Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson Read Free Book Online

cool for a few minutes. Drizzle the remaining melted butter on the top and serve. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar or drizzle with maple syrup if you want it a bit sweeter.
    SERVES 6 GENEROUSLY, OR 12 AS PART OF A LARGER BRUNCH SPREAD

Bran Muffins
    WHOLEMEAL FLOUR, BUTTERMILK, MAPLE SYRUP
If good bran muffins have eluded you, give these a shot. After years of tweaks, this has become my basic, go-to bran muffin recipe. It results in a substantial, crunchy muffin top, hiding a tender, barely sweet crumb underneath. I think the muffins are best served warm with a smear of salted butter, but I know others who prefer a slather of apricot jam.
The recipe calls for plain, unsweetened bran cereal, although at times I substitute other crunchy, hearty cereals. Brown or muscovado sugar make a nice substitution for the natural cane sugar here.
    2 large eggs, lightly beaten
    240 ml buttermilk or plain yoghurt
    120 g unsalted butter, barely melted
    60 ml maple syrup
    20 g wheat bran or oat bran
    115 g plain, unsweetened bran cereal
    115 g wholemeal flour
    35 g natural (unrefined) cane sugar or soft brown sugar
    1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    1 teaspoon fine sea salt
    Preheat the oven to 200°C (Gas Mark 6) with a rack in the middle of the oven. Generously butter a standard 12-hole muffin tin.
    In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and maple syrup. Sprinkle the bran and bran cereal across the top, stir, and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
    In the meantime, in a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the top of the wet and stir until just combined. Immediately fill each muffin hole three-quarters full.
    Bake for 18–22 minutes, until the edges of the muffins begin to brown and the tops have set. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn the muffins out of the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
    MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Crepes
    RYE FLOUR, SEA SALT
This simple batter makes a family-sized batch of rustic rye-flour crepes, which I make quite frequently. A word of advice: aim for a smooth, lump-free batter and (really) resist the urge to skip the straining step. A mesh sieve is the best tool for the job—don’t even try cheesecloth (it makes a mess) and making the batter in a blender doesn’t yield the same results.
I’ve tested many different approaches to crepes, and broadly speaking, 100 per cent wholegrain flour blends aren’t as good as a mixture of a wholegrain flour and plain flour. The former tends to make crepes that are too heavy and flabby, and that take too long to cook, which results in steamed crepes. This particular recipe works well in a pan or with a tabletop crepe maker. You can pre-cook crepes ahead of time if you like. Stack the crepes between trays of baking paper, and then reheat in a lightly buttered frying pan and fill with toppings when you are ready to eat.
    85 g rye flour
    140 g unbleached plain flour
    ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
    3 large eggs
    475 ml water, plus more if needed
    Unsalted butter for cooking
    Fillings (see below)
    To make the crepe batter, combine the flours and salt in a bowl. Use a fork to stir in the eggs until the texture becomes raggedy. Gradually stir in the water. The batter may seem a bit thin, but it will thicken as it rests. Remove the lumps from the batter by pushing and smushing all the batter through a not-too-fine mesh sieve using a wooden spoon or rigid spatula. Rest the batter at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, then stir again before using. It should have the consistency of smooth double (thick) cream. If you need to thin with more water, do so a few tablespoons at a time.
    To cook the crepes, heat a 20 cm non-stick or wellseasoned frying pan over medium heat. Rub with a touch of butter and pour just enough batter into the pan to provide a thin coating; in a 20 cm pan, this means about 60 ml. As you pour, rotate