The
Secrets of the Dome
It’s
really easy to make nice, high-domed muffins. Follow these guidelines
and your muffins will be the envy of the neighborhood.
1. Fill
your muffin tins. Time and again, we see recipes that direct
you to fill your muffin tins 2/3’s full. That’s not enough
batter for high-domed muffins. Fill your muffin tins nearly full. Your
favorite recipe that calls for 12 muffins may only make nine or ten
high-domed muffins. Fill any empty tins half full of water.
2. Make
sure that your batter is thick. In a full tin, a thin batter
will flow all over your oven before setting. Your batter should be “spoonable”
not pourable.
3. Get
your oven hot enough. Set your oven temperature to 425 degrees.
Yes, we know, most recipes list a temperature of 350 or 375 degrees
Fahrenheit. You need a high temperature to create a burst of steam which
will lift the top of the muffin and quickly set the starches and proteins
in the muffin. After six or eight minutes, set the temperature back
to the lower setting. If you leave it on the high temperature, the muffins
will bake too rapidly and will likely be crusty.
There it is—three
simple rules to make very attractive muffins.
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