Vegan Kombucha Muffins

By now, your favorite insta wellness influencer has probably piqued your interest about kombucha—and if you’re reading this, you’ve probably also already tried kombucha tea. But have you tried baking with kombucha?

If your brain just did a record scratch and rewind, don’t worry. Cooking with kombucha is still catching on as a trend. People who love the benefits of fermented tea are discovering that their favorite baking recipes are even better with kombucha! The reason is simple: Kombucha’s symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) lends itself to baking in a “boochiful” way.

Before you bust out the mixing bowls, fire up the oven and start baking with the ‘booch, it’s important to start small. You can’t turn a regular recipe into a kombucha recipe just by adding probiotics or fermented tea! Bringing SCOBY to the party is going to make your recipe behave differently, so you’ll need to make adjustments.

We recommend starting with something simple like a muffin recipe. Why? Muffins are simple and hardy—AKA, really difficult to mess up. Plus, what better way to start your day than with a kombucha-powered muffin that’s good for your brain and your gut?

Here’s a yummy muffin recipe to get you started, featuring our fav super-healthy, extra-delicious vegan probiotic drink.

Plan for 5-minute prep time, 15-minute bake time. This recipe makes 12 standard-sized muffins (5-5.5cm diameter).

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C and lightly oil the wells of a muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients: flour, oats, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Slowly pour in the wet ingredients one at a time while mixing: grapeseed or canola oil, maple syrup and kombucha. Whisk until combined, but avoid over-mixing. Batter should be smooth but not runny. Divide the batter among the muffin wells evenly.
3. Bake muffins for 5 minutes at 220°C. Then, reduce temperature to 190°C and bake for an additional 8 minutes.
4. Check muffins after 8 minutes using a toothpick inserted into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are done. If there’s batter on the toothpick, cook for an additional 2 minutes and check again. Repeat in 2-minute intervals until muffins are done.
5. Remove muffins from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. To de-pan, gently twist muffins while removing them from the pan.

Notes

• Don’t over-grease the muffin pan. Pour in a small amount of oil and use a paper towel to coat each well. Over-greasing may cause muffins to under-bake.
• Batter should fill ¾ of each well in the muffin tin. Over-filling will cause muffins to overflow as they rise.
• Rack the muffin tin in the center of the oven to avoid over- or under-baking.
• Expect muffins to rise gently in the first 5 minutes of baking. If the batter hasn’t begun to fluff up, bake for an additional 1-2 minutes at 220°C before lowering temperature and continuing to bake.

Get Your ‘Boochy Baking On

Interested in trying your hand at cooking with a vegan probiotic? This muffin recipe is a great place to start! Chances are, you have most ingredients on hand, and we know a place where you can buy kombucha online (wink wink, nudge nudge). Get ready to put it all together in some amazing muffins you’ll be happy to start your day with!

Our recommendation for cooking? Buy your kombucha online or from a health food shop instead of making it at home to ensure you’re cooking with ‘booch that’s made right and ready to lend itself to your kombucha recipe. Remember, quality ingredients make for delicious results! Happy baking with the ‘booch!