Standard Muffin Recipe - The Wholesome Dish (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

The magic ratio for muffins in 2:2:1:1. This means 2 parts flour to 2 parts liquid to 1 part fat to 1 part eggs. The really important part is remembering to use the same unit of weight for each part!

Tunnels are a sure sign of over-mixing your muffin batter. When baking, take out your ingredients ahead of time, so they are at room temperature before beginning, except the biscuit method. The fat must be in a liquid state when utilizing the muffin mixing method.

Melted butter, on the other hand, naturally solidifies when the muffins cool. As a result they have a slightly denser texture than muffins made with oil. And of course the buttery flavour is more dominant than oil, which is desirable for some flavours (e.g. Butter Pecan) but not all.

Cake Flour: The flour with the lowest protein content (5 to 8 percent). The relative lack of gluten-forming proteins makes cake flour ideal for tender baked goods, such as cakes (of course), but also biscuits, muffins and scones.

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.

Cream butter and sugar for a tender, delicate crumb; use butter and plain yogurt for flavor and texture; and make enough batter to fill up the cups for big, shapely muffins.

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Depending on what ingredients you're using, the batter will range from runny (like thin cake batter) to very thick (like drop-cookie dough). As a general rule, the thinner the batter, the lighter the muffins will be when baked. But don't be afraid to bake thick, gloppy batter.

A basic formula for muffins is 2 cups flour, 2-4 tablespoons sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, shortening or butter, 1 cup milk. When the fat, sugar and egg ratio in a recipe reaches double or more than this, you have reached the cake level.

Is it better to use milk or water in muffin mix? ›

Q. In a muffin mix that calls for water, can I substitute milk? A. We don't recommend using milk instead of water because the milk can make holes in the paper liners or the sides of the muffins.

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.

Overmixing is a common problem with muffins and is certain to happen with an electric mixer. Use only 15 to 20 light hand strokes with a spoon when combining the liquid and dry ingredients. There should be some lumps in the batter.

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.

Combine with melted butter for extra fat, moisture, and a little flavor. Milk: Milk adds plenty of moisture and lightens up the crumb. I usually use whole milk or buttermilk. Coarse Sprinkling Sugar: I recommend a sprinkle of coarse sugar for crunchy, sparkly muffin tops.

The right amount of butter or oil, or a combination of both, is important to get a moist muffin. This fat is essential for producing a beautifully moist muffin with a tender crumb - so don't reduce the amount stated in the recipe.

The cookie dough scoops are for filling each cavity with muffin batter—to get tall domes, you'll need to fill each one with SIX tablespoons of batter. It works best if you're precise. Anything more will cause the muffins to overflow, and anything less will result in squat muffins.