Magic Muffins

muffins for the week ahead

When I started using freshly milled wheat I really struggledwith baking bread, largely because yeast scares me!  Are the ingredients in the right order, is ittouching my wet ingredients, is my water warm enough?  Then I learned that in the world of bakingall flour is not created equal.  This meantthe recipes I was trying to use were not compatible and as a result my bread was fallingeach and every time!  I was ready tothrow the mill out the window.  Then I founda recipe for muffins, and it worked without fail . This recipe is a family fave, and not because they are delicious (eventhough they are) but because they are quick, versatile, and are yeast free.

What I love about this recipe is that I can change the ingredientsand my family has something new each time, and yet my recipe hasn’tchanged.  First we will start with thebasics and then move on to the variations we love.

2 ¼ cups freshly milled flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

Mix all ingredients and scoop into 12-18 muffin cups(depending on how large you like your muffins) bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes.

Easy enough?  Now,this is where you need to think outside the box!  Here is what you need to know, you can addany spices, fruit, vegetables, and change out the grain used to make thesemuffins work for you.  A few of ourfavorites are corn muffins (made with freshly ground corn, a cup of cheese, and a cup of frozen corn), chocolate bananamuffins (using Ezekiel mix as the flour, chocolate chips, and 3 mashed bananas), and squash/zucchini muffins (hard red and white flour, grated squash or zucchini, your kids have no idea these yummy muffins contain veggies).  I love adding cinnamon and vanilla to thesweet versions, and one of these days when almond extract crosses my mind and I’m actually at the store (can anyone say list?) I would love to see what thatdoes to them.

What combinations can you come up with that would makefabulous muffins?  Give me somesuggestions and I’ll try them out and let you know what we think!