Banana Barley Flour Muffins

It is hard after this past weekend not to appreciate local ingredients. Each Christmas Eve since we have lived here, we have gathered with our neighbors to celebrate. Each person brings enough food to feed all 20 people in the room. Everyone brings a bit of where they came from. Much of the food is either grown or raised right here within a few miles of our house. Yes, people are raising turkeys right here in Fairbanks. I don't know why this always amazes me, people moved here to homestead.  I look forward to the meal all year. I can honestly say there is no meal in any restaurant that I would trade for this one.
It also makes me appreciate the abundance we have here. I spend most of my year complaining about the lack of good food. The truth of the matter is if you can't find good food in Fairbanks, you aren't looking in the right places (hint: if you have to leave a tip, you are in the wrong place). Everyone I know is an amazing cook, sometimes I feel silly that I am the one with the food blog. There is so much to learn.
This morning I was ready to move past the crunching of candy canes and make something a little more simple. I didn't want to get out the food processor or the stand mixer. Just me a bowl, a wooden spoon, and some local ingredients. I was ready to start learning about barley flour. We now have locally grown and milled barley flour here in Alaska. I have never baked with barley flour before and I could hardly wait to give it a try. Whole grain flours get a bad rap for creating dense and dry baked goods. Barley flour isn't like that at all, in fact it turns out a lighter product than all-purpose flour. It is almost comparable to cake flour, with a slightly nutty taste. These muffins were light and moist and best of all quick and easy to make. Although I love most baked goods straight out of the oven, I felt these were even better after they sat for a while. This makes them great for a brunch buffet. I love that they contain local honey and barley flour. This is a good place to start if you are like me and have never tried barley flour before. You see, we all have a lot to learn!

Banana Barley Flour Muffins

adapted from Baking Bites
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup barley flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, sifted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium, ripe bananas

1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
raw sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup standard muffin tin.
Combine flour, barley flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk oil, honey, egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add banana to the wet ingredients and mash with a fork or potato masher. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until well combined. Divide mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups and top with raw sugar.
Bake for 16-18 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.