Transformation

Bread, transformed to a muffin, transformed to a scone.

I get emails from King Arthur Flour with products and recipes, and this week I was intrigued by some Irish Soda Bread muffins. Bread in muffin form? Sounds like a great idea for breakfast.

With an Irish husband and St. Patrick's Day around the corner, I couldn't resist. The recipe isn't terribly authentic- traditional Irish soda bread only has flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk- so I felt free to add my own spin.

After mixing the dry ingredients, I realized I was missing the caraway seed in the original recipe. I added a bit of cinnamon for a spice (always love cinnamon) and decreased the amount of currants to better please my crowd.
The flavor is reminiscent of a scone, with the shape and texture of a muffin. Have you heard the term scuffin before? These are them. Delicious alone, or slather with a bit of butter.

Irish Soda Scuffins
makes 12

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup currants
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan with baker's spray.

Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and currants in a bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gently combine until just incorporated. The batter will be fairly stiff. Spoon into the muffin pan evenly.

Bake the scuffins for about 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack cool completely.

Serve plain or slathered in butter and jam.

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~oven ready, my baking assistant looking on~

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