I had a craving for a bran muffin recently, but a homemade one.
Since we have moved I am surprised ( and almost ashamed) at how little baking I have done these past couple of months…
There was the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting I made for my son’s birthday which we celebrated Thanksgiving weekend, just a couple days after moving into our newly constructed home.
Actually, now that I think about it, I had baked the cake layers the night before we moved out of our rental, froze them, and transported them to the new house knowing full well I wouldn’t even have a mixing bowl unpacked by that weekend. I made the frosting at the same time and kept that in the fridge.
So when it was time I defrosted the cake layers, let the frosting get to room temperature before beating life back into it, and spread it on the cake.
We had our birthday cake, and we could eat it too! And, in our new house!!!
The only other baking I have done was a huge batch of these Crisp and Chewy (big) Chocolate Chip Cookies which I have previously posted in this blog, and made numerous times.
I discovered this time that leaving the unbaked cookie dough in the fridge for several hours or even overnight, and scooping them onto the sheet while still chilled results in an even crispier and chewier cookie.
And although the recipe suggests making them extra large (use a full size ice cream scoop to drop them) this time I made several additional sheets of small ones, and they were also really delicious.
The best part is you can eat more and feel a little less guilty…either way you won’t be disappointed.
I’ve shared some with various tradesmen who have been coming and going these past months tending to all the details to be dealt with in new construction, and they seemed to agree with me!!!
So now that I have lamented my lack of baking in my new kitchen (…it takes a long time to make a new home feel like home, and I guess I’ve been spending a good deal of my time doing just that), I am happy to report that I did make those bran muffins you see cooling on the rack at the top of this page!
This is a fabulous recipe from the renowned baker and restauranteur Nancy Silverton, and I happened upon it while looking on David Lebovitz’s blog.
These bran muffins are very light, very moist, and not overly sweet. The orange zest is a wonderful addition. As the recipe suggests it is best to use paper baking cups inside those muffin tins to allow for nicely shaped muffins as well as ease of removing them from the tin.
However, I had no paper baking cups (still in the process of stocking the pantry), but I was not about to let that stop me from making these delicious yet healthy muffins. So they probably aren’t as pretty as they could have been, but pretty isn’t everything! Here’s the recipe…
Nancy Silverton’s Bran Muffins (from David Lebovitz’s blog)
These muffins are quite different than other muffins. For one thing, they’re much, much lighter in texture. And for another, they’re not very sweet.
Be sure to fill the molds so that the batter is mounded up in each tin. Next batch, I’m going to try baking them at a higher temperature, 400F (200C), and see if that gives them more height and oomph. I’ll revise the recipe if I do.
2 cup (125g) wheat bran
1 cup, plus ½ cup (190g total) dark raisins
1 cup, plus ½ (370ml total) cup water
½ cup (120g) buttermilk or plain low- or non-fat yogurt
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin (with ½-cup indentations) with paper liners.
2. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for six to eight minutes, stirring a few times so it cooks evenly. Let cool.
3. While the bran is toasting, heat 1 cup (135g) of the raisins with ½ cup (120ml) of the water. Simmer for ten minutes, or until the water is all absorbed. Puree the raisins in a food processor or blender until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the toasted bran, buttermilk or yogurt, 1 cup (250ml) water, then mix in the raisin puree, orange zest, and brown sugar.
5. Stir in the oil, egg and egg white.
6. Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and sift directly into the wet ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are just combined, then mix in the remaining ½ cup (55g) raisins.
7. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, making sure the batter is mounded slightly in each one. Because muffin tins can very in size, if your tins are larger, make fewer muffins.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins feel set in the center.
