The quest for the great bran muffin....

S

sallybr

Well-known member
Just wanted to share this recipe, adapted from Dan Lepard, which produced some excellent bran muffins.

BLUEBERRY-WALNUT BRAN MUFFINS

(adapted from Dan Lepard’s original recipe)

75g wheat bran

100g dark brown sugar

200ml milk (3/4 cup)

1 Tbs molasses

zest of 1 orange

150ml vegetable oil (1/2 + 1/8 cup)

2 large eggs

200g all purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

75g sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup dried raisins and dried blueberries

1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped

Heat the oven to 400F (200C) and line the cups of 6 large muffin tins with paper.

Place the wheat bran and the brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Bring the milk almost to a boiling point, and pour it over the bran. Mix to incorporate, and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Beat in the molasses, orange zest, oil and eggs until very smooth.

Sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt, then gently mix this through the bran mixture trying not to over-mix. Fold in the blueberries, raisins, dried blueberries, and walnuts. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, and bake for about half an hour, until they get a dark brown color on top and feel firm to the touch. Tip the muffins slightly off the pan to cool them without steaming the bottom.

I blogged about it in my site, if anyone is interested I include the link

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/2011/01/28/bran-muffins-not-just-for-hippies/

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/2011/01/28/bran-muffins-not-just-for-hippies/

 
I just read this on your blog. I was wondering if I could replace some of the oil...

...with apple sauce and still get a decent result? I've seen recipes 'lightened up' this way.

My eldest son wants a bran muffin he can have at breakfast. He's like me, he puts on weight easily and is trying to eat healthy.

I'm going to try these. They sound delicious. Thanks Sally.

Michael

 
I think it's worth a try...

LIke you, I've seen many recipes that do that, so why not give it a try?

perhaps you could take a look at the original recipe in Dan's site, because he uses soy milk instead of regular milk, that might make it also lighter, I suppose. ANd he adds no walnuts or raisins either.

I think bran muffins are always tricky, but if I were you I would try it. Just make sure to tell me what you think

 
I plan to leave the nuts out, but only because my son doesn't like most nuts. (In light of that...

...how he ever warmed up to ME is a mystery, but I digress...). The raisins are a good addition for him, so I'll leave those in.

I have found differing opinions on how much oil can be successfully subbed with applesauce. It also makes a big difference what you are baking -cakes seem the most vulnerable to disaster if too much applesauce is used, but muffins appear to do well. I'll probably go 1/2 and 1/2.

I'll let you know.

Michael

 
yummm, bran (what part of my brain just said that??). Sally, is "large muffin" pans

those gigantic ones....only six to a pan?

 
Yes, indeed....

six to a pan

Dan's recipe says it makes 12 "normal sized" - per my experience with the muffin my beloved so desires, smallish muffins won't do.

So I made the same batch and used the 6 muffin pan - each one turns out the perfect size for his breakfast or lunch (we normally eat a very light lunch at work, so one of these babies plus a yogurt drink is all he needs)

 
Michael, I replace 1/2 the oil in my favorite pumpkin quick bread w/ apple sauce. Works perfectly.

 
Marilyn, several years ago I started making muffins in the mini pan

so we could just have a little bite so we don't feel deprived. One or two little muffins is just enough. Takes care of wanting to have the taste without feeling bad. I just package well and keep in the freezer.

 
I would definitely use that method....

.... if I was baking them for me, because I take two small bites of the ones I bake for my husband and that's enough for me.

Plus, this recipe would probably make 24 of those mini ones, that will sit in the freezer is necessary, ready to be unwrapped and enjoyed!

 
When I make muffins for "something" I always make a few minis

for us. I love having a variety of different flavors to choose from. What should I have tomorrow?

 
When someone in our extended family brings a tray of costco mega-muffins...

...we usually cut up at least half of them. We cut them in half, pole to pole, or even in fourths.

They're so HUGE.

Michael

 
I disagree, Curious1...

If someone is going to over eat they will do it wether the portion is large or small... A smaller chicken breast just means that they will eat 2, smaller muffins will just mean more muffins.

It's not only in America that there are overeaters...

 
For all of us "oldsters" that were made to clean out plate as kids...

If a big plate of food is put in front of us, we will probably consciously, or not, attempt to eat most of it. My willpower stinks and I would rather not have the temptation to begin with. Not saying that the government should regulate our portion size - absolutely NOT - but I wish they wouldn't keep trying to make everything BIGGER

 
I see your point, but we're served huge amounts to begin with, Big Gulp, Big Mac, Whopper and even

my favorite, 5 Guys serves a double as their standard. To get a normal sized burger, I need to order a small. And the French Fries, one order could serve 3 people based on most serving sizes. And how can one resist when they're so delicous?

Granted, I don't eat there but two or three times a year, so not a big deal. That's about the extent of my fast food intake, but for many people it's a way of life and the portion sizes in most chain restaurants and fast food places are huge and that's where most people eat.

The cereal bowls today are twice the size they were when I was a kid and plates are much larger also. I feel we're subliminally being encourage to eat larger portions. I don't know if this is the norm in Italy, I've never been. But I received some pasta bowls from there that weren't made for the US market. They're half the size of the ones I bought at Williams Sonoma, but made for the US market.

The chicken breast was probably a bad example of my point, but they've gotten really large. My old recipes call for a 5-6 oz breast half and I very, very seldom see any that small now.

Just my thoughts on it. I think things are changing. I just read this morning that a chain restaurant called Chili's has removed their version of the bloomin' onion from their appetizer menu. One onion contained 2700 calories.

 
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