Make-Ahead Breakfast Muffins (Brown Sugar, Yogurt and Oat)
A breakfast muffin formulated to hold its crumb for a full work week. Liquid oil, whole-milk yogurt and brown sugar keep the crumb pliable; rolled oats stop it compressing as it firms. One bowl for dry, one for wet, twenty minutes in the oven. Cool 82 minutes before sealing. Makes twelve. Freeze what you will not eat by Wednesday.
Ingredients
- 250 g 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 45 g 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 150 g 3/4 cup, packed light brown sugar
- 10 g 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 g 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 5 g 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 g 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 200 g 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp whole-milk plain yogurt, room temperature
- 120 g 1/2 cup + 1 tsp neutral oil (canola or grapeseed)
- 2 large eggs 100 g, room temperature
- 60 g 1/4 cup whole milk
- 8 g 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 15 g 2 tbsp old-fashioned rolled oats
- 12 g 1 tbsp light brown sugar
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Whisk the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Break up any sugar lumps with your fingers.250 g 2 cups all-purpose flour, 150 g 3/4 cup, packed light brown sugar, 10 g 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, 3 g 1/2 tsp baking soda, 5 g 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, 2 g 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- Whisk the yogurt, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla in a second bowl until smooth and uniform.2 large eggs, 8 g 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pour the wet into the dry. Fold with a spatula until no dry flour remains, about 12 strokes. Stop while the batter still looks slightly lumpy.
- Divide the batter evenly, roughly 88 g per cup. Fill each liner nearly to the rim.
- Stir the topping oats and brown sugar together. Scatter over the muffins.45 g 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, 12 g 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- Bake 19 to 21 minutes, until the center of a middle muffin reads 207°F on a probe thermometer.
- Turn the muffins out of the pan within 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack, uncovered, until the center reaches room temperature — about 82 minutes at 71°F.
- Seal only then. Airtight box, paper towel liner, dome side up, on the counter.
Nathan's Tips
- Do not skip the 82 minutes. Sealing warm traps steam, and steam condenses on the dome. That is where tacky tops come from — not from age.
- Substitution: sour cream swaps 1:1 for the yogurt. Buttermilk does not — it is thinner, and the crumb came out looser in our batch.
- Freeze on day 1, not day 3. Freezing preserves whatever crumb you put in. Wrap individually, then bag, and label with the bake date.
