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This recipe for 100% whole-wheat muffins has been tested and tested and then tested some more. I’ve honed in on a new technique for baking with whole-wheat flour, which I believe will change the game when it comes to healthy-ish baking. Our “soaker” method creates a 100% whole-wheat muffin that’s uber-tender, light and fluffy, and stays moist for days after baking.
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Why These Are The Best Whole Wheat Muffins
Most 100% whole-wheat muffins are riddled with issues—whether it’s being dry and crumbly, rock hard, or even short and stout, most whole-wheat muffins are for the hard-core health nuts.
Not these muffins—though I do think the health nuts will eat these up too.
After a variety of tests and many failed methods, I found using a “soaking method” achieved an outrageously tender whole-wheat muffin that was springy, moist, flavorful, and light. Once I honed in on the soaking method, I then needed to refine the ratio of dry-to-liquid both during the soaking stage and mixing of the batter.
Aside from this revolutionary (in my opinion) method, I also add a bit of cornstarch which is often found in cakes to aid tenderness. Instead of a natural sweetener, I opt for traditional brown sugar but pull way back on the amount. And instead of butter, I use olive oil which keeps the muffins nice and moist, even days after baking.
Ingredients in Healthy Whole Wheat Muffins
Whole-wheat flour
I was committed to developing a muffin recipe that uses standard whole-wheat flour. I love me some recipes that use whole-wheat pastry flour and white whole-wheat flour, but it’s time we have a muffin that uses good ’ol regular whole-wheat flour.
Buttermilk
What used to be the liquid left after churning butter is now a thick and tangy cultured milk product. The slight acidity helps activate the baking soda, and the tanginess adds a nice balance of flavors to the muffin.
If you can’t find or don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute with milk + vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then pour the milk over top to reach the 1 cup mark. Stir and allow the mixture to rest 10 minutes before using. I will say, the texture of homemade buttermilk is not nearly as impressive as buttermilk from the store, so if you can, use store-bought.
Cornstarch
Cornstarch is a common ingredient in cakes and helps to create a light and tender crumb. If you can’t have corn, you can try arrowroot starch, though we have not tested that (yet).
Leaverners
You’ll need a bit of baking soda and baking powder for these muffins. We like double acting baking powder.
Brown sugar
Use light-brown sugar and be sure to pack the cup when measuring. We don’t recommend using dark brown sugar as that will alter the amount of liquid in the recipe and likely impact the texture of the muffin.
Olive oil
I love baking with olive oil, and when it’s one of the main flavors I will often use extra-virgin olive oil, like in this lemon olive oil cake recipe. However for this recipe, I often prefer regular olive oil for its mild flavor which allows the vanilla, cinnamon and whole-wheat flavor to come through.
Egg
Make sure to use egg labeled as “large.” If you’re using farm-fresh, you can weigh the egg (out of shell) to verify you have the right amount. It should weight 50 grams.
If the egg weighs less than 50 grams (out of shell), crack another egg, whisk the eggs together then weight out 50 grams. Save the rest for a breakfast scramble.
Flavorings
Ground cinnamon and vanilla add just enough oomph without stealing the show. If you want to play around with flavors, I encourage you to make these once then mix up the spices and extracts. Orange zest, almond extract, ground ginger, and nutmeg are just a few I would try first.
Tips for Making the Best Whole Wheat Muffins
- Use a food scale to measure out the ingredients. This is THE most foolproof way for measuring out ingredients. If you don’t have a scale, be sure you fluff the flour before spooning the flour into a measuring cup and leveling with a flat edge.
- Coat your muffin tin very well with nonstick spray—this is the only way to ensure the muffins pop out easily. This recipe makes 8 muffins, so before you bake I recommend you wipe out the empty well to avoid the cooking spray from burning.
- Use an oven thermometer to understand how hot (or not) your oven is! Most oven run at least 15 degrees hotter or cooler than they display. Adjust the temperature as needed.
- Preheat your oven longer. Even if your oven beeps and says it’s preheated, it likely isn’t up to temperature yet. I recommend allowing your oven to preheat for an added 10 minutes before starting to bake.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Check out this list of other healthy muffin recipes that use a variety of wholesome ingredients.
- These Healthy Blueberry Muffins are always a trending recipe here on ZK. They’re made with whole-wheat pastry flour and are loaded with lemony goodness.
- One bite of these Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins and you’ll be transported to a warm and cozy kitchen in the fall. These are scrumptious.
- These Healthy Bran Muffins are a sleeper of a recipe! One of our most beloved recipes for many years, it’s a classic for a reason!
- If you’re looking for a good gluten-free muffin, check out our Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins.
Baking Recipes
Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
Baking Recipes
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Baking Recipes
Actually Healthy Bran Muffins
FAQs
To test if a muffin or cupcake is done, insert a toothpick or cake tester into the center of a muffin. If it comes out with batter on it, it’s underbaked and needs more time. If it comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, then the muffins are done baking.
We don’t recommend substituting the buttermilk out—it’s an incredibly important ingredient for these muffins.
We are still testing different mix-ins and will publish those variations as they are tested and passed. A few ideas we are testing include healthy chocolate chip muffins, zucchini muffins, pumpkin muffins, and mini muffins. Any requests?
Whole-Wheat Muffin Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (150 grams) + 2 tablespoons (15g) whole-wheat flour, divided
- 1 cup (252g) buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons (20g) cornstarch*
- 1 ¼ teaspoon (5g) baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoons (2g) ground cinnamon, optional
- ¼ teaspoon (2g) kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (71g) packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup (56g) olive oil
- 1 (50g) large egg
- 1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla extract
- Turbinado sugar also called sugar in the raw, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- For the soaker, combine 1 ¼ cups (150g) flour and buttermilk. Stir to combine then cover with plastic or a tight fitting lid and refrigerate overnight (8–10 hours).
- Heat oven to 425ºF (218ºC). Thoroughly coat muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons flour, starch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla until smooth and pale and most of the sugar has dissolve; 1 minute
- Add soaker to sugar-oil mixture.
- Whisk soaker into sugar mixture until smooth.
- Stir in starch mixture to combine.
- Scoop batter by ⅓ cup into muffin tins top with turbinado sugar.
- Bake 5 minutes then turn oven down to 400ºF (204ºC) and continue baking until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few crumbs attached, 8–10 minutes more, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking. (Total bake time 13-15 minutes.)
- Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin tin and let cool 5 minutes longer. Serve.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
These are really excellent! Tender and not too sweet.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
So, the soaker is kinda like a poulish, but with a different fermentation source (the b-milk)?
Yes, exactly! Whole wheat flour takes a long time to soak up liquid, and soaks up a lot, so this prolonged soak helps the flour soak up more moisture and results in a more tender muffin. Additionally, whole wheat flour needs a lot of encouragement to form a nice gluten structure, and the soak gives it that time to do so. As for fermentation (I’m no expert when it comes to fermentation), it would need much longer than 8-10 hours to really get a good fermentation going. Something for me to dive deeper into and experiment with! Maybe I should tackle some bread next.
Do you think it’d be OK to omit the sugar completely? Any chemical reason why I shouldn’t, or just flavor?
Hi Mimi, great question! Aside from balancing flavors and adding sweetness, sugar is super important for structure and moisture in the muffins. I haven’t tested these without sugar completely, but I have tested various amounts of sugar and landed on 1/3 cup for adding just enough sweetness while still maintaining proper texture. You would be safe to reduce the sugar down to 1/4 cup, but I can’t guarantee how they will turn out with less or none at all. Let me know what you decide to do and how they come out!
Thanks for your reply! I made the muffins with 1/4 cup brown sugar and they were still plenty sweet. Very light and moist, and super high!
I’m going to try it without any sugar next time and will report back. I did share a few bites with my toddler (which she loved) but prefer no sugar for her when possible.
Thanks for letting me know what you ended up doing! So glad the 1/4 cup worked, I can’t wait to hear how no sugar works!
I haven’t tried the recipe, but I know that it will be great. (Had to rate it to leave a comment). The soaking method works so well with other things such as soaking groats in sourdough starter etc. Buttermilk is a cultured product (but not with the vinegar). I like to always have buttermilk around, though may not use the container while it is freshest. For your readers who may want to enjoy making this recipe more frequently and not run low on buttermilk, consider buying a quart of whole milk to serve as a base to culture to buttermilk. One tablespoon of cultured buttermilk to 1 cup of whole milk is the ratio. Allow to sit at room temperature until it thickens. (24 hours). Like sourdough starter, it is the gift that keeps on giving. At the time of my writing: Qt of Buttermilk $3.99. Qt of milk is $1.89. Saves money and is always fresh. I hope that your readers give it a try. I’m going to make your muffins this weekend. Thanks for your recipe. You have some great stuff on your site.
I made these, using your method, with whole wheat pastry flour. As I was using this type of flour, I omitted the cornstarch, and simply used same measure for additional pastry flour. Also, I ran out of time, and left my “soak” in fridge for a day and half. No ill effects.
The muffins were delightful in every respect. They had a beautiful, moist crumb. Easy to put together. I have found that my canning funnel (regular mouth) makes a fantastic tool to fill muffin tins without a mess. I will add some walnuts and dried cranberries to my next batch. Thanks again for this wonderful recipe.
Hi Leisa! I’m so happy to hear the whole-wheat pastry flour worked well. So smart to omit the cornstarch when using the pastry flour. And I’m glad the longer soak worked out!
Canning funnel is genius! Especially with such a runny batter like this one. I will be trying that next time. Let me know how the cranberries and walnuts turn out, sounds delicious. I recently made chocolate chip muffins with this as the base recipe and they were delicious. Mini chocolate chips were key so they didn’t sink into the bottom of the batter.
Do you think it matters if the flour mixture that has been moisturizing in the refrigerator is left out to come to room temperature before combining it in the recipe? I wonder if that would have a positive or negative effect. It doesn’t seem likely that it wouldn’t matter at all.
I’ve tested this with the soaker cold out of the fridge, and with the soaker slightly warmed at room temperature and I couldn’t discern a difference. It’s a bit easier to incorporate into the batter when it’s at room temperature, but definitely not necessary! Let me know how it gos if you make these.