Perfection is lots of little things done well. — Fernand Point
The Perfect Bran Muffin
Muffins embody the good and the bad of pastries. It promises all the decadent deliciousness of cake with the guilt-relieving ingredient of bran. It’s also kind of ugly and never would one dare to top a bran muffin with creamy frosting. And then you have the recipes, thousands of them; who would dare to test them? America’s Test Kitchen that’s who. I have to assume that interns were used to “eliminate” all the lower tier recipes before ATK perfected this recipe. The muffin is moist enough that it does not need extra butter, and you can enjoy it without reaching for a glass of milk. By the way, we use golden raisins here because they’re juicier and prettier. Also, use a whole-milk yogurt like Dannon. Here’s our interpretation of ATK’s Bran Muffin recipe.
Bran Muffins
Makes about 12 Muffins
1 cup raisins, golden
1 teaspoon water
2 ¼ cups All-Bran Original cereal, (5 ounces)
1 ¼ cups flour, AP, (6 1/4 ounces)
½ cup flour, whole wheat, (2 1/2 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt, fine
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2/3 cup light brown sugar, (4 2/3 ounces)
3 tablespoons mild molasses (or light)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter, unsalted, (3/4 stick) melted and cooled
1 ¾ cups yogurt, plain whole-milk
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray standard-sized muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine raisins and water in small microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand, covered, until raisins are softened and plump, about 5 minutes. Transfer raisins to paper towel-lined plate to cool.
2. Process half of bran cereal in food processor until finely ground, about 1 minute. Whisk flours, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine; set aside. Whisk egg and yolk together in medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar, molasses, and vanilla; whisk until mixture is thick, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter and whisk to combine; add yogurt and whisk to combine. Stir in processed cereal and unprocessed cereal; let mixture sit until cereal is evenly moistened (there will still be some small lumps), about 5 minutes.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with rubber spatula until batter is combined and evenly moistened. Do not overmix. Gently fold raisins into batter. Using 1/3-cup measure or ice cream scoop, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, dropping batter to form mounds. Do not level or flatten surfaces of mounds.
4. Bake until muffins are dark golden and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs attached, 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Muffins embody the good and the bad of pastries. It promises all the decadent deliciousness of cake with the guilt-relieving ingredient of bran. It’s also kind of ugly and never would one dare to top a bran muffin with creamy frosting. And then you have the recipes, thousands of them; who would dare to test them? America’s Test Kitchen that’s who. I have to assume that interns were used to “eliminate” all the lower tier recipes before ATK perfected this recipe. The muffin is moist enough that it does not need extra butter, and you can enjoy it without reaching for a glass of milk. By the way, we use golden raisins here because they’re juicier and prettier. Also, use a whole-milk yogurt like Dannon. Here’s our interpretation of ATK’s Bran Muffin recipe.