Baking With Wine

This is part one of my new series, Baking With Wine. NO, this does not mean I am going to incorporate wine into my dishes, although that might happen, but that I am going to bake things and drink wine, which means my posts may end up quite entertaining.

Today's Wine: Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc and Praia Vinho Verde



Two Oceans is a South African winery, and quite nice and light, but slightly harsh on the palate.
Praio's Vinho Verde is my new favorite wine. It is gorgeously light and refreshing, with a slight scintillation, but nothing close to the effervescence present in Champagne. Seriously, if this wine was all I could drink for the rest of my life, I would be so happy.

Today's Baked Good: Blueberry Streusel Muffins

The estates my dad caretakes for both have insane blueberry patches, mostly because it's Maine and they want things that are essentially Maine-y. I have no issues with this, because it means that every year we get to go pick the blueberries they don't get to and freeze them, so we have them all winter. While it is nearly blueberry time again here (lots of sun and warm days means a very early season), we've still got bags of blueberries in our freezer so I am trying to use them up before we get inundated again.


Before I have even started baking, I have decided that the Two Oceans is far too acidic for my taste. Darn, that means I'll have to break into the Praia. What a shame. /endsarcasm


So, blueberry muffins. The last time I baked these was about 3 years ago, so I had to go searching for a recipe. Thank Whomever for foodgawker.

SO, I came across this recipe: Browned Butter Blueberry Maple Muffins
I love browned butter in recipes, and I love maple syrup (I am from Maine, after all), and the combination in these muffins sounds spectacular. So, here goes.

Well, partway through, waiting for the muffins to bake, and I have definitely had my share of alcoholic products for the evening.
The muffins smell amazing and are making me really sad that I actually ate dinner tonight, because I really want one.

Also, notes on the recipe:
I ended up making jumbo muffins. This means I only got 11 muffins out of a double batch of this batter. FYI.

I did use the white whole wheat flour because I happened to have it on hand. If you don't, just use regular. I really don't think it will make much of a taste difference.

Also, use Maine blueberries. I know finding them in stores not in Maine sucks, but trust me, the end result is definitely worth it. Maine blueberries (low-bush) are much smaller and have a much more concentrated flavor.

The key to a good muffin batter? Don't over beat. If you do, gluten will form and will make little tunnels through your dough that looks like you've got worms crawling through it. Nasty.


End result?




Fabulous. I'm giving these to the families who own the estates we picked the berries from, and I am predicting that their kids will go crazy over them. The Maple syrup adds a really nice depth to the overall flavor, and the white whole wheat flour adds a bit of nuttiness that tastes like a slightly enriched regular flour. You could definitely use regular flour, but the taste wouldn't be quite the same. And lacing through all of it, there is the almost unidentifiable taste of the browned butter. If you didn't know what it was, you would just assume the chef was a genius and had something up his/her sleeve.



Maine just came together with a bunch of products and had a baby and it is delicious.

Next week this is being renamed Baking with Booze, as I foresee myself running out of wine rather quickly if I don't find something else.

And now, If you'll excuse me, I am going to go watch Rachel Maddow - Live from Afghanistan and yell in agreement. Yay belligerence!