Mixing Techniques

Unlike with breads containing gluten, you don’t have to worry that overmixing will cause your bread to be tough. But you do want to be careful because overmixing gluten-free batters can knock out all the air and result in dense, very heavy breads. So use a light hand and don’t get too vigorous when mixing up the batter, especially when mixing by hand. There are two basic methods for mixing quick bread and muffin batters: the creaming method and the quick method.

 

 

Creaming Method

The creaming method of mixing batters starts with combining the butter and sugar using an electric mixer. It is easier to use a stand mixer for this process, but a hand mixer will do the job just as well. Creaming the butter and sugar serves three important purposes:

 

• To thoroughly combine the butter and sugar before adding the other ingredients
• To incorporate air into the batter to make it lighter
• To start dissolving the sugar into the butter

 

The butter should be softened before you start creaming. Butter is considered softened when it reaches 65 degree F. Softened butter creams better and holds more air than room-temperature butter (72 degrees F), while butter that is very soft won’t hold much air at all. If your butter is too soft, your breads and muffins will be very dense.

 

After creaming the butter and sugar, the eggs are gradually incorporated into the mixture. The flour misture is then added along with the liquid ingredients. These are added in small portions and mixed in after each addition to keep from deflating the trapped air in the creamed mixture and to create a smooth batter.

 

 

Quick Method

In the quick method, also called the muffin method because it is the common technique used to mix muffin batters, the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients are mixed in different bowls and then quickly combined together.

 

Place the flour and other dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix them together with a wire whisk until thoroughly blended. It is important to make sure the baking powder and baking soda are evenly distributed throughout the flour. Even blending of the leaveners within the flour mixture will ensure an even rise and prevent large air bubbles or tunnels from forming in the breads and muffins. Thoroughly whisking the dry ingredients together also means that less mixing is required when they are combined with the liquid ingredients.

 

In a medium bowl, use a wire whisk to beat eggs until the yolks and whites are thoroughly combined and frothy with no streaks of white remaining. Gradually whisk in the liquid ingredients, one at a time, until thoroughly blended. Then pour the liquid mixture into the bowl containing the flour mixture and stir until combined. Use a light hand when mixing in the flour mixture- stir just until the ingredients are well combined and all of the flour is incorporated into the batter. You don’t want any white streaks or lumps to remain, but you also don’t want to make the batter heavy by beating out all the air and causing the starches to set up.

 

Nixtamilization

This word has gotten a lot of publicity lately, and somewhat of a misunderstanding seems to surround its use and association. Nixtamalization most often refers to the soaking of corn meal or corn flour in lime water before baking with it.

When you purchase our sprouted corn or corn flour there is no need to also soak in lime water before baking with it. The sprouting process takes care of breaking down the natural barrier present in all grains.

“Nixtamalization is a process which involves soaking a grain in a highly alkaline solution to loosen the outer hull, which is known as the pericarp. When grains are nixtamalized, the solution frees up available nutrients and proteins in the grain, making it accessible to consumers and thereby raising the nutritional value of the grain. The process also makes grains easier to grind and handle. The most commonly nixtamalized grain is probably corn; as a result, some people mistakenly believe that “nixtamalization” refers to the treatment of corn specifically.”

 

Great Tortillas Every Time

Once you've mixed your tortilla dough, cover and let it sit for at least a couple of hours. The dough softens and holds together much better when you flatten.