Saturday, March 28, 2009

March m.o.m. - Boston Brown Bread muffins


Earlier in the month I baked some molasses yeast bread (which, in the crazy logic of my blog, should be posted within the next week or so) and the flavor hinted at Boston Brown Bread to me. That set me to wondering if I could find a muffin recipe which would capture the BBB flavor. A quick Google search turned up many sites, most featuring the exact same recipe [see below]. It looked promising, so I baked it up for my mother's Muffin of the Month (m.o.m.) for March.


n.o.e.'s notes:

- I made a double batch of these muffins, which yielded 19 muffins in my silicone muffin pans and individual muffin molds.

- Because of food allergies of my muffin recipients, I omitted the raisins and used some soured Lactaid milk instead of buttermilk (or yogurt). I put lemon juice in the bottom of a measuring cup and filled it with the milk. Stir, and wait a few minutes - you'll have "clabbered" milk.

- All of my ingredient substitutions are noted in the recipe below.

- For the first time, I used a disher to portion the batter into the cups. It really does make filling muffin cups a whole lot easier - neater and more even in batter quantity.

the verdict:

The muffins were just sweet enough, with a little crunch in the texture from the cornmeal. They tasted the best when served warm with butter (but what doesn't, really?) I think that raisins or other dried fruit would be really good in these muffins. It was great to get the Boston brown bread flavor without having to steam a batch of bread.

I'm submitting these muffins to Bread Baking Day - this month (#18) the theme is "quick breads," and the host is Fun and Food Blog. Head over there next week to check out the roundup!

the recipe:

I found the identical recipe on several sites, none of which credited the original source.

Boston Brown Bread Muffins

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour [I used white whole wheat]
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal [I used blue cornmeal]
1/4 cup sugar [I used light brown sugar]
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup low fat buttermilk [I soured some nonfat Lactaid milk with lemon juice]
1/3 cup vegetable oil [I used mild olive oil]
1/3 cup molasses
1 lightly beaten egg
1 cup raisins [I omitted]

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Place 10 paper bake cups in a muffin pan.

2. In a bowl combine the flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda and salt.

3. In another bowl stir together the buttermilk, oil, molasses and egg until blended.

4. Add the dry mix to the wet mix; stir until just combined. Stir in the raisins.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until done.

Yields: 10 muffins.

9 comments:

Steph said...

That muffin looks delicious. I love the deep and dark flavour of molasses! I think dishers are the best.. they make baking a lot less stressful since you don't have to worry about some overdone and some underdone muffins.

Elyse said...

What a fabulous recipe!! And such gorgeous looking muffins. I love the depth of flavors going on here (especially the slight crunch from the cornmeal). I'd totally love to pack these muffins with dried fruit. Mmm, how delicious! (And you're right: what isn't better with a pat of butter?)

Di said...

Mmm, those look really good. I haven't had Boston Brown Bread in a very long time.

Debbie said...

They sound delicious. Especially love the addition of molasses! And yes you're right - everything is better with butter on it (lots)!

Cathy said...

I don't believe that I've ever had Boston Brown Bread -- and I call myself a Yankee? These look really delicious! It sounds like the sugar and molasses add a wonderful, subtle sweetness. I think I am going to have to look for a disher -- I always end up with an assortment of muffins of all different sizes.

Siri said...

I've never had brown bread either and to tell you the truth, I don't really know what classifies a brown bread. Is it an east coast thing? Molasses always makes bread taste better though, don't you think?

Shelly said...

These look great! I love anything with molasses. I've heard of brown bread, but it's more fun in muffin form.

Kayte said...

These sound and look delightful. I really do need to live closer to you and find all kinds of excuses to drop by! Wow...great job on these!

Tara said...

I just made these and blogged about it, too! It was so good! Thanks for sharing this recipe :D