Now here's something to think about: Did you know that the original muffin recipes called for a more gluten-friendly flour than regular all-purpose flour? Yep! They were counted as "bread" and included in the "breads" division of early cookbooks! Bread flour has a higher protein count and offers a stronger product thus making these a more durable muffin to say the least. They were a favorite for breakfasts. A muffin, a little butter, and the day began well!
My Mom did this for us in winter. Sometimes she'd add a streusel topping but it was always a buttery treat. Could you add in other items? Yes but bear in mind that whatever you add may change the structure. Since this is not a "sweet" muffin (see how little sugar is in them) you don't need to replace anything either. So tossing in some nuts or berries (like blueberries) would also work fine.
- 2 cups bread flour (sift before measuring)
- 2 tsp baking powder (do not sift with flour!)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk (whole is best- not nut milk!) You could use a slightly thinned buttermilk as well
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- After sifting, measure your flour out to 2 cups using the spooning method.
- Whisk together the baking powder, sugar, salt
- Whisk together the milk, egg and butter
- Add the wet to the dry and fold from bottom to top until just combined (do not overmix! Lumps are primo!)
- Butter a cupcake tin and pour in 2/3 of the way up
- Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until done with toothpick test
So, you ask, how do you eat these? The simplest is with a smear of fresh homemade butter!