Finding "The Muffin Recipe" Part I


As much as I love Baltimore, one of the frustrating aspects of living here is that the grocery stores don't seem to carry a lot of whole grain products. It's hard to find whole wheat bread that doesn't taste terrible, whole grain baking mixes are nonexistent, and whole wheat pancakes are available from just one brand (Kodiak Cakes - I highly recommend them!). I've made a few attempts now to adapt baking mixes to make muffins and breakfast breads, but the results have been just okay. And who wants to feed their friends average baked goods?

So, I've decided to go in search of my perfect muffin recipe. Ideally this recipe would:

  • Taste good
  • Be whole grain
  • Work well as muffins, and as a breakfast bread
  • Be adaptable to different flavors (i.e. berry, banana, pumpkin)

My initial thoughts were to use ingredients like white whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sprouted wheat flour, almond flour, flax meal, and rolled oats. This recipe does not incorporate all those ingredients by any means, but I was hoping to experiment with some of these different ingredients to find just the right balance.

After trying these muffins, hot out of the oven, I thought they might benefit from a little lemon zest, or a bit more vanilla - the flour was not so much an issue for me immediately. I tried them again once they cooled down, and they seemed perfect. So, now I guess I will just have to make them again and see if they come out just as well!

Triple Berry Whole Grain Flax Meal Muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour
1/4 cups flax seed, milled
1 3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain (not Greek) yogurt
1 1/2 cup fresh berries; or frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries, & blackberries), warmed to room temperature
Sparkling sugar, pourable brown sugar, or cinnamon sugar; optional


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease muffin tins. Whisk together all the dry ingredients and set side. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vanilla, vegetable oil, and buttermilk (or yogurt). Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just to combine, then fold in the berries. Spoon the batter in to the prepared muffin tin, filling them nearly full. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with coarse sparkling sugar, cinnamon sugar, or pourable brown sugar, if desired. Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, them transfer them to the rack to finish cooling. Store any remaining muffins at room temperature.

 Allergens: wheat, milk
Nutrition (1/15 recipe): 163 calories, 6 g fat, .5 g saturated fat, 1.4 g polyunsaturated fat, 2.9 g monounsaturated fat, 1 mg cholesterol, 221 mg sodium, 95 mg potassium, 19 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 12 g sugar, 3 g protein, 0% vitamin A, 6% vitamin C, 7% calcium, 5% iron, 5% vitamin E, 9% phosphorous
Cost (1 recipe): $4.84

Adapted from: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sprouted-wheat-blueberry-muffins-recipe

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