However, I did manage to sneak in a *cough* couple of treats from La Brea superb. Great post. I used two teaspoons of baking powder, I grated an entire orange rind and put all of the scrapings in the mix (I love orange peel), a teaspoon of vanilla and I put two tablespoons more flour in the recipe than what was called for oh, and I only used one type of flour whole wheat pastry flour. Oh your grandmother sounds fantastic! I enjoyed it and the thoughts of your grandmother immensely. No dinner. Hanging out and drinking dark coffee and nibbling on scones with flour-dusted Nancy in her bakery is another. Hi Lori: I was thinking of adding more flour the next time I made them, just to see. I finally picked up a copy and am reading it now. (The burned edges were my own dumb doing.) Well, I guess that explains why Nancys La Brea Bread are now sold all the way across America and shes super-famous and the New York Times loves herand I live in a two-room apartment, drink 3 bottles of vin ordinaire, and have to take my laundry down to the Seine and beat it on a rock with a stick. I love to cook and have memorized your book. I thought they counted as liquids, but I noticed you listed it under grams.

On another note, I aspire to be a sassypants grandma just like yours! I come from a part of the world where baking isnt a big thing. I can see you cringing about the microwave! Apparently its made in Ireland. The muffins rose beautifully. Even if Nancy Silverton had not started one of the greatest bakeries and revolutionized supermarket breads, she should be forever immortalized as the baker who made Julia Child cry on camera. I am a VERY novice baker. They did not rise any higher. Delicious! I meant for future termsI know you have more stories stored up, dont ya? Eileen: She is so talented. I also love a damn good bran muffin, so I am definitely baking these. The muffins rose about 1/4-inch above the tops of the liners. Hi! Not by much, though. One muffin needs 30-60 seconds (depending on your microwaves power) to revive it to near-fresh bake condition. I wanted to report I did make this substitution and found the results were excellent. I also have many fond memories of my grandmothers house, and I am lucky enough to still have her. I dont know if that was because food was indeed losing its flavor as more processed became a part of our lives, or because she was getting old. What perfect timing. Id taken buses and walked to the bakery early in the morning to meet up with the said friend for a coffee and some morning fix of pastries and a pile of other stuff to take home with me. Thanks again for sharing your memories so beautifully. I will have to dredge it up in my files and compareYour grandma was a hoot to read about, thanks!

Thanks to Nancys great work ethic, vision and passion for baking, I realized that a woman with passiona woman with enough jou-jou to make a bran muffin sexycould do anything. I think being a good cook does that to you. I think that when women say they dont have time to cook because of work and kids and all it has less to do with time and more to do with our hectic, technology filled schedules and when we all get home we just want some downtime from that. I was scarred about 20 years ago by a bad bran muffin in a coffee shop, goodness it was just awful; but Im thinking if youve recommended these they must be good, maybe the time has come to try again Grandma sounds like she was a hoot! Which was a good thing, because she sure loved to eat. Thats what I have in the fridge. Regardless it is a very nice recipe.

They turned out looking exactly like yours. They even kept well at room temp and stayed super-moist over a few days.

I just wanted to second two questions that have already been asked: Great recipe. And this was before bagged salads, frozen broccoli, and electricity. Thanks for sharing the story and the recipe. And yes, increasing the temperature of the stove did help them rise a little bit more. This story of your grandmother was a delicious read. So there. I used 3/4 cup of whole wheat PASTRY flour instead of part white and part regular w.w. flour. Lovely story David. Its been a long time since I made that recipe, or ate it, but I remember it being not too sweet but very moist and flavorful, also. Sounds like she knew what was important in life. You will by then! . After that first time, whenever I went back to La Brea Bakery to see Nancy, shed give me a bag stuffed with freshly-baked bran muffins to bring back to my grandmother. I think Ill make them again, and I like your addition of whole wheat flour. Just a note that sometimes adding more baking powder can make things deflate, as too much can cause the batter to rise quickly, them collapse before the structure of the cake or muffin is formed enough to hold it. Haha, great post. I aspire to be just like her in my advancing years! The muffins were definitely moister than the Claim Jumper clones and I think they had a better (lower, in this case) level of sweetness. If you do try it, let us know how it works out. Thanks for this; I love a good bran muffin. I know nowadays theres white whole wheat flour, but Im happy with the hearty taste of whole wheat, and the additional health benefits, too. Darn! now, mozza is one of my favorite haunts, a place i love to drop into on a saturday afternoon, grab a seat at the bar, and order the caprese salad and some marrow bones. I just ordered both the La Brea bread book and the Pastry book last week after borrowing them from the library.

I tried this recipe about a month ago and loved it! Well, the only thing poor about her was that I ate half the loot in the car on the way back to her house. I have been such a slacker this summer you have now inspired me to do better. Thanks! Youve made me miss my sweet grandma and her sister more than ever. David, what a lovely post! I smell a memoir? No? salt at the end. In my regular-size muffin pans, I filled 17 muffin cups 3/4 full. Theyre wonderful. Thank goodness I read your blog entry and not just the recipe. Theyre not too sweet, but we like them that way. . I do like the orange stove-top one, though. I dont get back to Los Angeles as much as Id like to, which is a shame because I have a lot of good memories there. Still, I fiddled with some things I had just one cup of raisins and no orange zest, so I added a bit of vanilla bean powder instead. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). I didnt have fresh oranges, but I had homemade candied orange peel in the freezer and used some slivers of that. And bran isnt really a aprt of the diet. I tried baking the muffins at 400 degrees. :). Its also, I think, perfect evidence of why so many people read food blogs, because food carries powerful memories and is a lovely medium for storytelling. Should I alter amounts of other ingredients? I made a batch with raisins and pecans mixed in and liked those better, but then I tend to like fruit, nuts, and/or chocolate added to anything. I think they are fantastic and my husband does too. I stayed with her once when I was 7. Hi Tam: Thanks for the recipe report. Maybe a little bit of verbal color would actually be a good thing for them . Then, I forgot to add the remaining 1/2 cup of water to the recipe but the muffins were still incredibly moist. it was a practice my french trip and your anecdotes about life a paris helped me confidently explore the city like a local. David this is a really beautifully written post! Oh also when I was pureeing the muffins I added an over ripe banana which further helped moistness I think. Thanks! Free time what the heck, you need 10 minutes to make ice cream and then you press a button. Write on. I love, love this beautifully written story about your grandmother. I did put the heat to 360 since Im at fairly high altitude. I made bran muffins the week before using another recipe and they tasted like cardboard. Fast forward to today. Your line about the Lalique glasses made me laugh. Thanks for the great post! Id heard so much about them and had tasted (and loved) some of their cookies and scones that a good friend of mine had FedExed to me from LA. I made that batch in ramekins because I was out of muffin-tin space.

I made them exactly as per the recipe, except for baking at 200C and using plain flour instead of whole wheat flour. Lena: I got it at Tati. Mine is definitely my inspiration and muse. Thanks for all the great recipes and stories. I do have the Nancy Silvertons pastry book but never tried the bran muffins. Im Planning to be in Paris in October, (no, I wont call you), I appreciate your Mes Bonnes Adresses. I love La Brea breads and bring home a couple every week.It will be fun trying out Nancy Silvertons recipe. ~So Beautiful ~ Muffins definition of elegance, Thanks for sharing your story and beautiful delicious Muffins ~.

That recipe didnt have any sugar, and was sweetened with raisin puree. Her morning ritual is a memory I will cherish. I just made these this morning and, wow, what a treat. Great stories David. These might be the best bran muffins in the world.

Then I have to get them all to ballet and everyone goes at a different time! Terrific recipe! A hit with friends and family. Ill be a crusty muffin! Favorite Paris pastry and chocolate shops, http://www.thevintagemixer.com/2010/09/best-bran-muffin-recipe.html. Wonderful entry to the blog, Davidyour personal stories and sense of humor are what make this blog great. Thanks for another great (ahem, its already 10:30 am) start to the day. With 2 cups of bran and 1 teaspoon of baking powder Im syrprized they go anywhere at all. I never had a grandmother living in LA (or any other family/relative member, for that matter) but reading your story makes me feel as if I, too, missed those good old days there. I couldnt bare to go through that experience again. She lived to be almost 100. your smartly written posts and your links guided me during the four days i just spent in paris. My grandmother was just like yours, sassy and took no ! Your grandmother sounded like a hoot. Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and sift directly into the wet ingredients. I think adding a bit less liquid was the ticket, but I didnt want to mess with her recipe too much since it tastes pretty darn good as it is and theyre so light. In the Philippines now, reading your post is all the more painful.

Just finished reading your Sweet Life in Paris and loved it!!! This is, I believe, what women today mean when they say that they dont have time to cook. Love reading about your grandma! I made these muffins last weekend and they did turn out flat, but that didnt stop them from being devoured! Based on a quick read, this recipe reminds me of one I was given by a friends mother, originating in WW2, the story goes. Whereas in the original, the measurements are inverted. And Nancy I met her at Osteria Mozza last year. I loved this recipe and tried it literally a couple of hours ago. Nice memories so often are interrelated with food! *smacks forehead* The chocolate banana muffins in La Brea Pastries are also wonderful-rich moist dark chocolate..hmmmm. Puree the raisins in a food processor or blender until smooth. She has a huge rubbermaid container in her frig full of the batter and a spotelessly clean ice cream scoop on the shelf next to the container. Im not much of a bran muffin fan, but if Maida Heatter (and your grandmother) say theyre the best, then I had to give them a chance. I baked them at 375 degrees, not 400, for a total of 18 minutes. I was using French flour, which is a bit lighter than US flour. I added 1 tsp. Then there is the e-mail, the voicemail, and whatever else mail that you have to read every night because that is how teachers communicate with parents and parents communicate with each other and if you dont read it, you or your children are going to miss something very important and it just never ends. I increased the baking powder to two teaspoons. I found your recipe online and just finished eating my results. I learned how to make sourdough from Nancys book. Its a recipe which has honey in the title, but doesnt call for honey. Im sure she contributed immensely to your love of food. They were definitely moist, though. Thanks for sharing the muffin recipe. I had filled a few spaces in the muffin tin before I remembered you had said something about adding extra baking powder. Yes, you can cook, your baking is extraordinaire but your writing is what keeps us all tuned in. While the bran is toasting, heat 1 cup (135g) of the raisins with 1/2 cup (120ml) of the water. The muffins came out delicious and very figgy-tasting. I love the story about your Grandmother and the muffins looks so delicious, will try it soon maybe with vainilla extract a bit of flavor to make it sweeter. They are so easy to prepare make them on the same day. I just wonder if I can replace the wheat bran for oat bran. But my aunt! I believe behind every great cook is a great grandma. My first time writing. Since starting my food blog over two years ago, Ive never been happier. Images of what she baked and how she tended her garden are always with me. The muffins sound quite healthy, relatively speaking, tooits funny how decadent bran muffins can seemalthough Im sure that the fact I really enjoy them most with a pat of butter tends to cancel out the health halo. (Gulp!) (Im still getting up the courage to use my new food processor). During her later years, she moved from New England to Los Angeles because the weather was nicer. I wish I could meet your grandmother. Lucky you for getting one of her pizzas! I forgot the 1/2 tsp. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins feel set in the center. Eating char-broiled steaks and baked potatoes with bacon, sour cream, and chives with my grandmother in her kitchen is one. This is after completing my own work day and we havent even gotten home to tackle that beastly bear called homework. This is a typical modern day life, nothing is convenient and the driving, driving, driving is enough to kill the strongest of mothers. -oven- This sounds perfect, but do you think agave nectar would work in lieu of brown sugar? I would love to hang out with her in her kitchen! I didnt have any oranges so I left out the zest, but Im sure that would be good.

Sue me, I think its good! My grandmother (who turned 90 this year) has been making a batch of bran muffins for YEARS and baking and eating just one every morning. David, today is my birthday, and that story was a wonderful birthday present to read. However, the muffins did have completely flat tops. What a marvelous woman. My batch is still in the oven, so its just a theory.