Why spelt flour? I get bored using regular whole wheat flour when baking so I’m always looking for a new whole-grain to try. Spelt, dating back to 5,000 BC, is a cousin to modern-day wheat and is packed with protein, fiber, B vitamins, and essential minerals. It does contain gluten so it’s not recommended for anyone with Celiac disease but it seems to be better tolerated for those with gluten sensitivity. Spelt flour is nuttier, sweeter, and has a more complex flavor than regular whole wheat flour making it an excellent choice for muffins, pancakes, and bread. Although it’s typically recommended to substitute 25-50% of regular flour for spelt flour, I used 100% spelt flour in this recipe and it worked well. These muffins are on the sweeter side so I recommend eating them as a whole-grain dessert or mid-day treat rather than for breakfast.
Streusel Topped Blueberry Spelt Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel
3 tablespoons spelt flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2″ pieces
Muffins
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup buttermilk or 1/3 cup plain yogurt thinned with a few tablespoons milk
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Directions
Streusel
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and fill 9 muffin cups with paper liners (the muffins tend to stick as they rise above the liner so it helps to spray the entire muffin tin).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add butter pieces, working quickly, press the butter and flour mixture between your fingers until you have pea-size pieces. Set aside.
Muffins
- Whisk spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Add eggs, brown sugar, oil, buttermilk or yogurt, and lemon zest. Whisk together in center of bowl first then incorporate into the flour mixture until combined, don’t over mix.
- Gently fold in blueberries. Divide batter among 9 muffin cups. Top each with about 1 tablespoon of streusel.
- Bake for about 25 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for about 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit, February 2020.
Judymatusky.com