Basic Muffin Recipe Jamie Oliver Recipes

ENGLISH MUFFINS

Steps:

• Gently warm the milk in a pan till lukewarm or body temperature, 37ºC. Add the yeast and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside for a few minutes until the mixture is creamy and starting to froth.
• Melt the shortening or lard, then in a large bowl, mix the yeast mixture, flour, shortening or lard and a pinch of sea salt into a soft dough. Add a little extra milk or flour, if needed.
• Knead until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside in a warm place to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• Knock back the dough and roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 2cm thick. Using a round cutter or thin drinking glass, cut out circles of 5 to 8cm.
• Lightly sprinkle a piece of baking parchment with extra flour, or polenta (if using). Transfer the muffins to the paper and sprinkle over a little more flour or polenta. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour to rise.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas 3 and heat a heavy non-stick pan over a medium heat.
• Brown the muffins in the pan, in batches, for a few minutes each side, then turn the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Transfer to a baking tray and finish with 5 minutes in the oven, or until cooked through.
• Cool slightly on a wire rack then split open and spread with melted butter, or keep in an airtight tin, to split and toast as needed.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH MUFFINS WITH A FROSTY TOP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin tins with paper cups.
• Whiz the squash in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the sugar, and crack in the eggs. Add a pinch of salt, the flour, baking powder, walnuts, cinnamon and olive oil and whiz together until well beaten. You may need to pause the machine at some point to scrape the mix down the sides with a rubber spatula. Try not to overdo it with the mixing - you want to just combine everything and no more.
• Fill the paper cups with the muffin mixture. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Check to see whether they are cooked properly by sticking a wooden skewer or a knife right into one of the muffins - if it comes out clean, they're done. If it's a bit sticky, pop them back into the oven for a little longer. Remove from the oven and leave the muffins to cool on a wire rack.
• As soon as the muffins are in the oven, make your runny frosted topping. Place most of the clementine zest, all the lemon zest and the lemon juice in a bowl. Add the sour cream, icing sugar and vanilla seeds and mix well. Taste and have a think about it - adjust the amount of lemon juice or icing sugar to balance the sweet and sour. Put into the fridge until your muffins have cooled down, then spoon the topping onto the muffins.
• Serve on a lovely plate (on a cake stand if you're feeling elegant, or on a rustic slab if you're more of a hunter-gatherer type!), with the rest of the clementine zest sprinkled over. For an interesting flavor and look, a few dried lavender flowers or rose petals are fantastic.

BASIC MUFFIN RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 muffin trays with paper muffin cases. In a large bowl beat 2 medium eggs lightly with a handheld electric mixer for 1 min.
• Add 125ml vegetable oil and 250ml semi-skimmed milk and beat until just combined then add 250g golden caster sugar and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
• Sift in 400g self-raising flour and 1 tsp salt (or 400g plain flour and 3 tsp baking powder if using) then mix until just smooth. Be careful not to over-mix the batter as this will make the muffins tough.
• Stir in 100g chocolate chips or dried fruit if using.
• Fill muffin cases two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 mins, until risen, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the trays will not fit on 1 shelf, swap the shelves around after 15 mins of cooking.
• Leave the muffins in the tin to cool for a few mins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.