty. I have been trying to avoid gluten. its really difficult if you like baked goods!! ha ha. Let me know if you have had any luck with the coconut flour or oil.
Best,
D
Hey Denise,
Ive tried baking with coconut flour and I didnt have a great outcome. I find that it really dries out the baked good and it was very crumbly! I’ve heard that from others too, so I think it is more difficult to work with (at least with vegan baking).
Coconut oil…I love!
Those muffins look awesome! Gluten free baking is definitely something I’ve finally worked up the courage to try – I think these muffins will be one of my first endeavors!
This is just waiting for fall to roll around!