Super Natural Every Day (7 page)
Read Super Natural Every Day Online
Authors: Heidi Swanson
280 g wholemeal flour
60 g raw millet
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
225 g plain yoghurt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
120 g unsalted butter, barely melted
175 g honey
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6) with a rack in the top third of the oven. Butter a standard 12-hole muffin tin or line with paper cases.
Whisk together the flour, millet, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, eggs, butter, honey, and lemon zest and juice until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the flour is just incorporated. Divide the mixture among the muffin holes, spooning a heaped 60 ml mixture into each one, filling it a bit below the rim.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until the muffin tops are browned and just barely beginning to crack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn the muffins out of the tin to cool completely on a wire rack.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
SPELT FLOUR, GREEK-STYLE YOGHURT
 | There are two techniques I use to make these scones great: preheating the baking tray and stacking and pressing out the dough a few times to create feathery layers. I don’t call for two types of flours to be difficult; you can use all spelt or all wholemeal flour, but you’ll end up with much denser, wheatier scones. If you go that route, you’ll want to add a bit more yoghurt as well. I call for Greek-style yoghurt here, but you can use regular plain yoghurt if that’s what you keep on hand. And when I have a surplus of |
140 g spelt flour or wholemeal flour
155 g unbleached plain flour, plus more if needed
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
115 g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into tiny cubes
310 g Greek-style yoghurt
Preheat the oven to 230°C (Gas Mark 8) with a rack in the middle of the oven. Place an ungreased baking tray in the oven to preheat as well.
Combine the flours, salt, and baking powder in a food processor. Sprinkle the butter across the top of the dry ingredients and pulse about 20 times, or until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles on a sandy beach. Add the yoghurt and pulse a few times, or until the yoghurt is just incorporated. Avoid overmixing; it’s fine if there are a few dry patches. Gather the dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead five times and press into a 2.5 cm-thick square. Cut in half and stack one on the other. Repeat two more times—flattening and stacking, then cutting. Add more plain flour to prevent sticking when needed. Press or roll out the dough into a 2 cm-thick rectangle, but no thicker; if the dough is too tall, the scones will tilt and tip over while baking. Cut the dough into 12 even-sized scones.
Transfer the scones to the preheated baking tray leaving 1.5 cm between each scone. Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the bases are deeply golden and the scones are cooked through. I like to eat them hot, split through the middle, with a touch of butter on each half.
MAKES 12 SCONES
| I’ve enjoyed oats a thousand different ways in my life, and this is my favourite. A layer of fruit lines the base of a well-buttered baking dish. The fruit is then topped with a blend of rolled oats, nuts, and spices. A wet mixture of milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla is drizzled over the dry ingredients before being baking to a golden-topped, fruit-scented finish. Be sure to use rolled oats and not instant oats. |
200 g rolled oats
60 g walnut pieces, toasted (see
Wholegrain Breadcrumbs
) and chopped
60 g natural (unrefined) cane sugar or maple syrup, plus more for serving
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
475 ml milk
1 large egg
60 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1 cm pieces
185 g blueberries, or mixed berries
Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5) with a rack in the top third of the oven. Generously butter the inside of a 20 cm-square baking dish.
In a bowl, mix together the oats, half the walnuts, the sugar, if using, the baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, if using, the milk, egg, half of the butter, and the vanilla.
Arrange the bananas in a single layer in the base of the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle two-thirds of the berries over the top. Cover the fruit with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Gently give the baking dish a couple of thwacks on the bench to make sure the milk moves through the oats. Scatter the remaining berries and remaining walnuts across the top.
Bake for 35–45 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top and serve. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.
SERVES 6 GENEROUSLY, OR 12 AS PART OF A LARGER BRUNCH SPREAD
WHOLEMEAL FLOUR, BUTTERMILK, MAPLE SYRUP
| If good bran muffins have eluded you, give these a shot. After years of tweaks, this has become my basic, go-to bran muffin recipe. It results in a substantial, crunchy muffin top, hiding a tender, barely sweet crumb underneath. I think the muffins are best served warm with a smear of salted butter, but I know others who prefer a slather of apricot jam. |
The recipe calls for plain, unsweetened bran cereal, although at times I substitute other crunchy, hearty cereals. Brown or muscovado sugar make a nice substitution for the natural cane sugar here. |
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
240 ml buttermilk or plain yoghurt
120 g unsalted butter, barely melted
60 ml maple syrup
20 g wheat bran or oat bran
115 g plain, unsweetened bran cereal
115 g wholemeal flour
35 g natural (unrefined) cane sugar or soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6) with a rack in the middle of the oven. Generously butter a standard 12-hole muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and maple syrup. Sprinkle the bran and bran cereal across the top, stir, and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, in a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the top of the wet and stir until just combined. Immediately fill each muffin hole three-quarters full.
Bake for 18–22 minutes, until the edges of the muffins begin to brown and the tops have set. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn the muffins out of the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
