Savoury muffins

Low FODMAP muffins are great served as snacks or treats when entertaining. They also freeze and reheat well, meaning you can pull them out of the freezer whenever you’re hungry. Here is a delicious, easy recipe for savoury low FODMAP muffins that is easy to modify to suit your taste or inspiration (see the tips below)!

Ingredients:

(Makes 12 large muffins)

• 1 ¼ cup (180g) tapioca flour
• 1 ¼ cup (230g) maize flour
• 5 ¼ tsp (14g) baking powder
• 1 ¾ tsp (3g) xanthan gum*
• ¾ cup (80g) oat bran
• 3 eggs 
• ¾ cup (190g) cream (thickened or pouring ~35% fat)
• ¾ cup (190g) milk, low fat, lactose free milk
• 1 cup (140g) feta cheese (crumbled)
• 1 cup (150g) capsicum, red (5mm dice)
• ¾ cup (20g) basil leaves (roughly chopped)
• Grated tasty cheese (1 pinch (3g) for the top of each muffin)
• Paprika (to sprinkle the top of each muffin)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160^oC and on a lower shelf of the oven, half fill a baking tray with boiling water (see tip below).
2. Sift flour, baking powder and xanthan gum into a large bowl, then add the bran (mix again).
3. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs with the cream and milk.
4. Add capsicum, crumbled feta and basil to the egg mixture.
5. Make a well in the flour mix and fold wet mix into the dry ingredients (you may have to add more milk to achieve a dough that is slightly sloppy, but not too wet).
6. Place large muffin cases in a muffin tray and spray well with canola oil.
7. Fill muffin cases (see tip below) and tap down top surface with a wet finger.
8. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with grated cheese, then paprika.
9. Bake for about 17 minutes until golden brown (an inserted skewer should be clean when removed).
10. Cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool further.

Tips

• Commercial baking often involves the injection of steam to the baking process. Placing a baking tray filled with boiling water in the oven assists with rising and crust formation in baked goods
• To fill the muffin cases, use a disher ice-cream scoop with a mechanical bail that slides in between the muffin mix and the scoop to separate it

• Oil the muffin cases very well using canola spray
• Cool the muffins and remove cases very carefully
• Remove cases when muffins are partially frozen
• Don’t use muffin cases! Try baking them in a silicon muffin tray

Why not be adventurous with the savoury contents of these versatile muffins? Some variations include:

• Instead of adding basil, add chives, parsley, green tops of spring onions, spinach, or rocket  (arugala)
• Instead of (or as well as) capsicum, add cubed and roasted Jap pumpkin, eggplant (aubergine), zucchini, rutabaga (swede), carrot, celeriac, parsnip or olives. Again, check out what’s low FODMAP on the Monash app!

*Xanthan Gum is in the process of being tested, however, from the chemical structure we believe it will be low FODMAP