I owned a bakery, so I have opinions about muffins.
A good muffin should be moist all the way through, have a nice tall top, and absolutely needs a streusel that gives you a little crunch when you bite into it.
These Fresh Milled Pumpkin Streusel Muffins check every box.
They’re made with half einkorn and half soft white wheat, which gives them a soft, tender crumb with plenty of flavor. Add pumpkin, warm fall spices, and a buttery streusel topping, and you have what might be one of my favorite fall bakes.
These are pure fall in muffin form.
They make a great quick breakfast on a chilly morning, an easy afternoon snack with coffee, or a very good excuse to turn the oven on when the house starts feeling a little cool.
Why I Use Einkorn and Soft White Wheat
For this recipe, I used a 50/50 blend of einkorn and soft white wheat.
Soft white wheat is one of my favorites for muffins, cakes, cookies, and other tender baked goods because it has a softer texture than hard wheat.
Einkorn brings something a little different. It has a rich, slightly nutty flavor that works especially well with pumpkin and warm spices.
Using the two together gives these muffins a soft texture without losing that deeper whole-grain flavor I love in fresh milled baking.
If you’ve mostly used hard wheat in your baking, muffins are a great place to start experimenting with softer grains.
The Secret to a Good Pumpkin Muffin
Pumpkin adds a lot of moisture to baked goods, which is wonderful, but it can also make muffins heavy if the batter gets overworked.
Once the wet and dry ingredients come together, mix just until everything is incorporated.
You don’t need perfectly smooth batter.
A few small lumps are completely fine.
Overmixing can develop too much structure and leave you with a tougher muffin instead of that soft, tender crumb we’re going for.
Don’t Skip the Streusel
Could you make these without streusel?
Technically, yes.
Would I?
Absolutely not.
The soft pumpkin muffin underneath needs that buttery, slightly crunchy topping.
That contrast in texture is part of what makes a bakery-style muffin so good. Every bite has soft pumpkin crumb underneath and little bits of crisp, sweet streusel on top.
And if some of it falls onto the pan and gets extra crispy around the edges… consider that the baker’s snack.
How to Get Taller Muffin Tops
I like a muffin with a good top.
Not one that looks like a cupcake without frosting.
You want the batter to rise up and create that rounded bakery-style top.
One of the biggest things you can do is make sure your leavening is fresh and avoid letting the mixed batter sit around too long before baking.
Once the batter is ready and your muffin cups are filled, get them into the oven.
Also, don’t be afraid to fill the cups generously. A fuller muffin cup gives you more batter to rise above the edge and create that nice top.
Fresh Milled Flour and Pumpkin Are a Perfect Match
Pumpkin recipes are especially forgiving when you’re baking with fresh milled flour.
The natural moisture from the pumpkin works beautifully with whole grain flour and helps keep the muffins soft for more than just the first hour after they come out of the oven.
That makes these especially nice for meal prep.
Bake a batch, let them cool completely, and you have an easy grab-and-go breakfast for the next few mornings.
Though around here, “for the next few mornings” sometimes turns into “until everyone discovers them.”
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How to Store Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Let the muffins cool completely before storing them.
Once cooled, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days.
Because pumpkin adds so much moisture, I prefer refrigerating them if I’m keeping them longer than that.
You can also freeze them.
Place cooled muffins in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze. When you’re ready for one, let it thaw at room temperature or warm it gently before serving.
If you want to bring back some of that fresh-from-the-oven texture, warming them for a few minutes makes a big difference.
Tools I Used
For this recipe, I used:
- Grain mill for freshly milling the einkorn and soft white wheat- Link to my grain mill
- Muffin pan
- Muffin liners
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Kitchen scale
- Cookie scoop for portioning the batter
- Pastry cutter or fork for making the streusel
- Cooling rack
Fresh Milled Pumpkin Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 120 g soft white wheat berries milled on fine setting
- 120 g einkorn wheat berries milled on fine setting
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup melted butter or neutral oil
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups canned pumpkin puree
For the Streusel
- 1/2 cup (about 80 g) soft white wheat milled on fine setting
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons butter melted
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon cardamom, or other spices, optional
Instructions
For the Muffins
- Weigh your soft white wheat berries, then mill them on the finest setting.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the fresh milled flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter or oil, whole milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree until well combined.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold together just until you no longer see any dry flour.
- Let the batter rest for at least 20 minutes, to give the fresh milled flour time to absorb the moisture.
- While the batter rests, preheat your oven to 425°F. Line your muffin pan with paper liners or lightly grease the muffin cups.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, filling each one all the way to the top.
For the Streusel Topping
- Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove top, then allow to cool for at least 10 minutes, or until no longer steaming.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, and salt.
- Pour the melted butter over the flour mixture, then use a fork to stir the mixture together until the flour is absorbed into small and medium sized clumps.
- Sprinkle a generous amount of streusel on top of each muffin
Bake
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 15 more minutes for regular-sized muffins or 20 minutes for extra-large muffins.
- Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack.
Notes
About This Recipe
These Fresh Milled Pumpkin Streusel Muffins are made with half einkorn and half soft white wheat for a soft, tender crumb with rich whole-grain flavor.
Pumpkin keeps them moist, warm spices make them taste like fall, and a buttery streusel topping adds the perfect little crunch.
They’re easy enough for weekday breakfast but good enough to make when you want the whole house to smell like October.
Final Thought
There are certain foods that just belong to a season.
For me, pumpkin muffins are one of them.
The smell of pumpkin and warm spices coming from the oven on a cool morning just feels like fall.
And when you add freshly milled einkorn and soft white wheat, a soft pumpkin crumb, and plenty of buttery streusel on top?
That’s the kind of muffin I’m happy to turn the oven on for.
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