These little muffins buns came about as a result of my inability to find poppy seeds in my cupboards. I thought I had some, but no! So, what I do have is chia seeds. Lots of them. I bought a big bag at Costco in response to the chia seed hype. Unfortunately, my husband isn't a big fan of chia breakfast pudding, nor am I. So, what to do with the chia seeds? Let them sub for poppy seeds in my honey lemon muffin buns! I wasn't sure how the seeds would work, but they do surprisingly well! The trick is to hydrate the seeds overnight in water and lemon juice. Then the lemony mixture goes into the batter for the muffin buns. The muffin buns have the tangy taste of lemon and sourdough and a slight crunch from the chia seeds. The seeds don't have much taste, but they are nutritious and give the muffin buns extra fiber. The muffin buns have no extra leavening in them--only the sourdough starter--and the texture of the buns is more like a yeast bread than a muffin. But no kneading is required! If you have sourdough starter, try these buns! They may sound weird, but they're really easy and quite good. I like them for breakfast or with a cup of tea. Enjoy!
Sourdough Honey Lemon Chia Muffin Buns -- Makes 12
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1 cup of sourdough starter
2 tablespoons of dried milk powder
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 large egg
1/4 cup of sugar
Grated zest of a lemon
2 tablespoons of honey
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Powdered sugar to dust (optional)
In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds, water, and lemon juice and stir them well. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes, stir it well again, and cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight or for at least eight hours. In a large bowl beat together the sourdough starter, milk powder, oil, egg, sugar, lemon zest, and honey until well combined. Beat in the chia seed mixture well. Stir in the white whole-wheat flour until combined. Cover the mixture loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit at least an hour. Stir in the all-purpose flour and salt until combined. Spritz a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Divide the batter among the muffin wells. Let the muffin buns rise for an hour or two or until the batter just crests the tops of the muffin wells (how long you let the batter sit will depend on the temperature in your kitchen. The muffin buns won't rise a lot, and they may take longer to do so if your kitchen is cold.). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and then bake the muffin buns for 20-25 minutes or until firm and lightly browned. Let the muffin buns sit in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then loosen them or turn them out to cool completely. You can serve the buns "as is" or dust them with powdered sugar.
