These quick, easy, delicious, moist bran muffins are made with simple pantry ingredients. Serve these muffins with butter, jam or even a little cheese.
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I really miss the bran muffin pre-mix available in the baking section of all South African supermarkets. They are, in my opinion, perfect. Moist, full of bran, delicious, and whip up so quickly.
Since I couldn't find a bran muffin mix here in New Zealand, and well, I am a baker, I decided to put together some muffins of my own. The typical bran muffin mix only required the addition of milk, eggs and oil, so I knew I would be using these as my "wet ingredients". That's right, there is no butter or buttermilk in these bran muffins.
What are bran muffins?
Bran muffins are essentially quick bread (or muffin) in which the main ingredient is wheat bran. Wheat bran is the hard outer layer of wheat, which are particularly rich in dietary fibre and essential fatty acids.
So, while a bran muffin may be a bit healthier than a regular muffin, this recipe does contain sugar.
Why You Will Love These Bran Muffins
- Bran muffins are super easy to make and require minimal ingredients.
- They are super tasty!
- These muffins are great for popping into the lunch box, on the brunch table, or for an afternoon snack.
- They can be served with cheese to add a little extra protein to the snack. Or with some jam for some added sweetness.
Ingredients
This recipe requires either a regular-sized or a large-sized muffin tin, and the following ingredients (refer to the recipe card for details):
Wheat bran - this is the main ingredient for the muffin, giving the delightful bran flavour, and adding a punch when it comes to fibre. Wheat bran is usually sold alongside flour. I use Edmond's wheat bran which is made in New Zealand.
Flour - plain, standard grade or all-purpose flour. In a pinch, you can also use bread flour, but keep the mixing to a minimum.
Egg to bind this muffin all together, while adding some moisture.
Vegetable oil, preferably one with a neutral flavour. This adds the all-important fat component to the muffin and also keeps the muffin moist.
Milk also adds flavour and moisture. In this case, to go dairy-free bran muffin plant-based milk such as soy can be used instead.
Sugar sweetens the muffin and adds moisture, baking soda gives lift, and salt brings out the flavour of the wheat and bran.
Test the freshness of your baking powder or baking soda (bicarbonate of soda or bread soda) by placing a small amount in some boiling water. If it bubbles and fizzes, it's good to use!
Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal.
Room Temperature Ingredients
Use room-temperature ingredients! Using room temperature ingredients ensures that ingredients in the batter or dough will incorporate easier. Take note that room temperature refers to around 20°C/68F.
- To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, place them into warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- To bring butter to room temperature quickly, cut the butter into cubes and zap it in the microwave at 20% power in 10-second intervals. Or place the cubes in a bowl over warm water (such as with a double boiler) over low heat for 1 minute!
- Milk, buttermilk, and cream can be brought to room temperature by zapping in the microwave at 20% power in 10-second intervals. Or on low heat for a minute or two swirling every 10-15 seconds.
- If the butter is too warm/soft for baking - pop it into the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
Weighing & Measuring Ingredients
Weighing ingredients with a kitchen scale is more accurate than using measuring cups. All my recipes are developed and tested using grams only.
However, I have activated the grams-to-cups conversions on the recipe card. Simply click on "cups". For these conversions, cups are equal to 240mL/8 fl oz, tablespoons are 15mL and teaspoons are 5mL.
How to Make Easy Bran Muffins
Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 180°C/355F, and prepare either a 12 muffin tin or 6 large muffin tin.
Step 2 - Whisk together the flour, bran, salt, sugar and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
Step 3 - In another bowl or jug, whisk together the egg, milk and oil. Add these to the dry ingredients and fold through until all the ingredients are just combined.
Step 4 - Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake holders. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the muffin size you decided on. When a cake tester or toothpick comes out mostly clean from the centre, the muffins are done.
Step 5 - Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for about 5-10 minutes before allowing them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. These muffins can be served warm or cold, with butter, jam or even a bit of cheese.
Pro Tips for this Recipe
These muffins are done when you insert a cake tester or toothpick into the centre of a muffin and they come out mostly clean. For moist muffins, do not overbake!
Some optional extras to this recipe are a cup of chopped nuts or raisins.
Ovens & Air Fryers
The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F.
For baking, make sure the oven is fully preheated, and that the rack is in the middle of the oven. Open the oven as little as possible. For best baking results use an oven thermometer.
Remember that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted for your specific oven.
Bakeware
Metal bakeware (if you can, choose light-coloured bakeware for an even better bake) is superior when it comes to baking biscuits, cookies, brownies, muffins and quick bread, scones, cakes. These heat up and cool down faster than glassware. Glassware is heavier, heats up and cools down slower than metal, and is more suited for bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles, and cobblers.
Bran Muffins FAQ
Yes. Wrap each muffin in foil and cling film. These can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before serving. Perhaps even heat them up before serving.
The muffins can be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days.
I use wheat bran for this recipe. Specifically, I used Edmond's Wheat Bran, which is local to New Zealand.
If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating! It gives my readers and me helpful feedback. If you want more recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
📖 Recipe
Easy Bran Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 150 grams plain flour (standard grade or all-purpose flour)
- 120 grams wheat bran
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 250 grams (mL) milk
- 100 grams light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (bicarb/bread soda)
- 60 grams vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/355F, and prepare either a 12 muffin tin or 6 large muffin tin.
- Whisk together the flour, bran, salt, sugar and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.150 grams plain flour,120 grams wheat bran,100 grams light brown sugar,1 teaspoon baking soda,1 teaspoon salt
- In another bowl or jug, whisk together the egg, milk and oil. Add these to the dry ingredients and fold through until all the ingredients are just combined.250 grams (mL) milk,1 egg,60 grams vegetable oil
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake holders. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (depending on the muffin size you decided on. When a cake tester or toothpick comes out mostly clean from the centre, the muffins are done.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for about 5-10 minutes before allowing them to cool completely on a wire cooling rack. These muffins can be served warm or cold, with butter, jam or even a bit of cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate. If scaling the recipe remember to scale your cook and bakeware accordingly. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs,I earn from qualifying purchases.
Jane says
I've made this recipe a couple of times and really like it but I'm confused by the measurements for the liquid ingredients and worried that I'm getting it wrong. Is it 60 ml of oil or 60 grams (I'm not used to seeing liquid measured by weight...), and 250 ml of milk?
Mary-Lou says
Hi Jane,
You are doing perfectly fine.
I measure all my ingredients in grams, including liquids, mostly for accuracy. I have found that not all my measuring jugs have accurate measurements since they aren't laboratory-grade glassware. The same goes with my measuring cups, which I figured out a few years ago (circa 2016/2017) were marked as metric measurements but are actually closer to US standards.
But I also find that when I'm baking for myself, weighing out liquids also results in fewer dishes overall.
For this recipe - the milk is 250 grams/mL because 250mL weighs about 245 grams and it doesn't really make a difference. Which is a metric cup of milk, which is only 10mL (2 teaspoons) more than a US standard cup of milk.
As for the oil, I use 60 grams of oil, which is about a 1/4 cup or 60mL. So in the grand scheme of baking...it's all good!
But thank you for this comment, I have added the mL into brackets for the milk, so hopefully it's a bit clearer. And if you click on US standard, it will also bring up the cup measurements.
Have a great weekend!
Mary-Lou
Jane says
Thank you so much!
Angela says
They sound tasty, healthy, & super easy. Can I add in a cup of grated sweet apple, instead of Carrot, for extra moistness & flavor?
Mary-Lou says
Sure! They may just need a little extra baking time because of the added moisture, just be sure to check with a toothpick or cake tester.
Timothy says
Absolutely fabulous rexipes
Mary-Lou says
Thank you so much Timothy!
Irina says
Thank you for this recipe! I made them for hungry crew of 60 and they were a hit!
Mary-Lou says
That's great to here! Thank you for letting me know, and I'm glad the hungry crew enjoyed them 🙂
Margaret says
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. I live in the States and have been buying the imported South African Snowflake bran muffin mix at quite an expense knowing that it couldn’t possibly be so complicated to make from scratch. I have tried many recipes found online, but these are the most like the South African ones! Thanks a million!
Mary-Lou says
Hi, thank you so much for this comment, it has made my day. Honestly. I am also so glad this recipe matches the Snowflake muffin mix. Now I need to crack the cappuccino/coffee flavor mix...which was another (non) guilty quick mix 🙂