Sourdough Bacon and Cheese Muffins

Sourdough is a great way to make your wheat baking healthier and easier for your body to digest. All it takes is a little more planning ahead to make this delicious recipe! See this post for more info on sourdough muffins.

1 C “discarded” sourdough starter

1 C whole wheat flour

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C melted coconut oil or melted butter

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits or crumbled fried bacon

In a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter and whole wheat flour. I added a little water to this in order to mix the flour and starter together. Without the water it was too dry and crumbly. Once the two are thoroughly combined, cover the dough with plastic wrap ensuring that none of it is exposed to the air. Let sit at room temperature for at least seven hours. The longer it sits the more tangy it will become, 7 hours seems a good amount of time. The dough will rise some while it sits. If any of it has gotten exposed to the air and gotten dry, just remove those bits so you don’t have little dough nuggets in your final product. When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with papers or grease the cups. In a separate bowl, mix together all other ingredients except for cheese and bacon. Add those ingredients to the dough in the mixer’s bowl and mix together. Fold in cheese and bacon and scoop batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20 min. Makes about 12 muffins.

Gluten Free Bacon and Cheese Muffins

I found the original recipe here and of course tweaked it to fit my taste and what I had in the pantry!

1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

1/2 cup real bacon bits or sliced fried bacon

3/4 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup potato starch (tapioca or arrowroot would also work)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar (I used maple sugar)

1/2 teaspoon bacon topper seasoning from Epicure (optional)

1 egg (I used 1 tbsp ground flax and 4 tbsp water to make a flax "egg" and it worked quite nicely)

1 cup milk

Beat egg and milk together very well. Mix all dry ingredients and cheese together. Add wet ingredients to dry ones. Don't overmix. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Ojibwa Wild Rice

1 cup wild rice
2½ cups water
1½ teaspoons salt
4 strips bacon cut into small pieces
6 eggs
¼ teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons chives, minced
⅓ cup bacon drippings
Melted butter

Place the wild rice, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until all the water is absorbed.
Meanwhile, brown the bacon in a large skillet.
Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain it on paper towels.
Save the bacon drippings from the skillet.
Pour the eggs into a mixing bowl and add ½ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper.
Pour the eggs into the skillet where the bacon was browned, and brown the eggs lightly.
Turn them over gently and brown on the other side.
When the eggs are firm, cut them into narrow strips.
Lightly toss the bacon, egg strips, chives, bacon drippings (plus melted butter or margarine to make ⅓ cup) with the cooked rice.
Serve hot.
Makes 4 servings.

This recipe was used when we studied the United States of America, particularly the Great Lakes region. I paired this dish with Maple Baked beans a dish I found under the heading of USA Native Americans

Hot German Green Bean Salad

1 1/2 pounds green beans (about 6 cups cut in 1 inch pieces)
- cook, covered in boiling water until barely tender (about 5 minutes). Drain, reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

6 slices bacon
- Fry until crisp; remove all but 2 tablespoons drippings from frypan. Drain bacon and crumble. Set aside.

2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar (I used lemon juice)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small onion chopped
- Add to bacon drippings along with reserved cooking liquid.

1/4 cup cold water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
-Mix together separately, stirring until dissolved. Stir into frypan. Cook until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Add cooked beans and heat through. Sprinkle with bacon and serve.