By Peter Lyons Hall
Although in Victorian England there really was a muffin man who lived on Drury Lane and who sold muffins and crumpets door-to-door in the West End of London, the one at the weekly Lakeside Farmers Market in Winstanley Park, is named Bill Scher and the muffins he sells are all gluten-free.
Although he began his adult life as an attorney, for the last two and a half years, Bill Scher, the “Healthy Muffin Man,” (as he is known) reacted to his wife’s gluten sensitivity condition by learning how to bake gluten-free, using the more expensive gluten-free flour. “So over the years I baked more and more of them and my wife liked them enough to urge me to sell them. But I asked her ‘Who would buy them,’ and she replied, just make them and you’ll see. So I developed this whole line of gluten-free muffins and related baked goods. But the whole trick is not to make then taste like sawdust and to give them some really good flavor while remaining true to the gluten-free recipe. And it worked. It takes a lot of extra work and patience, but the result is really quite delicious. And for me, it’s much more fun than practicing law.”
His muffins include such flavors as Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl, Blueberry Cheesecake, Lemon Blueberry, Bailey’s Irish Cream Chocolate Chip, Apple Carrot, Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate, and Lemon Poppy. According to BakerPedia.com, “Gluten-free flours, derived from grains like rice, corn, and sorghum, or nuts and legumes such as almonds and chickpeas, must be combined with starches, proteins, and hydrocolloids to mimic the texture and structure that gluten provides. For instance, xanthan gum and guar gum are commonly used hydrocolloids that help bind ingredients and retain moisture, which are essential for achieving a desirable texture in gluten-free products.” But baking gluten-free involves a number of carefully crafted ingredients:
- Water helps activate ingredients like chia and flax seeds, and directly affects the dough’s consistency and the final product’s texture.
- Fats and Oils affect the mouth feel of baked goods as well as the color of the appearance during baking.
- Sugars contribute to the moist and tender texture of products, and take part in the Maillard reaction, the complex series of chemical reactions between the proteins’ amino acids and the sugars that create the flavors, texture, and color of the muffins.
- Starches and hydrocolloids like xanthan gum, guar gum, and cellulose gum help bind the dough, minimizing dryness while retaining sufficient moisture.
- Leavening agents (e.g., baking soda and leavening acids) assist in providing the structure and framework of the muffins that gluten would normally add.
- Emulsifiers and enzymes help improve the texture of the batter and mixability of the products, enhancing dough handling and stability.
To learn more from the Muffin Man he will be glad to regale you with his experiences baking gluten-free and (perhaps more importantly) will also happily offer you the oppoprtunity to try his free samples that accompany his amply-stocked table!
To learn more about the wide variety of vendors that stock the weekly market in Greenwood Lake, click on GWLNY.org. Lakeside Farmers Market is open each Saturday from 9AM-1PM on Windermere. Ave, across from Chase Bank at Winstanley Park in Greenwood Lake.
Photo credit: Peter Lyons Hall
