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This is definitely one of those products where the payoff far exceeds the effort. Place mix in bowl, add water, blend with your hand mixer for two to three minutes, pour in baking tins, pop into the oven, and 20 minutes later … freshly baked bread! Let it be disclaimed upfront that I have developed a sort of addiction for gluten-free bread. Strange as it may seem the slightly different flavors and texture seemed to add some intrigue to my decades of plain old bread. With that in mind, Kinnikinnick’s products are tops on my list. For the less adventurous, they depart only slightly from regular gluten-containing breads in nature, but just enough to add some interest. My absolute favorite products from this wonderful Canadian manufacturer are their English muffins. Far from English and only hinting at muffin, these fluffy white mounds brought this hearty grain lover over to the indulgent side of yeast bread. Of course, the price is a slight deterrent for me. While not outrageous for such a product by any means, they qualify for my “special treat” allowance rather than the “necessities” budget. However, this wonderful mix produces approximately four packages of Kinnikinnick tray buns (very similar to their English muffins) for just $5.25 (USD). Now we are getting into my value price range.  In addition to the more worthwhile price, I actually preferred the mix to their tray buns. The reason should be fairly obvious: for such minimal effort I was able to whip up six (or how ever many I chose) fluffy white buns fresh from the oven. Freshly baked vs. pre-packaged? What do you think? Typically, I would shun a mix over homemade, but in the world of gluten-free yeast breads, a simple mix like this is the only way to go. Oh wait, did I mention it’s yeast-free too? Yes, yeast-like in taste and texture, yet not a bit of the active stuff goes into this mix. For those with yeast concerns, it should be noted that Kinnikinnick’s pre-baked tray buns and English muffins do contain yeast, so the Kinni-Kwik mix is really the way to go. I kid you not when I say that the payoff is huge. Typically, fresh, home-baked bread is a bit laborious, but this mix was so fast, that I had six very large buns ready for munching within 30 minutes flat. Literally only five minutes of this time was spent doing any work. The actual bread was as good as any I could imagine. Each bun pulled apart with a beautiful glutinous texture. They had a delicious white bread taste that was just a bit more "eggy" in flavor than Kinnikinnick’s pre-packaged breads. An extra hint of sweetness was a special treat that certainly won my husband over. In fact, he loved them, and had no idea that they were gluten-free! I would have preferred a touch less sugar for this savory bread, but my taste buds have become oriented to less sweetness. Overall, they were very tender, soft, and had just the right amount of chewy, without being sticky or gummy. In fact, at least as long as this serving lasted, no toasting was required! This freshly baked product retained some extra moisture that pre-packaged gluten-free goods could not rival. 
After making my first batch of buns, with tons of mix remaining, I opted to trial a muffin rrecipe that I had found on the internet, which specifically called for the Kinni-Kwik mix. Of course, I didn’t have all of the necessary flavorings on hand, so I switched the recipe up to make apple cinnamon muffins (the original recipe is on Only Sometimes Clever). While my version of the recipe still needs some tweaking in my opinion, the muffins were pretty good. You may like to trial your own version of this recipe: Apple Cinnamon Muffins - 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup cooking oil (I used coconut)
- 1/2 cup rice milk
- 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar or evaporated cane juice
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup Kinnikinnick Kinni-Kwik Bread and Bun Mix
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup chopped apples (I used Granny Smith)
- *Streusel (optional)
Preheat oven to 375º and grease 12 muffin tins. Whisk together the eggs, oil, rice milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla until smooth. Add the Bread & Bun Mix, whisk until smooth. Add the brown rice flour and mix until smooth. Stir in the apples. Spoon into muffin cups, each about 3/4 full. Bake until tops are medium-brown and spring back to touch, approximately 25 minutes. * I topped mine with a homemade streusel just before baking. I used some of the brown sugar, Earth Balance Buttery Sticks, some of the brown rice flour, and a touch of cinnamon. Alas, I didn’t write down any measurements, it was a little of this and a little of that until it tasted right. Blend it all with a pastry blender or fort to resemble coarse crumbs before sprinkling atop your unbaked muffins if desired. My Extra Notes & Tips: - The nutrition facts are a bit hard to guage from the package, as it only notes ten servings. In a mix that produces up to 32 buns, you can expect this to be a fairly large serving of bread. Realistically, I snacked on ½ serving and was quite satisfied.
Sodium is a consequence of many gluten-free products, and this mix is no exception. Luckily, a good dose of fiber and protein helps to compensate for the higher sodium content. - While I prefer the ease of buns and muffins, this mix will make a couple loaves of bread, and should work well in quick bread recipes.
- For another great recipe, I just stumbled across this one using Kinni-Kwik - Banana Berry Muffins!
Where to Purchase: Kinnikinnick sells their products in grocery stores throughout the United States and Canada. See their website for a store locator. If you can’t find their foods in your local area, just shop Kinnikinnick’s online store. Their full product line (an enormous one at that) is available via the web.
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