Jenny was mixing a batch of muffins with an electric mixer. The telephone rang and she went and answered it. She returned five minutes later and baked the muffins. Jenny's muffins were not "normal". What did the resulting muffins look like, and what should she have done differently?

Donnie, a fellow cooking student was cooking his world famous Paris muffins. As he put the muffins in the oven he wondered, "Gee, what provides the structure in my beautiful muffins?" Sandie was making muffins. She sifted the dry ingredients (flour, salt, leavening) together, then blended the liquid and egg and added it all at once to the dry ingredients. She stirred the mixture until it became smooth. After baking at 400F for 20 min. she found that her muffins were small in volume with lots of peaks and tunnels. What did she do wrong? a. She overstirred the batter.
b. She didn't add sugar and oil.
c. She should have mixed the flour and liquid together before adding.

Indicate the probable trend in the above image. Discuss the likely reason for the affect.

What is the effect of adding excessive amounts of baking powder to the batter?

Describe how the absence of egg effects the quality of a muffin?

What will be the effect on tenderness (less tender, more tender, no effect) in baked products of adding an extra egg to muffin batter with no other changes.
What is the basic muffin?
What is the affect of overstirring a basic muffin during preparation?
Discuss the basics of muffins.
What is the most likely reason why tunnels might form in muffins?
A. Tunnels form because of over development of gluten which resists opening up the cells gently. As leavening continues to occur the CO2 follows up the strands of gluten, the line of least resistance.
B. Tunnels form due to the improper leavening action on the starch and egg protein. When there is too much CO2 and steam produced it has to go somewhere and, because of its rapid rise, it quickly rises to the top forming tunnels.
C. Tunnels never form in muffins as the proportion of ingredients are such that it is an extremely tender product.
D. Tunnels form due to the hydrolysis of the baking powder, triglyceride, and the presence of the tough egg white.
E. Tunnels are formed due to the underdevelopment of gluten which enhances the cells opening. As leavening occurs it follows the cell line.

How does the absence of baking powder effect the grain of the muffins? Why?

Why is liquid fat added to muffins?

What is the affect of sugar on the color and crispness of muffins?

What is the approximate liquid to flour ratio of a muffin batter?

Why might tunnels form in muffins? Explain.

A lean muffin recipe was overmixed. What was the affect and probable reason for it?

Why can rich muffins containing more sugar and fat, tolerate more mixing without adverse effects on texture?

Describe the texture of the cornmeal muffins made in class compared with the richer plain muffin.

Indicate the probable trend in the above image. Discuss the likely reason for the effect.

In muffin mixing, how does stirring effect tenderness and the appearance of tunnels?

How does the flavor of a muffin vary due to leavening agents?

How does microwave or convection baking effect on muffin quality?

What is the function of each ingredient in a muffin?

How does the ratio of sugar and fat to flour effect the amount of stirring desirable in a muffin?

If one increased the flour in a muffin recipe, what would be the probable affect? What ingredients might one add to counterbalance the affect?