A wee bit delicious

I am chronically late.  So, in order to get the little one off to swim class with a full belly I looked for healthy and nutritious muffin recipes to make for an easy breakfast.  This recipe for Banana Wheat Bran Muffins from the Weelicious website is great as a grab & go breakfast for on the road to school or work.  I make mine in mini muffin pans so they are toddler sized.  Make sure to use super ripe bananas and you’ll get some naturally sweet and moist muffins!

Banana Wheat Germ Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Wheat Germ
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
3 Medium Very Ripe Bananas, mashed, plus 1 banana sliced approx. 3/4 inch thick for topping
1/2 Cup Agave
3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Tbsp Vanilla
1 Large Egg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a bowl.
3. In a standing mixer combine the 3 bananas, agave, oil, vanilla and egg. Beat until combined and bananas are mashed.
4. Gently mix in the dry ingredients in 3 stages until just combined. Do not over-mix.
5. Grease or line muffin cups or mini loaf pans and fill 3/4 full with the mixture.
6. Place the slices of banana on top of each filled muffin cup or decoratively over the loaf pan.
7. Bake 15 minutes for mini muffin cups, 20 for regular muffin cups or 25 minutes for mini loaf pans or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool and serve.

Freshly Baked

When the weather turns a bit cooler I love to make more comforting foods.  What could be more comforting than the smell of fresh baked bread?  Having never attempted to make fresh bread (even in a bread maker) I cruised around the internet for a simple bread recipe.  I found a recipe for “Fabulous Homemade Bread” and tweaked it a little bit.  You could easily add wheat bran or wheat germ for more fiber; I’m going to keep experimenting with it – but this an easy & yummy recipe for a basic sandwich like bread.

Enjoy!

Yields 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons warm water
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon bread flour
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 2/3 cup quick cooking oats
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cups warm water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, stir together 3 Tbsp warm water, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 1/2 Tbsp bread flour, and yeast. Let grow for about 5 minutes. It will bubble almost immediately.
3. Measure oats, wheat flour, salt and honey into a seperate bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups warm water and the oil. Mix into grown sponge on low speed with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes. Increase speed slightly, and begin adding bread flour 1/2 to 3/4 cup at a time until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Humidity determines how much flour you need before the bread pulls away from the edge of the bowl. It is normal for the dough to be sticky.
4. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
5. Divide dough into 2 pieces. Shape loaves, and place in greased 8 x 4 inch with bottom lined with parchment paper. Let rise until dough is 1 inch above rim of pans, usually 1 hour.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until tops are browned. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

 Ever wonder what the difference between all purpose flour, cake flour & bread flour is?  Here is an explanation of the different types of flour.