PSA: Stop overmixing your muffin batter by like 50 strokes

I work at a bakery in Portland and I keep seeing home bakers on here post pics of their muffins with those weird tunnels inside. That's from overmixing, not from the recipe. I watched my coworker beat a batch of blueberry muffins for 2 solid minutes the other day and they came out like hockey pucks. You really only need to fold the dry ingredients in until you don't see flour anymore, maybe 10-15 turns max. Has anyone else noticed this ruining their batches or is it just me?

4 comments

4 Comments

kimfisher7d ago

Overmixing gives those muffins structure and tunnels are just air pockets from proper development.

foster.tessa7d ago

Right, because what everyone really wants in their muffin is a network of caves and a texture like a hockey puck lmao.

brianm667d ago

Is kimfisher actually baking these or just reading about it online? Because nobody I know wants a muffin that feels like chewing on a shoe sole.

ward.kim7d ago

kimfisher I gotta push back a little on the "air pockets from proper development" thing. Those tunnels aren't good air pockets, they're actually what happens when the gluten gets too worked up from overmixing. If you want that kind of structure you'd be better off making a quick bread loaf, not a muffin. Muffins should be tender and soft, not chewy like bread. A good muffin has even crumb with maybe a few small holes from the baking soda working right, not long tunnels running through the middle.