Cooking Technique: Perfect Muffins (2024)

FAQs

What is the muffin method technique? ›

The purpose of this method is to limit the amount of gluten production during the mixing process, keeping quick breads light and tender. To achieve this, the dry ingredients are combined in one bowl, the wet ingredients are combined in a separate bowl, and then the two mixtures are combined together.

The most important rule of muffin making is to not over stir the mix. Instead, what you really want is to just moisten the ingredients. Resist the temptation to stir or beat the batter until it is smooth and lump free.

Overmixing the batter.

When you overmix the batter, it crushes the air bubbles and ruins the fluffy texture. → Follow this tip: To ensure a batch of light, fluffy muffins, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just barely combined, and no more dry flour is visible.

In muffins, there's usually only baking powder. Baking powder is double acting, meaning it activates upon mixing with moisture and then again upon the heat of the oven. For recipes only leavened with baking soda, which loses efficacy over time if it's not baked immediately, this technique likely wouldn't work as well.

Standard Size Muffins or Mini Muffins: For standard size muffins baked in a 12-count muffin pan, reduce baking time to about 20 total minutes: 5 initial minutes at 425°F and 15 minutes at 350°F. Yields 14-15 standard size muffins. For about 40 mini muffins, bake for 11-13 minutes at 350°F the entire time.

According to O. Corriher, the way to get a perfectly puffed up dome on your muffins is to increase your oven heat. She says that 400° should do it, no matter what the recipe says. The higher baking temperature means that the the outside edges of the muffin will set while the middle is still liquidy.

Recently I discovered that if I use sour cream in place of milk in a muffin recipe, I get a super moist, fluffy muffin! The switch is very easy. If a recipe calls for 3/4 cup of milk, I simply use 3/4 cup of sour cream instead. Occasionally, I need to add a bit more sour cream to moisten the muffin batter.

Ideal Muffin Cooking Temperature

As stated above, different flours, swaps and add-ins can impact muffin cooking time and should be taken into account when making your baked treat. That being said, the standard oven temperature for baking desserts like quick breads and muffins is commonly set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the most common flaw when baking muffins? ›

Common faults include shrinkage or uneven rising which can be caused by improper rolling, dough thickness, or baking temperature.

It is possible to replace oil with butter in a muffin recipe as generally most muffin recipes are quite forgiving and you may find that butter gives a better flavour.

Overmixing is exactly what it sounds like: the process by which a dough or batter gets mixed too much, typically yielding dense, tough, or deflated baked goods. Overmixed doughs and batters may have an unappealing look or feel, which remain just as unappealing when they're baked.

Muffin Method (most common)

Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients all at once. Using a wooden spoon, mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened, 15 to 20 light strokes. There should be some small lumps. Overmixing can cause quick breads to be tough, bake unevenly or cause elongated holes (or tunnels).

In the creaming method, cream the fat (butter or shortening) with the sugar until light and then add the other ingredients. In the muffin method, mix the liquids and the dry ingredients separately and then stir them together until just combined.

Biscuit Method: Unlike the creaming or muffin method, the biscuit method combines solid fat with dry ingredients and is stirred until the mixture looks like coarse sand. The fat is cut into the flour until the mixture looks crumbly and the clumps are pea-sized and smaller.