If you love English muffins, wait until you try this homemade gluten-free English muffin recipe. They are slightly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, with lots of nooks and crannies. They have a nice flavor that is delicious with butter and jam! All you need are 6 simple ingredients!
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This recipe has been in the works for months, and I finally nailed it. I am happy to say these English muffins are also dairy-free and egg-free, making them vegan too! They have been tested with specific flour blends, so be sure to read the post to see those notes.
If you have missed English muffins since going gluten free, you are in for a treat with this simple gluten free breakfast recipe. All you need is four ingredients that are probably already in your pantry! For more breakfast ideas, check out all of my gluten free breakfast recipes.
Why I love making these gluten free English muffins:
- It is so much cheaper to make your own gluten free English muffins from scratch! Store-bought muffins are expensive!
- One thing you will love about this recipe is how allergy-friendly they are. These gluten free English muffins are also egg-free and dairy-free, making them completely vegan! You can also use a sourdough starter or active dry yeast.
- I share tips for using active dry yeast and sourdough starter.
- This recipe has so few ingredients you probably already have everything you need to make these!
- You can freeze these English muffins so you always have them on hand. They truly are the best gluten free English muffins!
Serve these with my Garden Vegetable Shakshuka and dip them in!
These turned out great despite using the wrong kind of yeast and forgetting the salt. Whoops! I used King Arthur gf flour. I cooked them in a cast iron skillet and the outer texture came out nice a crunchy/chewy. And now I’ll make with the right ingredients!”
heidi, blog comment
Allergen Information:
These homemade English muffins are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, oat-free, and soy-free.
Flour Blends Tested:
- Authentic Food’s Steve’s GF Bread Blend – Steve’s blend is amazing, but you need a lot more liquid using this blend compared to the Cup4Cup.
- Cup4Cup – Note: Cup4Cup has milk powder, and it isn’t dairy-free.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I have tested this recipe with the two flour blends listed above. Other gluten free flour blends should work, but you need to be sure to use a gluten free flour blend that works well with yeast. Note – King Arthur’s Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Blend state on their bags that these blends don’t rise well in yeast recipes.
- Xanthan Gum – Note: if your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum, psyllium husk, or Guar Gum, you will need to add that too.
- Yeast – double-check the brand you use is gluten free. Red Star Platinum is NOT gluten free!
- Honey or Sugar – You can use either. This recipe only calls for a small amount to proof the yeast.
- Water-purified is best because the chlorine in tap water really can mess with yeast and rising.
Easy English Muffin Tips:
1. For sourdough starter – For best results, allow rising in a warm spot for 4 hours. For active dry yeast – allow rising for 45-60 minutes.
2. Dough Rising Tip: Preheat your oven to 200º F, then turn it off. Cover your dough bowl with plastic wrap and place the mixing bowl into the oven. This is the type of warm place you need for rising dough.
3. Covering your pan will create steam, which makes your nooks and crannies’ bubbles form better. I use a large lid that fits over the top of the pan without crushing the English muffins.
4. If you use Cup4Cup, you need more flour than Steve’s GF Bread Blend. Use my photos as a dough guide to compare your dough to mine.
5. Store these English muffins the right way to keep them fresh! Learn How to Store Gluten Free Bread so you can keep it fresh.
Step-By-Step Photos and Directions:
Step 1: Add the sugar and dry yeast to warm water in a glass measuring cup or bowl. Ensure the water is about 120º F. Allow the yeast to sit and foam for 5-10 minutes. You will know the yeast is ready to use when it is bubbly.
Tip: Use purified water if you can. The chlorine in tap water may affect your yeast and hinder its growth.
Step 2: Add the flour mixture, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to blend the dry ingredients.
To make this bread dough, you can also use a stand mixer with a paddle or dough hook attachment.
Step 3: Pour the yeast mixture (or sourdough starter) in, then add water. Mix well with a spoon, scraping the bowl’s sides to get all the batter.
You can also use a standing mixer with either a dough hook attachment or a paddle attachment to mix the dough.
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This photo gives you an idea of the batter’s consistency. You will note that it is like a very thick pancake batter. Getting your batter wetter like this means tweaking and adding more or less liquid depending on the flour blend.
📢 Sandi says: Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the batter. If your cake batter is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary to learn more about this.
Step 4: Place the dough in a warm spot for the dough to rise. For sourdough, you must let the batter rise longer than when you use active dry yeast.
I have tried making gluten free English muffins multiple times with multiple fails. I first tried using thick dough that you could shape with your hands, but the dough was too dense, and it didn’t get the puffy nooks and crannies that English muffins are famous for. This is why my batter is a little thicker.
🔑 Sandi says: In most recipes, you must shape your dough before the rise. With this gluten free English Muffin recipe, you rise the dough first. That means when you scoop up the dough to cook, you need to be careful not to deflate the dough!
Step 5: Time to cook your English muffins! I used mason jar lids (without the middle part), and I made some without. If you have English muffin rings, use those. For best results, spray the inside of the rings with cooking spray. (I used a spray of avocado oil that I found at my local grocery store.)
Step 6: Heat a non-stick pan on your stovetop over medium heat. Place your mason jar lids in the skillet and then fill with batter.
Optional: Sprinkle the slightest bit of cornmeal in each lid before adding the batter.
Step 7: Cover the pan and cook your muffins for 7-8 minutes, then flip over to cook the other side. If you are not using mason jar rings, just put the dough on the pan and try to make it into a circle shape. Press the dough down to about 1 1/2 inches tall.
Covering your pan will create steam, which makes your nooks and crannies’ bubbles form better.
Step 8: Have you ever wondered how to get those nooks and crannies in your English muffin? These nooks and crannies are from air bubbles while the muffins are cooking. This is the perfect texture you are looking for when making this recipe.
Step 9: Use a fork to poke holes around the English muffin in a row. This helps you split the English muffin in half without cutting through the nooks and crannies.
If your muffins are still warm, enjoy. You can toast them in a toaster or toaster oven for added crispness. These nooks and crannies fill with melted butter and taste amazing!
This stack of vegan English muffins is ready to be eaten for breakfast! The top English muffin was cooked freestyle without a mason jar lid, and the bottom two were cooked in a mason jar lid. These gf English muffins are perfect for making Gluten Free Breakfast Sandwiches.
Frequently Asked Questions:
English muffins are typically made with wheat flour, so unless the English muffins specifically say gluten free, they are not gluten free.
Good news! These are naturally gluten free and vegan English muffins. There is no need to look for substitutions for dairy products. Note: Cup4Cup has dried milk powder, so if you are dairy-free, use a different flour blend.
These should keep fresh for up to 2 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer. To reheat, you need to toast them to get the crispness back.
The best way to enhance the nooks and crannies while cooking is to cover your pan while they are cooking. The steam will help make the nooks and crannies.
You can easily freeze these English muffins. Just let them cool completely, poke the sides around with a fork, then pop them into a zipper freezer bag.
To thaw, microwave the English muffin for 30 seconds or let it sit on the counter until thawed.
More Gluten Free Breakfast Recipes:
- Gluten Free Bagels
- Light & Fluffy Gluten Free Pancakes
- Gluten Free Cheese Danish
- Gluten Free Peanut Butter Glazed Cinnamon Rolls
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Gluten Free English Muffins
Ingredients
Method
- Add warm 3/4 cups purified water, 2 teaspoons cane sugar, and 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast in a small bowl. Allow to sit and proof for 10 minutes until it is bubbly and frothy.
- Add your 2 cups gluten free flour blend, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking soda to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. Your mixture should have the consistency of very thick pancake batter. Add more water as needed to get the consistency to match my photo above. (Every gluten free flour blend is different and higher starch blends need more water than others.)
- Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for at least 2 hours. I let mine rise overnight so I could make them when we woke up.
- You can cook your English muffins in two ways. First, you can use rings like mason jar lids without the middles, or drop style. Both work well.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Spray the mason jar lids with cooking spray.
- Drop in the mason jar lid rings and fill each with English muffin batter. Cover tge pan and cook for 7-8 minutes and then flip to cook the other side for 7 minutes. *Covering your pan allows steam to form. The steam helps make better nooks and crannies!
- Keep an eye on the pan temperature. You may need to adjust your heat lower if the muffins cook too fast. Remove from the heat when finished cooking.
- To cook drop style, drop the dough onto the pan and shape in circles with a spoon. Try to use your spoon to flatten the top. Cover and cook the same as if you had the mason jar lids as described above.
- To get those nooks and crannies, use a fork and make a horizontal line of fork holes all the way around each muffin. Pull open.
- Toast and serve with butter and or jam.
Nutrition
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with Cup4Cup and Authentic Foods Steve’s GF Bread Blend in this recipe. That doesn’t mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours. Note to add 1 cup of water (and maybe a little more depending on humidity levels) if using the Steve’s blend. You will probably need more flour if using Cup4Cup.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum, psyllium husk, or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon. Note Steve’s blend using a different binder so don’t add any additional gums.
- Pay attention to the rise times so your muffins turn out fluffy with lots of nooks and crannies.
- These muffins will keep up to 2 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer. Once you store them, you will need to toast them to crisp them up again.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
This post was updated with more information and better instructions from an older November 2020 post.
Please help. Made the dough twice, it doesnt rise. I followed directions to the letter. Using King Arthur g.f. bread flour. Yeast rose beautifully, poured it into the dry ingredients, mixed with a fork, until well blended. looks more like a bread dough than pancake batter, never the less. Covered with plastic wrap and put on low on a warming plate. Did not rise.
Previous day, used king arthur 1 to 1 g.f. flour, same problem.
Hi Brenda, The texture of the dough should be soft, but formed. It shouldn’t be like a pancake. If the yeast rose when you activated it, but the dough didn’t rise, I recommend checking two things. Length of time you used to rise the dough and whether the dough was too dry to expand? The KA bread flour should work. The 1:1 doesn’t work with yeast. Every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the dough. My rule of thumb is if your batter or dough is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
What is the ideal temperature for these to cook at? Using King Arthur.
Hi Amanda, Are you using KA Measure for Measure? This blend doesn’t work well in yeast recipes. I wish it said this on the bag, but it does on their website. If you are using their bread flour or all purpose gf blend, it will work well. I cooked mine on medium heat.
I made them as per the directions and let them rise overnight as suggested, which I think was too long. Baked in an English muffin pan instead of frying. They didn’t rise while baking as much as expected.
It would help me troubleshoot if you mention if you used sourdough starter or yeast, and which flour blend you used.
If you are using active sourdough starter instead of the yeast/water – how much would you use?
Hi Toni, I used 1/2 cup of starter. I hope this helps. You will still need some water, what blend are you using? Some are starchier than others and need more or less liquid.
These turned out great despite using the wrong kind of yeast and forgetting the salt. Whoops! I used King Arthur gf flour. I cooked them in a cast iron skillet and the outer texture came out nice a crunchy/chewy. And now I’ll make with the right ingredients!
I am so glad you loved this recipe. They make great breakfast sandwiches too :-).
I’ve made these twice so far. They are excellent. The second batch I added a little more water and they were better because they weren’t as “clunky” and easier to spread when cooking the taste was so good. I’ve missed English Muffins and these are so much better than store bought. I made them, fork slicked them and froze them as soon as they cooled. They toasted up perfectly and the flavor is excellent. I followed the directions exactly and will make them weekly. It’s wonderful to enjoy baked goods that are so good. I used cup 4 cup flour.
I am so glad you love these. I also missed real English muffins when I was creating this recipe. Thank you!!
This recipe was my first attempt in making gluten-free English muffins and maybe my first or second attempt at English muffins in general and this worked great. I used white sugar but I will try different honey varieties to see how that alters flavor. The dough rose very well in its 2-hour nap using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour and Instaferm instant yeast (treated like the active dry called for this recipe). Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper.
Thak you so much for coming back to let me know you enjoyed the recipe!! Thank you so much, Diana.
You used the blue bag Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour? I want to make these tonight and that’s what I have… do I need the red bag of Bob’s red mill? Thank you!
Hi Jenn, I am trying to see where you said I used Bob’s 1:1 in this. I do mention this blend won’t work in yeast recipes, and I don’t recommend using this blend. I haven’t tested this blend with the red bag Bob’s.
Cup4Cup has milk in it so therefore it in not vegan or dairy free.
Yes, if people use this blend, they are not dairy-free. I clarified this for readers, thank you.
Excited to try this recipe!! I’ve missed English Muffins since Celiac diagnosis. Is there a max rise time? Prep at night, rise that night + next day with cooking that night. Is that too long to rise?
Are you using a sourdough starter or active dry yeast?
I’m using active dry yeast. Thanks!!
If you are using active dry yeast, you do not have to rise overnight. That is if you are using a sourdough starter. I would make the dough, shape it, rise it, then cook.
I am in the process of making these English muffins and have already found that 3/4 cup of warm water doesn’t even wet the 2 cups of g/f flour…..had to add about 1/2 cup more? Is there an error in the quantity?
Hi Brenda, every gluten free flour blend needs a different amount of water due to starch content so it is fine to add more if you need.
Is there a simple way to get the muffins out of the mason jar ring?
Hi Joan, did you spray your lid before filling with the dough? I use a light canola spray.
Can these be made without yeast…maybe using the sour dough starter?
Yes, I have used my sourdough starter to make this recipe. I found, at least in my case, I needed a MUCH longer rise time using the sourdough starter. I let it rise overnight, then another 1-2 hour rise in the bowl before making them.
If I use my brown rice sourdough starter, how much do I use in your recipe and do I subtract that amount from your GF flour recipe? Looking forward to these muffins for breakfast! Haven’t had one in 16ys.
Hi Linda, I recommend using 1/3 cup of starter. I find when I make these with sourdough starter, it needs a longer rise time. Try to add enough flour so your batter is similar to the consistency of what I show in the step by step photos. I hope this helps.
I’d like to make these but sub 1 c. Almond flour for 1 c. of the gf flour, what do you think?
Hi Diane, almond flour will not work as a substitution.