Wheat bran has a lot of fiber. And that is why I have always eaten Kelloggs All Bran and would make bran muffins. Recently I have noticed that although I can eat food with gluten, I do a lot better if I avoid wheat. So, I have been experimenting with spelt and oat bran. And I'm finding my body is a lot is a lot happier. In a nutshell, I don't bloat after eating spelt bread or oat bran cereal. Here's some fascinating details on the problems of wheat. There are apparently many!
So, earlier this week, I thought I'd see if I could make a decent oat bran muffin which has both oat bran and spelt flour.
They came out great! They actually have a consistency of a scone (especially during the couple hours after baking). They even taste like scones!
These are not overly sweet. You could add some stevia (I really like the Truvia brand packets) if you'd like to address that. Alternatively, you could slice them in half, toast them and spread some nice raspberry or blueberry jam on them.
I will warn you some of the ingredients, about 4 in all, are a little different- oat bran, whole grain spelt flour, Celtic Salt, and Black Mission Figs. But, all of them, you can get at a Whole Foods market. And, once you have these ingredients in the house, it will be much easier to make these the next time.
1 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Celtic Salt
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
12 to 14 (dryed) Black Mission Figs cut up into small pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
Preheat oven to 400 degress.
Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl until well blended. Mix all wet ingredients together in another bowl until well blended. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Stir as little as possible, just enough to have wet mixture absorbed by dry mixture.
Spray 12 muffin tin cups with non-stick cooking spray. Put slightly rounded 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin tin cup.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!