Bananas at market
By Cat, Feb 2008 (Photo, right, from Wikimedia Commons)
- See also: 1. Breads & Muffins Menu; 2. Grains, Flours & Starches (About) Menu; 3. Crumb or Nut-Crumble Topping for Muffins; 4. Sprouting/Soaking Grains (Before/After Grinding); 5. Sugar and Other Sweeteners Menu
I love banana bread and banana cake, and I love the combination of banana and berries, so the idea of this recipe appealed to me. However, I’ve not yet tried it, as I changed to a ketogenic eating plan (low carb, high fat) shortly after I found the recipe
Banana-Berry Muffins
This recipe is adapted from Bumpin’ Banana Berry Muffins, found on a pound box of Organic Valley cultured butter (1). The original recipe calls for wheat bran in addition to wheat flour, egg white (without the yolk), and non-fat dry milk powder. But of course, I had to change much of this because I like more whole-food ingredients.
- I am not a fan of separating the bran from the whole grain (the sum of the parts is not as good as the whole). I prefer soaking the whole grain flour before making the batter, to maximize bio-availability of nutrients and partially pre-digest the starch and protein, making them easier to digest.
- I avoid powdered milk products because they are loaded with glutamate (MSG), a neurotoxin to which I have a painful food sensitivity; powdered milk products are also devoid of the enzymes found in raw milk. I do not replace the powdered milk with whole milk, but one option would be to use only 1/2 cup orange juice, and replace the other half with 1/2 cup whole milk.
- I prefer to use the whole egg, for the lecithin, essential fatty acids, and vitamin A found in the yolks. I’m not afraid of the fats and cholesterol found in the yolks, and the whole egg provides nutrients that help you digest and utilize the other nutrients in the egg.
In my version:
- Soak the whole wheat or spelt flour overnight in orange juice (the acidic juice is what works the magic on the flour);
- Omit the powdered milk and the bran. If you choose to add bran, add it to the flour before soaking. Do not use bran cereal.
- Use whole egg.
- Add Crumb or Nut-Crumble Topping for Muffins if desired.
Makes 16 muffins.
Ingredients & Equipment:
- Presoak overnight:
- 3 – 3 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour (or 2 ½ cups flour and 1 cup bran)
- 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or ½ cup orange juice and ½ cup milk)
- Next Day:
- ½ tsp unrefined sea salt
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsp water
- 3 large bananas
- 2 small eggs or 1 extra large egg
- ½ cup raw local honey (or ¼ tsp stevia extract powder and 1 Tbsp Grade-B maple syrup or raw local honey)
- 2 Tbsp cultured butter, melted
- grated zest of ½ orange (or more, to taste)
- 2 cups berries (your choice), fresh or frozen and thawed
- Optional: Crumb or Nut-Crumble Topping for Muffins
- Equipment
- small covered container (for freshly squeezed orange zest)
- large bowl
- waxed paper
- stand mixer with large mixer bowl, dough hook and batter blade
- medium bowl
- muffin pan with 18 cups
- muffin papers (optional)
Method
- Presoak flour: Measure 3 cups flour (or flour and bran) into large bowl.
- Grate zest of ½ orange into a covered container and set aside in refrigerator.
- Squeeze1 cup orange juice; or, if using orange juice/milk combination, squeeze just ½ cup juice and stir into 1½ cup milk.
- Stir juice or juice/milk mixture into the flour until well mixed and forms a ball. Add more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time if needed to form a ball. Wrap in waxed paper and let sit on counter overnight.
- Next Day, Batter: Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Work the ball of soaked flour a bit, in a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add a bit of fresh milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, if dough is too hard to handle.
- Mash bananas in separate bowl. If using stevia, stir into the mashed bananas; let sit while mixing wet ingredients.
- Beat egg(s) in medium bowl with egg whip. If using honey, whip it into the eggs. Add melted butter and reserved orange zest, and whip again.
- Add salt and baking powder to 2 Tbsp water and stir until dissolved, then whip into the egg mixture.
- Add egg mixture to soaked flour in the stand mixer re-fitted with batter blade. Blend to work the liquids into the mass of flour. This takes awhile.
- Stir in the mashed bananas, and then fold in the berries (do not over-mix).
- Fill greased muffin cups (or use muffin papers) ⅔ full. Sprinkle crumb or nut-crumble topping over muffins, if desired. Bake in preheated oven 18 – 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and rest a few minutes before removing muffins from baking pan.
Assembly or Serving Suggestions
- Spread muffins with home made cream cheese or fresh (or cultured) butter.
References:
- Bumpin’ Banana Berry Muffins, found on a pound box of Organic Valley cultured butter (organicvalley.coop/recipes/show/bumpin-banana-berry-muffins)
