February 14, 2012 - 6:25pm
Help, Dry Muffins
It seems every time I bake muffins lately they come out dry. I follow (supposedly) tried and true recipies. I check my oven temp. and it is correct. I tried a "coffee cake" muffin from Dunkin Donuts and it was so moist the day I bought it and still moist the day after. That is what I am trying to achieve. Does anyone have any suggestions or recipies. I want to sell large muffins at a farmers Market this summer and so far I only have one lemon, ricotta cheese recipie that is moist the day I bake it but dry the following.
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Do you, perhaps, overmix them? Without knowing the formula you use, it's a bit difficult to come up with some ideas.
Karin
are loaded with oil or other fats or some polysyllabic additives, making them seem "moist".
You might want to look up muffin recipes that include applesauce, pumpkin puree, or other ingredients that will contribute moisture.
Paul
I bake most of my muffins using recipes in a book called The Muffin Lady by Linda Fisher and I use only Wilton muffin tins (Texas size muffins but they come out tall, not wider like reg. Texas size muffins) and then I store them in tupperware type containers and don't have probs. with dried out muffins, ever. Just don't over bake them though--any muffin will dry out if you do. Joey the Doeyo
I forgot, when I add fruit to my muffins (blueberries, chopped peaches, cherries, etc., etc.) I always add the fruit to the batter AFTER the fruit is washed, chopped if nec., and then frozen solid. Some of the batter then freezes around the fruit and the fruit then doesn't sink to the bottom of the muffin tin. Don't remember where I picked up this hint but it sure does work, my fruits now hang in the muffin themselves just great.
I get very soft muffins by doing two things:
1) replace one cup of your liquids in the recipe with buttermilk. I once tried nothing but buttermilk and the muffins tasted great, but almost fell apart they were so tender. Thus my suggestion of one cup.
2) add all ingredients except your leavening, let sit for 30 minutes. If the recipe looks too dry due to flour (corn meal/bran/whatever type you are making) absorbing liquids, adjust by adding a touch more liquid to get the right consistency. Then add leavening, mix and pour into your pan and bake. This works especially well for bran muffins. Sort of like the autolyze period when bread baking...
Dunkin and all commercial mixes use chemicals to achieve this process. 1/4 cup of vegetable oil will help accomplish this too (although apple sauce is a good substitute for oil)...
Since you are using buttermilk, the leavening must be baking soda, why do you double mix? aren't you going to overmix the batter? The KAF Whole Grain, book I have says you can leave the batter in the refrig and just scoop out what you need.??
Hi Dolcebaker: you are only adding the leavening at the end after the 30 minute rest. The resting period allows the grain to absorb moisture and allows you to adjust the final consistency of the batter at the very end. Bran muffins would be the best example of this; make then traditionally, and right in the oven, they may be on the chewy side even if it was a loose batter as the bran didn't get a chance to get soft. Letting it rest 30 minutes and the bran/grain absorbs liquid and the batter will stiffen up such that you may need to add a last bit of liquid at that point.
Guaranteed to bake into a nice muffin with soft texture - both due to the 30 minute soak and the use of buttermilk. Since the leavening is added after the rest (only once), a quick fold several times will incorporate it into the batter, then into pan and bake. I use baking powder and baking soda for leavening. I have done this numerous times with bran muffins and corn bread. Superior outcome every time, give it a try...
Honey and oil are ingredients which help produce very moist muffins, be sure to include them in your recipe. And take the internal temp when you pull them from the oven to make sure you are not overbaking- most muffins can by pulled at an internal temp of 190-195F without falling, while anything over 200F will likely be dry.