For people who are new to the gluten-free diet, the prospect of baking bread with unfamiliar ingredients may be somewhat daunting, especially for those who were unaccustomed to baking bread before embarking on a no-gluten diet. As if the possibility of culinary failure were not intimidating enough, baking gluten-free bread requires an investment in expensive, specialized ingredients, some of which are used almost exclusively in bread and only in small amounts, particularly xanthan gum or guar gum. How can a gluten-free cook begin experimenting with bread baking in a relatively low-cost, low-risk way? The solution is to start with muffins.

Muffins are quick and easy to make, have a low failure rate, and can be varied in many ways. Furthermore, unlike yeast breads, muffins do not absolutely require the use of xanthan gum or guar gum for texture enhancement. Muffin recipes that do not call for xanthan gum are available in cookbooks and on the Internet, but even if a particularly appealing recipe lists xanthan gum as an ingredient, it may not be essential for a good finished product. Here are some things to consider in omitting xanthan gum or guar gum from a recipe:

• Check the flour blend you plan to use. Some blends, such as Authentic Foods Multi Blend Gluten-Free Flour and Namaste Foods Gluten Free Perfect Flour Blend, already contain xanthan gum, guar gum, or both. If your flour blend contains one of these ingredients, there is no need to use additional xanthan gum.
• Substitute unflavored gelatin for xanthan gum. Although this substitution will not work for yeast breads, it is typically satisfactory for muffins. Use an equivalent amount of unflavored gelatin as the amount of xanthan gum listed in the recipe. (Some sources say to use twice the amount of gelatin as the amount of xanthan gum. Experiment to see which you prefer.) Stir gelatin into the liquid that will be used in the recipe and allow it to soften for five minutes or more before adding the gelatin-liquid mix to the dry ingredients.
• Throw caution to the wind and skip xanthan gum altogether. The worst thing that can happen is that the muffins may be crumbly. You can always pretend that they have fewer calories that way. If the recipe calls for ingredients such as fruit purees (like applesauce or mashed bananas) or vegetables (cooked winter squash or grated carrots, for example), the muffins are likely to be moist enough that they will not be crumbly.

Even though muffins have a low failure rate, there are batches that are not perfect. If muffins are too dry, wrap them in a damp paper towel and reheat them slightly in the microwave oven immediately before eating them. If they are crumbly, chill them thoroughly in the refrigerator. Immediately before serving, carefully cut them in half with a sharp knife, spread the halves with softened butter or margarine if desired, and reheat them in the microwave oven until they are barely warm. Dry or crumbly muffins can have a second chance for success if used as a crumb topping for baked fruit desserts.

Finally, if you already have xanthan gum or guar gum but would like to experiment with omitting it entirely from muffin recipes, try reducing the xanthan gum in the recipe by half the first time. If you like the results, try leaving it out altogether the next time.