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1
Preheat oven to 400F / 200C with a rack in the top third.
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2
Butter a standard 12-muffin pan, alternately you can use liners.
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3
Melt the butter over low heat and set aside to cool.
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4
You want the butter to be melted, but not hot.
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5
Very briefly toast the saffron in a small skillet over low heat, stirring and shaking the pan continuously to avoid burning.
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6
The saffron should be fragrant, but stop before the threads change color.
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7
You are definitely better off under cooking than overcooking the saffron.
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8
Use a mortar and pestle to grind the saffron threads with 1 teaspoon of the sugar.
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9
Pour the buttermilk into a cereal bowl.
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10
Add the saffron mixture, then the egg whites, water, and melted butter.
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11
Stir until well combined.
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12
In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, remaining sugar, and almonds.
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13
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and sprinkle with the raisins.
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14
Use a spatula to stir until everything barely comes together, avoid over-mixing.
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15
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups until about three-quarters full.
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16
The batter should fill 10-12 muffin cups.
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17
Bake for 18 - 22 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into one of them comes out clean.
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18
Pop the muffins out of the tins as soon as it is reasonable (after a few minutes) and cool on a rack.
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19
If you leave them in the pan they steam and can be challenging to remove.
