In this cooking project, you’ll make a modern-day version of “gems,” the predecessor of muffins that were popular in the 1800s. For breakfast several times a week Ellen White ate “gems”, similar to mini muffins, made from graham flour, a whole wheat flour popularized by Sylvester Graham, the inventor of graham crackers. Instead of baking soda or baking powder as leavening, the expansion of air caused the cold batter to rise when poured into sizzling hot cast iron gem pans. (See the May 11 Guide article for a photo of gem pans.) Then they were baked in a hearth or oven fired by wood or coal. Since you likely don’t have a cast iron gem pan, this recipe uses a muffin pan instead.
