Hi everyone and welcome back to another video . Today we are continuing on with
our quick bread series and I'm going to be teaching you today the first mixing
method in this series and that is the muffin mixing method. Now this mixing
method is used to make muffins as well as quick loaf breads like banana bread
or zucchini bread as well as things like corn bread, pancakes, and waffles. To teach
this mixing method we are going to be using my muffin base recipe and going to
add a few different add-ins into it to make three different kinds of muffins:
blueberry muffins, chocolate chip muffins, as well as pecan and cinnamon muffins.
Now this recipe is extremely versatile and can be used to make all different
kinds of flavors. So let's go ahead and dive into learning the muffin mixing
method. Let's start by getting set up with our ingredients and equipment also
known as our mise en place. For our dry ingredients we will need 2 cups of
all-purpose flour, 2/3 of a cup of granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt
and 1 tablespoon of baking powder. For our wet ingredients we will need 2/3 of
a cup of milk at room temperature, 1/2 cup of oil such as a vegetable oil, and 1
large egg at room temperature as well as one teaspoon of vanilla extract. We need
very little equipment when using the muffin mixing method. You just need a
whisk and a rubber spatula. You do not even need an electric mixer for this
recipe. And since we are making muffins I also like to use a large cookie scoop to
portion the muffins but a spoon will work out just fine.
You also need a standard muffin tin with muffin liners or you can grease the tin
if you prefer to not use liners. You also want to pre-heat your oven to 425
degrees Fahrenheit before you start mixing your muffin batter. Now the first
step in the muffin mixing method is to mix all of the dry ingredients together.
So in a large mixing bowl, I am combining my flour which is the main structure of
our muffins with the sugar that is going to sweeten and help retain moisture in
the muffins. I'm also adding baking powder which is our chemical leavening
and that is going to make our muffins rise as well as salt to round out our
flavors. Now just whisk all of those dry ingredients together until they are well
combined. Iff your recipe does call for any spices you would also mix those in
at this point. The second step in the muffin mixing method is to combine all
of the wet ingredients together. So I have some milk in my large measuring cup
here and I'm adding my oil and egg and some vanilla extract to it. Now use your
whisk to thoroughly combine the ingredients making sure that the egg
yolk breaks and is completely incorporated in. The milk is the main
moisture for our muffins and is going to bring our batter together while the oil
is going to add richness and tenderness. The egg is going to bind and help hold
our muffins together and the vanilla extract only serves to flavor our
muffins and could actually be left out completely or substituted with another
extract or flavoring. Now we can move on to the next step of our mixing method
which is to incorporate our dry ingredients with our wet ingredients. Go
ahead and switch to a rubber spatula for this step as using a whisk can easily
lead to over mixing our batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry
ingredients and use your spatula to stir the two parts together until they are
thoroughly combined. You do not need to be overly aggressive with your mixing
here and it shouldn't take long to combine the two just about ten stirs
should do the trick. Over mixing your batter can lead to a final baked good
that is chewy, dense, and dry and we definitely do not want that. So this
muffin recipe is a base recipe and if you wanted to make the entire batch one
flavor you could stir in something like blueberries or chocolate chips at this
point. However I am leaving the batter plain today so that I can make three
different kinds of muffins by adding a few add-ins into each. This batter makes
10 to 12 muffins depending on how big you make them and how many add-ins you
add into the batter. My batter made ten muffins today.
I'm adding chocolate chips to the first three muffins and I'm using a toothpick
to gently incorporate those in. Next I'm adding some chopped pecans and a dash of
cinnamon to the next three. And lastly I'm adding blueberries which is my
favourite muffin variety. Now if you remember we preheated our oven to 425
degrees Fahrenheit which is a fairly high heat. This high temperature is
really the key to getting a nice dome to the top of our muffin. Remove the muffins
from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a moist
crumb.
Allow them to cool on a cooling rack or go ahead and enjoy them warm. So let's
quickly review the muffin mixing method. First the dry ingredients are mixed
together in one bowl. Second the wet ingredients are mixed together in a
separate bowl and then the two parts are combined together
being really careful not to over mix. This method is designed to reduce gluten
formation so that your muffins and other quick breads turn out really light,
fluffy, and tender. Now I really hope you enjoyed this lesson and if you did
please make sure you hit that like button. And if you have any questions
please leave them in the comments section I will make sure to answer them.
And next week I will be showing you one more tutorial using this mixing method
and then we will move on to the next mixing method in our quick bread series.
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guys next time. Bye!