Banana Bran Muffins

[Jenise]

The Starbucks near my old home in Huntington Beach used to sometimes have banana bran muffins. Typical of my relationship with most sweet foods, if there were no muffins there was nothing else I liked enough to order, but if they had one I wouldn't be able to resist, even if I wasn't particularly hungry. Banana bread's good and bran muffins are good, but the banana bran muffins were stellar. The best of both. Dark brown, sweet but not too sweet, moist but not wet.

So yesterday when I started to throw out some bananas that had gotten too ripe, Bob said, why not make banana bread and before you knew it, I was googling for a Starbucks recipe. Googling didn't produce one, so I made up my own version in which I basically substituted some bran for flour in a basic banana bread recipe for proportions, selecting one that promised moistness and that used baking soda, vs. baking powder, for leavening, which texture I prefer and thought would give me the right color, anyway, and adding spice where the recipe I used had none. And though what I made was delicious, it just wasn't in the same league as the Starbucks muffin. Well, maybe the taste was pretty close, and the moistness was just right, but texturally, my bread was a lot heavier.

Here's my ingredient list:

1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
4 smashed bananas plus enough milk to equal 2 cups total
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup golden brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch allspice

For those of you who bake, some questions: is there anything to know about adding bran? I went light knowing from adding bran to breads that a little shows up more than you think it will, but to equal the Starbucks muffin texture, I'd need to add more. And what about oat bran vs. wheat bran? I am totally unfamiliar with the properties of one vs. the other. I have wheat bran on hand for breads. But is one better than the other for sweet applications (where allergies aren't a consideration, that is)? I note there are a lot of oat bran cereals on the market, but I see none using exclusively wheat bran.

Does anyone have a bran muffin recipe they'd recommend for adaptation? I probably should have started with bran muffins as a baseline recipe instead of banana bread.

Here is one my step-mom makes and it is very good.

Bran Muffins
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1 cup All-Bran (100 %)
1 cup boiling water
2 beaten eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups bran flakes
Pour boiling water over the All-Bran, let cool. Cream sugar and shortening, add beaten eggs and buttermilk. Add cooled bran. Sift flour, salt, soda, and add to mixture all at once. Stir in bran flakes, stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Bake 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Batter can be put into jars, cover and store in refer for 5 -6 weeks. (I've never tried this)

Notes: Can use part brown sugar, about 1/2 cup
Can use part whole wheat flour, about 1 cup
Muffins freeze well.

I think that oat bran lets the sweet come through a little more than wheat bran. It also has a more graceful texture than wheat bran.

rwj

Somewhere in the wreckage of my life, I have a great recipe called "Good Morning, Glory Muffins" that is exactly the right starting place for this. I'll make a point to look for it tonight.

[Jenise]

I think that oat bran lets the sweet come through a little more than wheat bran. It also has a more graceful texture than wheat bran.

rwj

Graceful. I love that word in every part of life. And that works perfectly here--the texture of the wheat bran in this bread seems rather stiff. And I have a hard time imagining that more of it would not produce the tender texture I remember about the Starbucks muffins.

Karen, thanks for the recipe. Do you remember which bran your mother used?

[

rwj[/quote]

Graceful. I love that word in every part of life. And that works perfectly here--the texture of the wheat bran in this bread seems rather stiff. And I have a hard time imagining that more of it would not produce the tender texture I remember about the Starbucks muffins.

Karen, thanks for the recipe. Do you remember which bran your mother used?[/quote]
I suppose it was wheat bran. When I make them, I use wheat. I will look for the oat bran and try that, as well.

Jenise, I'm not a fan (can't stand bananas), but found a nice looking recipe in Jill Dupleix's cookbook OLD FOOD. I've had great success with her recipes, so here it is in case you want to try it :

200g (7oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
80g (3oz) bran
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground cloves
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
150g (5.25 oz) raw sugar
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
250ml (9fl oz) buttermilk
1 ripe banana, diced

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add bran and spices, and mix well. Beat eggs, sugar, oil and buttermilk together, in a second bowl. Add banana and stir. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and add egg mixture, stirring roughly with a fork, without over-mixing.

Pour or spoon batter into lightly buttered muffin tray cups or individual muffin cases, until three-quarters full. Bake at 200 deg. c (400 F) for 20 to 25 mins, or until muffins come away from the side of the pan when touched. Serve on their own or with fruit compote.

Makes ten.

Note : An Aus Tbsp is 20ml, US is 15ml. Jill Dupleix is an Australian writer, so while she doesn't say so anywhere in here book, I suspect she's using a 20ml Tbsp measure. Which means you'll probably need to use 4 US Tbsp vegetable oil instead of the 3 specified in the recipe.

More Jill Dupleix recipes

Jenise,
I am a fan of Eating Well magazine....here is a recipe they sent me via email.

Banana Bran Muffins
NUTRITION PROFILE:
Low Calorie | Low Sodium | Low Cholesterol | Low Sat Fat | Heart Healthy | Healthy Weight
VIEW COMPLETE NUTRITION GUIDELINES »
Banana bran muffins are great to have on hand for breakfast on-the-go!

Makes 1 dozen muffins

ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

1 large egg
1 large egg white
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mashed banana (2 medium bananas)
1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chopped pecans or walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Whisk egg, egg white and brown sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Add buttermilk, banana, bran, oil and vanilla and whisk until blended. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients; add wet ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and sprinkle with nuts. Bake until tops spring back when touched lightly, 15 to 20 minutes. Loosen edges and turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per muffin: 197 calories; 7 g fat (1 g sat, 4 g mono); 18 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrate; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 251 mg sodium; 188 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Selenium (17% daily value).
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Exchanges: 2 other carbohydrate, 1 fat