Secret Bran Muffins – Putting “Ratio” to the Test
October 3, 2012 • Breads, Breakfast,
I’ve been intrigued with the notion of ratios in cooking for some time, so immediately jumped on Michael Ruhlman’s book as soon as it was released. Then it sat it a pile with my other “must read” books until the day I decided I wanted to make muffins using cantaloupe. Yes, you’re reading that right – muffins made with the one fruit I absolutely cannot stomach. I try to love melon, but for some reason just don’t. So when I stumbled upon Amanda’s recipe, claiming that you couldn’t even taste the melon, I was all in! The secret to these muffins is they are moist and delicious, and I guess if you know there is melon in them, you might taste it, but I actually love them.
It was easy enough to figure out what to do with the melon – cut in half, scoop out the seeds, dump in the food processor, and puree. One large cantaloupe will give you about 2 cups. My bigger challenge was how to bridge her recipe to the Ratio recipe:
4 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
8 ounces milk
4 ounces eggs (2 large eggs)
4 ounces butter (1 stick), melted
I figured the two cups of melon puree would just sub for the milk, but the other ratios of the recipes were off. So, in the end, I came up with my own recipe, incorporated the melon into it, replaced some of the flour with whole wheat, added bran for some fiber, and used my very own baking technique – the 1,2,3 method. It’s so completely unscientific, it’s a little scary to even call it a baking technique, but for all of my quick breads and muffins I seem to use 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder (or half powder and half soda – and I’m here to tell you I don’t know how one works or the other!), and 3 teaspoons (yes, I know this is a tablespoon, but I needed to use the number 3) of cinnamon. Works for me!
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 cups pureed cantaloupe
- 2 large eggs (or 3 smaller eggs), lightly beaten
- 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted
- Combine the flours, bran, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well. Combine cantaloupe puree, eggs, and melted butter; stir together, then pour into the dry ingredients. Stir just until well mixed, then spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-35 minutes. Let cool slightly, then remove from muffin tins to cool completely. May be frozen.
Comments
2 Comments • Comments Feed
Lori says:
I think I am going to try this with zucchini! They look so good.
October 10, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Sharon Mehrtens says:
These are now one of my favorite muffins!
October 12, 2012 at 4:56 pm