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Raisin Bran Muffins
1 cup bran 3/4 cup flour 4 teaspoons baking-powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses 1 tablespoon melted fat 1/2 cup seeded raisins 1/2 cup milk 1 egg Mix and sift the dry fine ingredients, stir in the bran, add the molasses, the melted fat, raisins and the milk gradually. Then add the well-beaten egg and bake in muffin-tins in a hot oven (400 degrees-425 degrees F.).
A plain, thrifty bran muffin from the era when bran was sold as a loose milling by-product rather than a breakfast cereal. A few of the quantities need reading in period terms.
- What "bran" means hereUnprocessed wheat bran flakes, the kind sold in bulk bins or bags, not a ready-to-eat bran cereal. Cereal will collapse into sweet mush and throw the sugar and salt balance off.
- Let the batter standBran absorbs liquid slowly. Ten minutes' rest after mixing, before the tins go in, gives a moister crumb. The original directs that the milk be added gradually, though it gives no reason.
- Baking powder is highFour teaspoons to three-quarters of a cup of flour is a heavy hand even allowing for the bran's weight. Two to two and a half teaspoons of modern double-acting powder is enough; the full four can leave a soapy aftertaste.
- Melted fatLard, butter or shortening would all have been usual. Any of the three works, as does a neutral oil. Cool it slightly so it does not begin to set the egg.
- Seeded raisinsRaisins from which the seeds have been removed, not the naturally seedless kind; for practical purposes ordinary seedless raisins are the modern stand-in. Plumping them in hot water for a few minutes and draining keeps them from drawing moisture out of the crumb.
- Oven and time400-425F as given is right for muffins. Bake 18 to 22 minutes in a greased standard tin, until a pick comes out clean and the tops spring back.
- MixingStir only until the flour disappears. Overworked muffin batter gives tunnels and a tough, peaked top.
- YieldAbout 9 to 10 standard muffins, or 8 generous ones. Best the day they are made; bran muffins stale quickly.