Sourdough Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
This recipe comes straight from King Arthur’s website. If you don’t know the website, you should. It’s wonderful for all things baking and the recipes are full-proof. My inspiration for including the recipe on the blog is its fine use of otherwise discarded sourdough starter. No one feels good dumping a cup of labored-over starter in the trash. I’m also a sucker for a good corn muffin, and this is more corn than wheat flour. It all adds up to chock-full-of-blueberries, crunchy, and delicioso muffins.
I use frozen blueberries, being careful to avoid introducing any frost into the batter. Best to freeze your blueberries in a single layer and then put them in an air-proof Ziplock. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter by hand.
Weighting your ingredients is preferred in baking. If you prefer to use volume instead of weight, the website will provide you the recipe in whatever form you prefer.
Sourdough Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
Dry ingredients:
4 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 7/8 ounces yellow cornmeal, preferably whole grain
3/4 teaspoon salt (not kosher)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Wet ingredients:
8 ounces sourdough starter, fed or unfed
2 ounces milk
1 large egg
2 ounces melted butter or vegetable oil (I use expeller-pressed canola)
5 1/2 ounces maple syrup, or 6 ounces molasses or honey (maple my preference)
12 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (see note above)
Demerara or coarse sugar, for sprinkling tops
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease the wells of a 12-cup muffin pan, or line with papers and grease the inside of the papers (I use baking spray).
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
In a second bowl, beat together the starter, milk, egg, melted butter (or oil), and sweetener. Blend the wet ingredients with the dry, taking about 20 seconds. Gently stir in the blueberries just until blended.
Fill the cups of the prepared pan two-thirds full (or to the top if you like them big); sprinkle the tops of the muffins with sugar.
Bake the muffins for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you make fewer and larger muffins (my preference), you will need to add more time. Remove the pan from the oven and allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Don't let them cool in the pan, or they'll steam and the outside will become tough.
