When my heart is filled with concerns for family and friends, it helps to work in my kitchen and make sourdough muffins. Following the recipe, mixing the ingredients, cleaning up afterwards, all of that gives me time to think and pray. Baking banana nut muffins adds a needed quiet time to cheer up my day.
There are times when it’s better for the staff of the soon-to-be-world-famous Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen to take a day off. I need some time alone. Just leave the cooking to me.
This week there was such a day. I had received texts, emails, and phone calls. My loved ones needed prayers. So, I retired to the kitchen and prayed as I tested a new sourdough starter muffin recipe.
Testing Amy’s Sourdough Banana Nut Muffins Recipe
About a week ago, I posted a recipe for what I called The Best Cranberry Sourdough Muffins. Since then, Hubby and I have continued to search for ways to make best use of our sourdough starter discard. Recently, we found a recipe for Sourdough Banana Nut Muffins by Amy at little spoon farm. – Using Persnickety Pierre’s Criteria of Excellence, let’s see why this recipe will become a regular here at the SFH Test Kitchen.
1. Level of the Banana Nut sourdough muffins challenge
This recipe is a bit more involved than Daisy’s Cranberry Muffins. There are more ingredients and more steps to follow. Nevertheless, there is nothing out of the ordinary here. The biggest challenge to this recipe is restraining yourself from eating the entire batch of muffins yourself.
2. Selection of good-quality ingredients
Supposing that your sourdough starter discard is ready to go, all the ingredients you will need should already be in your kitchen or pantry. Well, almost all. Ripe bananas are the flavor attraction in this recipe, and you can’t do without them.
3. Use of cooking techniques
Take it slow! Pay attention to the order in which ingredients are mixed and combined. This is the best part for me. Watching it all come together provides the satisfaction and peace one can experience while cooking.
4. Development of superior taste and flavor
I found that this recipe is well balanced and delivers the banana nut flavor advertised in its name. The only minor variation I made was using light brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar.
5. Presentation
I chose to serve myself a single muffin with a hot cup of freshly made black tea. The muffin and tea were a morning snack on my deck. From there I could look out on my yard and vegetable gardens.
A bluebird had decided to sit on a fence post and share with me his enjoyment of the morning sun and gentle breeze. As for the texts, emails, and phone calls that had troubled my mind, I’ve done what I could do. – It’s in His hands now.
What if you make more muffins than you need?
The condition of your sourdough discard and the level to which you fill the spaces on your muffin pan may have an effect on the number of muffins rendered by this recipe. In my test case, I ended up with 18 muffins, many more than the expected dozen.
As we chefs, bakers, and home cooks have learned, it’s beneficial to have good friends and neighbors who like to share in what you make. Within minutes of baking these delicious sourdough banana nut muffins, a half dozen of them were in the care of a dear neighbor and her daughter.
A little time in the kitchen, makes up for hours and days of useless worries.
Sourdough Banana Nut Muffins Recipe
Notes
- The condition of your sourdough discard and the level to which you fill the muffin pan may effect the number of muffins rendered by this recipe. In our case, we ended up with 18 muffins.
- For a more thorough set of notes, refer to the original recipe at: Sourdough Banana Nut Muffins - Little Spoon Farm
Equipment
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Muffin tin
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Mixing Bowls
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Measuring cups/spoons
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Spatula
Ingredients
WET INGREDIENTS
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup (200 g) dark brown sugar see notes
- 2 large eggs
- 3 (350 g) very ripe bananas about 1 cup, mashed
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- 1 cup (125 g) walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and line a 12 count muffin tin with paper liners, or lightly grease.
- Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, use a fork to mash the bananas until smooth.
- Melt the butter in a mixing bowl and add the dark brown sugar. Use a spatula to cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, mashed banana, sour cream, sourdough discard and vanilla extract and mix until combined.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with the spatula until just combined. (Do not over mix!) Gently fold in ⅔ cup of the chopped walnuts.
- Divide the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle the remaining ⅓ cup of chopped walnuts on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack.
So delicious!
Therapeutic baking? That sure sounds like someone else I know…
Yep,just don’t eat it all (:
How do you acquire the sourdough?
Yes we make it.I can share some with you.If you check out the post about the cranberry muffins there will be a link there that explains how to make the sourdough starter.
They make it.
Will be trying this recipe for sure! Thank you for sharing it. Prayers for your family and friends who are in need.