High Fiber Friday

Buttermilk Bran Muffins

Technically fits the title, but likely not the type of fiber you were expecting. Not your typical gummy tasteless bran muffins - these are delicious! Even the picky eaters in the family enjoy these.

Buttermilk Bran Muffins
This recipe makes a nice light muffin without the ‘gumminess’ so typical of most bran muffins

Makes 3-4 dozen muffins

6 Cups unprocessed wheat bran*
2 Cups boiling water
1 qt buttermilk
5 eggs
1 Cup oil
3 Cups sugar
5 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
5 cups unbleached flour
(can substitute up to 2 cups of whole wheat flour for white flour – but no more or muffins will be heavy)
Cinnamon to taste (optional)
Orange peel to taste (optional)
Blueberries, apples, raisins as desired
Topping: Oatmeal and/or cinnamon-sugar


Preheat oven to 400°

Mix 2 cups bran and 2 cups boiling water in a large bowl and let stand for 20 minutes. Add buttermilk, oil and eggs and whisk together until well blended. Stir in sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add remaining 4 cups bran and flour. Mix thoroughly (don’t worry about overmixing). Fill greased (PAM-type sprays work fine) muffin tins about 2/3 full, add fruit (I usually drop on top of each muffin and push it into the batter), and top with oatmeal and cinnamon-sugar mix. Bake in a 400° oven for 20-25 minutes or until brown.
(this time is for Ecko medium sized 12-cup cupcake/muffin tins you may need to adjust for smaller or larger sized muffins)

Batter will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days**. The top may oxidize a bit but just stir before using (this does not affect the quality of the muffins). This recipe fills the largest Tupperware bowl. Muffins freeze well.

* Sold in the bulk foods section or at most health food stores

** The original recipe states that the batter will keep up to 4 weeks but this seems both unsafe and unappetizing to me. Though, to be fair, the original recipe used All-Bran cereal and maybe the preservatives help extend the life of the batter.

NOTE: Just add fruit to muffins prior to baking, don’t add to the large bowl of batter or it won’t keep.

If you're interested, you can download this recipe as a Word doc here.

Lara was nice enough to loan me a few spindles from her very impressive collection. I was playing around with them today to get some ideas before making an appointment with my photographer.

Forrester Spindle with Dicentra Design fiber

Avi Wasserman Hatchtown spindle with my own hand dyed fiber
(allegedly a merino but I think not - from the Never Ending Internet Fleece)

ETA: Sorry, I was mistaken on the spindle. Lara let me know that the spindle is actually a Hatchtown spindle, not an Avi Wasserman as I had thought. Either way, it's lovely to spin on! (this coming from someone with a confirmed spinning wheel preference)

Time for a muffin break
(with homemade peach marmalade - yummy!)