GF Soaked Flour Masa Muffins

Mmm, cornbread! I grew up on cast iron skillet corn bread slathered in butter, with a bowl of green beans and potatoes. I have such wonderful memories of the smell of corn bread cooking on my grandma's stove and the pot of beans boiling next to it. Unfortunately, it was really obvious that yellow corn was causing problems for us. Not only digestive problems, but migraines and behavior issues, too. I could eat yellow corn chips and have a migraine within 15 minutes. My kids would eat it and have what I call the "Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde" experience (going from a normal happy child to a screaming, raging, irritable maniac). We soon eliminated all forms of yellow corn from our diet. I was so thankful that white corn was available in tortilla chips and corn shells. But not long after I purchased white corn meal in anticipation of a skillet full of corn bread, I realized it was giving me migraines, too. I did several trials to confirm it was indeed the corn meal. I couldn't figure out why I had no problems with white corn tortillas or chips, but couldn't handle the corn meal.

After doing some research, it occurred to me that the white corn used for shells and tortilla chips is usually the whole kernel soaked in lime water and then ground up. Corn meal is not soaked, and it's degerminated. That's the process of removing the germ (the part of the grain that contains the protein, and will reproduce to form a new plant) in order to lengthen shelf life and prevent the grain from going rancid. On the other hand, keeping the germ intact and soaking the grain in lime water first releases the B3 bound up in it, and improves the amino acid quality of the protein. In other words, soaking the grain makes it more digestible (a recurring theme, don't you think?).

So, this meant I could purchase my own dried white corn in whole grain form and soak it in lime water myself, then dry it out and grind it. Although this really intrigues me and is something I'd love to attempt, I just don't have the time to make that a regular part of my meal planning routine. The alternative? Masa flour! Masa flour is the end result of the soaking and grinding process. It is available in most grocery stores, and it's dirt cheap. I bought some, tried it out in my corn bread recipe, and sure enough - no headache. Plus it tastes just as good. It's the consistency of fine flour, so the corn bread has a different texture, but I didn't care. You can also use masa flour for making your own tortilla shells, or making what we call "hush puppies."

This is my masa cornbread recipe, which I like to use to make muffins with. It is adapted from Carol Fenster's GF cornbread recipe.

2 cups GF flour blend
3 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup buttermilk, kefir, yogurt or kombucha
1 cup milk, nondairy substitute, or water

Mix flour and xanthan gum. Add buttermilk and milk, and mix well. Cover and let sit overnight or at least 7 hours.

After soaking, add the remaining ingredients until well mixed:

2 1/2 cups masa flour
1/3 cup organic cane juice sugar
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
4 large eggs (or 4 TB ground flax seed mixed with 8 TB hot water until it forms a thick gel) I like to use half eggs, half flaxseed gel.
2/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop dough into greased muffin pan or cups, or 9x13 baking dish and bake for 25 minutes (35 min. or until done in the middle for 9x13 dish). You can also bake it in a cast iron skillet. Just heat the skillet up in the oven while it's preheating, then pour the dough into the skillet and bake for 25-30 minutes.

This is a great recipe to bake and use with a dinner dish, then reheat the leftover muffins in the oven for breakfast the next morning with butter and jam. :)