Basic Bran

Since Mum and Dad were arriving on Sunday, I decided it might be a good idea to have something freshly baked and waiting to be served with a coffee on their arrival. It wouldn't be right if Dad arrived and I didn't have any baking to feed him!


Bran muffins (p26) are fairly underrated, as far as baked goods go. Maybe they're not flashy and enticing, or sweetly decadent, but they're better for you than many more obviously tempting items, and warm from the oven, with a bit of butter and/or jam, they're more appetising than you might expect.

That's the key, incidentally. These are old-school muffins of the kind that are meant to be buttered. A little jam never goes astray, either. If you try to eat them plain, you'll find them pretty bland.


It never takes long to whip up a batch of muffins, bran or otherwise. For this recipe, you start by sifting together flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in sugar and bran. Once all the dry ingredients are mixed together, you add the liquids: melted butter and golden syrup, baking soda dissolved in milk, and a beaten egg. Carefully mix until just combined, then spoon into muffin  trays.

These took about 10 minutes to cook, and were soon out and on a cooling rack, waiting for Dad to walk in and peer under the net cover to see what's available for scoffing. Of course, I tested a couple myself, with a bit of butter and apricot jam. They were remarkably soft and light-textured for bran muffins; quite tasty in fact. If you've got a hankering for bran muffins, you could definitely do worse than use this recipe.