MAKES 12 / READY IN 30 MINUTES
125g | 4oz self-raising white flour
100g | 3½oz wholemeal flour
15ml | 1 tbsp baking powder
75g | 3oz rolled oats
175g | 6oz dried apricots, chopped
125g | 4oz sultanas
75g | 3oz light muscovado sugar
100ml | 4fl oz sunflower oil
1 medium egg
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
150ml | 5fl oz skimmed milk
Extra rolled oats, for sprinkling
1 Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
2 Sift the white flour into a large bowl. Add the wholemeal flour, baking powder, rolled oats, apricots, sultanas and sugar.
3 Mix together the oil, egg, orange zest, juice and milk and pour into the dry ingredients in the bowl. Use a large spoon to fold everything together.
4 Spoon equally into the paper muffin cases and sprinkle with oats.
5 Bake for 15 minutes until the muffins are well risen, firm and springy to the touch. Serve warm.
Cook’s tip: To freeze the muffins, cool completely and pack in small plastic bags. To serve, microwave on high (850w) for 40 seconds to warm through one muffin.
Wholemeal apple
Try these for a tasty yet healthy high-fibre start to the day.
MAKES 12 / READY IN 30 MINUTES
75g | 3oz self-raising white flour
150g | 6oz wholemeal flour
15ml | 1 tbsp baking powder
2.5ml | ½ tsp ground cinnamon
75g | 3oz dried apples, chopped
100g | 3½oz sultanas
75g | 3oz light muscovado sugar
100ml | 4fl oz sunflower oil
1 medium egg
150ml | 5fl oz skimmed milk
30ml | 2 tbsp rolled oats, for sprinkling
1 Heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper muffin cases.
2 Sift the white flour into a large bowl. Add the wholemeal flour, baking powder, cinnamon, apples, sultanas and sugar.
3 Mix together the oil, egg and milk and pour into the dry ingredients in the bowl. Use a large spoon to mix everything together until just combined.
4 Spoon equally into the paper muffin cases and sprinkle with oats.
5 Bake for 15 minutes until the muffins are well risen, firm and springy to the touch. Serve warm.
English muffins
These traditional muffins are entirely different to American-style muffins baked in paper cases. The recipe uses a yeast dough so they take longer to make. I’ve used easy-blend yeast to save a little time, or see the Cook’s tips for using a bread machine. These are traditionally served at teatime, but I think they make a really special treat for breakfast.
MAKES 8–10 / READY IN 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES
450g | 1lb strong white bread flour
5ml | 1 tsp salt
50g | 2oz butter, plus extra for greasing
7g sachet easy-blend dried yeast
5ml | 1 tsp golden caster sugar
250ml | 8fl oz warm milk
1 Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Microwave on medium (500W) for 1 minute, to warm slightly (there’s no need to warm the flour if you don’t have a microwave – it simply helps the yeast to work faster).
2 Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave for 50 seconds on high (850w), or in a pan.
3 Add the easy-blend yeast and sugar to the warm flour. Pour in the warm milk and butter.
4 Beat well until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
5 Turn onto a well-floured board and knead, working in a little more flour if necessary to make the dough easier to shape. Round up the dough, roll into a thick sausage shape and (using the sharpest knife you have) slice into 8–10 portions, each about 3cm | 1½in thick.
6 Use a plain cutter to help shape each one into a round with straight sides. Place on a greased baking sheet, well spaced out. Cover with greased plastic wrap and put in a warm place to prove for 30–40 minutes or until springy to the touch.
7 Heat a griddle until really hot, grease lightly with butter. Lift the muffins carefully onto the hot griddle and cook a few at a time over very low heat for 8–10 minutes until pale golden underneath. Turn and cook the other side.
8 Wrap in a cloth and keep warm if cooking in batches. To serve, insert a knife in the side, pull the top and bottom slightly apart, and insert slivers of butter.
Cook’s tips
Mix the dough with a heavy-duty electric mixer or, if you have a bread machine, you can just use it to knead and prove dough, then you can shape and bake it conventionally.
Leave the dough to rise in a warm place, such as on the hob whilst the oven’s on or in the airing cupboard.
Speed up the proving by microwaving the dough on defrost for 2 minutes.
Freeze half the shaped dough before baking. Bake from frozen (just add a few more minutes to the cooking time).
How to adapt recipes for a bread machine:
Check your instruction booklet as there is usually a very specific order in which you must add the ingredients to the bread bucket. Adding the ingredients in the wrong order could cause the recipe to fail. Most machines need liquid added first, followed by dry ingredients, then yeast. Confusingly, a few models use the reverse order. This is important for machines that have a rest time before the cycle starts as the yeast must be kept separate from the liquid, sugar and salt.
Bacon, cheese and maple syrup
I love American breakfasts – they’re so indulgent and the tradition of combining savoury and sweet flavours on one plate for breakfast is great. Try these muffins and I bet you’ll become hooked.
MAKES 8 / READY IN 30 MINUTES
4 rashers smoked back bacon, chopped