We don’t ever buy bread; Ian bakes all the bread we eat…well almost all.

Most of the bread Ian bakes is sourdough. Wonderful, hearty, wholegrain stuff with dark, beautiful crusts. The kind of bread you want to eat, slathered with butter, for a late-night snack. Unfortunately, this toothsome bread makes lousy burger buns. It has too much body, doesn’t give enough under the teeth. The burger ends up squishing out the sides of a bun made of Ian’s sourdough.

Which is where Mum’s Fluffy Buns come in. This is what the children call my light and soft burger buns. Still whole grain, but made with commercial yeast, and baked only until the centres are done. They are soft and yielding—perfect for burgers.

I wish I could give you a good recipe for them, but I don’t follow one, and I tend not to measure the ingredients I put in. Here’s a rough approximation. This yields enough buns for several meals—they freeze and reheat well. Of course, they don’t last long if they’re left out—the kids love snacking on them.

4 cups lukewarm water

scant tbsp yeast

scant tsp honey

1 ½ tsp salt

2 tbsp ground flax seed

2-3 tbsp (25-40 g) butter

bread flour (high grade)

whole wheat flour (wholemeal)

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and allow to proof. Add honey, salt, butter and flax and stir until the butter is mostly melted. Add equal quantities of whole wheat and bread flour to make a dough of the right consistency for bread. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead about 10 minutes, until the surface springs back when touched. Work into a neat ball, and place in a greased or oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise about 2 hours. Punch down and divide into pieces of about 100-110 grams (about 3 ½ oz). Work each piece into a neat ball and flatten onto a greased baking sheet. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise as the oven heats. Bake at 210°C (400°F) until just barely beginning to brown (maybe 15 minutes).

I’m fond of breakfast. I usually wake ravenous in the morning, and by the time I get in from the daily animal care and milking, I’m more than ready to eat. My weekday breakfast is homemade muesli eaten standing up in the kitchen while I pasteurise the day’s milk. On Sundays, though, I take the time to make breakfast, and the whole family sits down together. I’ll admit right up front that I don’t do this out of some sort of altruistic love toward my family—I do it for purely selfish reasons. I love scones, biscuits, muffins, pancakes, and waffles. I would eat them every day for breakfast if it were at all practical or wise to do so. But it has also made for a wonderful family tradition that we all look forward to each week.

Today’s breakfast was peach oatmeal muffins. This recipe is a variation on Peach-Oatmeal Bread from King Arthur Flour’s Whole Grain Baking book. I’ve increased the spices and halved the sugar to create a muffin I consider healthy and yummy enough for a Sunday morning.

 

Peach oatmeal muffins

 

2 cups peaches, peeled and cut into small pieces (canned or frozen peaches work fine)

2 cups whole wheat flour

¾ cup all purpose flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

¼ cup vegetable oil

¼ tsp almond extract

Place cut peaches into a strainer to drain. Stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl. Add the oats and peaches, stirring to coat the peaches. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, oil and almond extract. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until evenly moistened.

Scoop into greased muffin tins, and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean, and the tops are lightly browned. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out.

(makes about 18 muffins)