If you ever pick up everything, on a whim like we did, and decide to move to the Pacific Northwest, do it in summertime when the days are long and light, the sky and water brilliantly blue, and berries hang heavy in brilliant dots of purple, black, red and pink from hedges and briars along roadsides and paths.
Berries, both wild and cultivated, grow well here. On summer mornings when we walk from home along the path to my son’s school, we pick trailing blackberries whose berries taste of sweet and tart, with notes that remind me of cotton candy. In the afternoon, we pick saskatoons from huge bushes that reach fifteen or twenty feet high, their branches dripping with the purple, seedy sweet fruit. Just yesterday, while hiking with our friends, we stumbled upon thimbleberry, with its raspberry-like sweetness and velvet texture, salmonberry and Oregon grape.
Just as wild berries do well here, so, too, do cultivated berries. The other day, we put off the afternoon’s work, hopped on our bikes and rode a few miles through the countryside to an organic blueberry farm whose bushes brimmed over with such brilliantly ripe berries that we picked a twelve-pound bucket in no time. We ate them by the handful, in salads, and I froze what I knew wouldn’t keep. I also made these whole grain blueberry muffins, and after tweaking the recipe a handful of times, I wanted to share them with you.
Blueberries
Berries in general, and blueberries in particular, pack quite punch of antioxidant capacity. Cultivated blueberries rank 4669 on the ORAC scale, a scale that determines antioxidant capacity of different foods, while wild blueberries rank a whopping 9621. Higher scores indicate a higher antioxidant capacity. For comparison’s sake, spinach comes in at about 1200 and zucchini at 176.
It’s this antioxidant capacity that likely contributes to measurable beneficial effects blueberry contributes to health. I can only hope that those benefits help to temper the sugar in my muffin recipe below.
Blueberries are packed with phytonutrients like anthocyanins, flavonols like quercetin and phenols like reservatrol, the same antioxidant thought to give red wine its benefits.
Einkorn and Sprouted Spelt Flours
Maybe its romanticism, but I favor baking with heritage grains: spelt and emmer, einkorn and heritage varieties of wheat. Their flavor, particularly in einkorn (one of the first domesticated varieties of wheat), is richer and more complex than many of the modern varieties, leading to breads and muffins with better overall flavor.
Older varieties of wheat, like einkorn, are also relatively more nutritious than modern varieties of wheat, boasting more antioxidants, like beta carotene, and higher protein content. (You can read more about them here.)
Sifting, Souring, Soaking or Sprouting Your Grains and Flours
All grains, nuts, seeds and pulses contain antinutrients like food phytate that bind of minerals, and prevent their full absorption, but when you process these foods first using time-honored techniques, those minerals which are otherwise bound become more bioavailable.
Sprouting grains (you can learn how to do it yourself here) deactivates antinutrients, making the minerals they contain more bioavailable. Sour leavening effects the same goal, with the added benefit of reduced glycemic load and increased B vitamins like folate. When foods are prepared with traditional techniques, like these, they’re more nutritious.
As the germ and bran are largely removed through sifting in all-purpose and high-extraction flours, these do not need to be soaked, soured or sprouted.
Using High-Extraction and Sprouted Flours
Sprouted flours can be gummy when used exclusively, so I like to blend them with high-extraction flours so that my baked goods, like these whole grain blueberry muffins, yield the best results.
Sprouted flours are a solid choice for recipes that do not allow for a long rise period. Biscuits, muffins, quick breads and cookies do well with sprouted flour. High-extraction flours can be used for quick breads, too, but I like to use them as a blending flour with other whole-grain flours either sprouted, or freshly ground for sourdough bread.
Where to Find High-Extraction and Sprouted Flours
I buy high-extraction einkorn flour here and sprouted spelt flour here, though you might also find them at a well-stocked health food store.
| Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins | Print |
- 2 cups (10 oz) fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 cup whole, unrefined cane sugar (find it here)
- 1¾ cup (8 oz) einkorn flour (buy it here)
- ¾ cup (4 oz) sprouted spelt flour (buy it here.
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup milk
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup avocado oil (available here)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 lemon
- Line a muffin pan with muffin cups, and then preheat the oven to 425 F.
- Pour the blueberries into a bowl.
- Whisk the sugar, flours, salt and baking soda together, and then remove about one-quarter cup from the bowl and sprinkle it over the blueberries, tossing them together until well-coated.
- In a liquid measuring cup, stir milk, butter, avocado oil, vanilla and eggs together. Grate the lemon's zest very finely and whisk it into the liquid ingredients. Then juice the lemon and whisk the juice into the liquid ingredients.
- Slowly beat the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until they form a smooth, uniform batter. Fold in the blueberries, and then fill the muffin tins three-quarters of the way full. Bake about eighteen minutes or until puffed and golden brown on top. You can test doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the muffin, if it comes out clean, the muffins are ready.
- Let the muffins cool about five minutes in the tin, and then transfer them to a wire wrack to finish cooling.
Linda says
Hey Jenny, i agree with you that there is nothing better thsn fresh picked blueberries but we here in Minnesota are lucky to hsve the opportunity -some of us – to be able to go north and pick some if the weather id good
,NOTHING BETTER!. I am not a vegan. But do love trying you recipes anf love your website
Laurie says
Jovial doesn’t deliver to Canada. I live in a small city here, and doubt I’ll find Einkorn in any stores. We have a store called “Bulk Barn”, and they carry many different flours, but no Einkorn. I think I may just try this recipe using 100% whole wheat flour.
Since it calls for 2 eggs, it should be easy enough for me to experiment with a 1 egg half-recipe to see what will happen, as I’m not going to follow it to the letter (ww flour instead of the chosen 3 herein). I’m okay with getting most of the nutrients from the blueberries. I love a muffin that is, like, half blueberries (or more)! I’d love to make it so the cakey part is there just enough to hold the berries together in the shape of a muffin, lol!
Jane says
Daybreak Mill in Saskatchewan (Canada) mills einkorn and sells whole einkorn berries. I bought the einkorn berries through the mail.
http://www.daybreakmill.com/featured-products
Jeannie J says
Hi Jenny. I followed you years ago when you were new to blogging and figuring it out. I still look you up for all things WAP. I recently started following your blog again and am pleased with the progress you have made over the years. Thank you for your persistent pursuit of good nutritional foods that taste great. I have a request…it would be so helpful and valuable if you would add the ability to pin each individual recipe. I like to save recipes to peruse and then cook at a later date. I have tried going over to your Pinterest site to find an individual recipe and had difficulty finding it. We all have different ways, that make sense to us, to store our stuff. Please, if it isn’t too difficult to add this feature on your site I would be so grateful.
Denise says
With the sprouting of the grains, would these be considered gluten-free. Thanks for a great recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Jenny says
No, sprouting does not eliminate gluten.
Jennifer Elizabeth says
I made these yesterday with a box of blueberries that had been sitting in my fridge for a while. They were still good! I used all sprouted flour and all butter because I didn’t have einkorn or oil, and they’re the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever made. They are the perfect second breakfast with a cup of tea mid-morning.
jolene trick says
Wow! Thanks for commenting! All I have is sprouted spelt and was hoping they would turn out great still. I’m glad you figured it out first! Thanks!
Mrs. Flirty Foodie says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I love blueberry muffins. Unfortunately, at times they are made with so much crap that I feel guilty eating it. This recipe is guilt free and sounds yummy.
Edie says
These muffins are about the best blueberry muffins I’ve ever had. I used sprouted einkorn, but subbed sprouted soft white wheat for the spelt because that’s what I had on hand. I sprout all my own grains because it’s cheaper (and fun) ! I added a walnut streusel topping, and these were a hit with everyone in the family. For anyone wondering, these turned out perfectly with using all sprouted flour rather than using a combination of sprouted and high extraction flour. I prefer the full bran and germ still intact in order to maximize nutrition. That being said, this is a spot- on recipe, and I’m so thankful to have found an einkorn muffin recipe that really works. Thanks, Jenny!
Anastasia says
Is there any particular reason you use specifically avocado oil in this recipe? Can I replace with coconut, butter or olive oil? I’m not an experienced baker and don’t know exactly what role do addition of oils play in a recipe?
Brandy says
Could you tweak this recipe to make it gluten free?
Jenny says
Hi Brandy,
You could try replacing the einkorn and spelt with an all-purpose gluten-free flour and see how it goes. Alternatively, just google “Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins” and I bet you’ll get hundreds of thousands of results to check out and try.
Paula says
Hi Jenny,
So looking forward to trying this recipe, I’m always looking for quick, nutritious breakfasts I can give my kids as they fly out the door at 6:30 am ????to catch the school bus. I do have a question regarding the use of avocado oil. I realize it has a high smoking point, but my understanding is that this oil is heavily refined and deodorized in its production… I believe it was something I read in nourishing traditions several years ago. Has the thinking changed? Maybe I’m just not up to speed on this. If I substituted coconut oil, should I decrease to amount called for, by a tablespoon?.
If anyone else following this feed as any insight, let me know as I know Jenny is busy working her way through mountains of e-mails????
Jenny says
Hi Paula,
Avocado oil is one of the very best choices when it comes to cooking oils. Choose one that is cold-pressed and naturally refined (when you want a neutral flavor) or unrefined (when you want a strong flavor). I don’t recall reading anything negative about it in Nourishing Traditions, but remember that that book was written decades ago, hasn’t really been updated, and may have been based on outdated or poor information. There’s a recommendation for avocado oil by WAPF here and here.
Avocado oil has a similar fatty acid profile to olive oil and is rich in mononunsaturated fat.
If you want to use coconut oil instead, keep the measurement the same and, instead, just melt the oil before you add it.
Mel says
What is high extraction flour? I recently purchased preground all purpose einkorn flour and whole wheat flour from Jovial, but cannot tell if they are high extraction.
Jenny says
Hi Mel, Jovial’s all-purpose flour is a high-extraction flour.
Mel says
Thank you! Only their all purpose is high extraction? I’m wondering if my whole wheat from Jovial is, too.
Jenny says
Hi Mel,
Their whole einkorn flour is not a high-extraction flour because it is a 100% extraction flour, it’s just a term to help bakers understand how much bran and germ remains in the flour.
Andrea says
Love your recipes, but this muffin recipe seems to have a lot of sugar (which we are trying to cut back on) Have you tried cutting back on sweetener or substituting for apple sauce, maple or honey? Thank you for your resources!
Jenny says
Hi Andrea,
This recipe calls for whole, unrefined cane sugar which contains its natural minerals and vitamins. Substituting maple syrup or honey won’t lead to any measurable improvement in nutritional content. Substituting applesauce will lead to a lackluster flavor and require that you also change the liquid ratio.
Sera says
Hi Jenny- the recipe looks great. Could you substitute the spelt flour with another one if the spelt doesn’t agree with you?
Many thanks!
Jenny says
Hi Sera,
You could try and let us know how it works out.