Baking the Perfect Pumpkin Muffin

Now muffins seem to be easy there is no yeast to deal with but in reality they can be tricky. I am a sticker when it comes to muffins, they need to be tasty but also look perfect. So these tips will ensure not only a tasty muffin but a pretty one.

Equipment:
Muffin Pan .... These are the best on the market. You want the muffins to come out of the pan easily every time, and this pan will do that for you.
Release Me Cream .... I make this to grease the pans, it's perfect and a little goes a long ways. It's all natural and you can make it yourself... Recipe
# 12 Muffin Scoop ....You will use this for muffins, biscuits and pancakes.
Scale...Once you have one you will not live without one.

Recipe                                                    Yields: 12 muffins
Pumpkin Muffins                                      Bake: 17 minutes (total)
2c. + 2T. (270g) soft white pastry flour     Oven: 425 Pre-heat
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp spice mix (pumpkin)

2/3 c. (132g) brown sugar
1/2c (113g) soft unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 eggs large

1/2 can pumpkin (213g)
1/4 c. + 2 T. (61g) buttermilk
2 T. (45g) molasses
1 tsp. vanilla

3/4 c. (66g) raisins
3/4 c. (83g) nuts

There are two basic methods for mixing quick breads, the creaming method, or the stirred. I find working with whole grain flour the rules don't always apply and you have to experiment. So here is what I have learned that works for most muffin recipes.

Steps:

• Get all your ingredients out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature. This is important with the butter and the eggs, because you can only achieve a high light muffin if the butter is properly creamed with the sugar. The proper consistency only happens if they are at room temperature.
  
• If the recipe has nuts it's always best to toast them in the oven at a low temperature, for about 5 minutes. You should smell them, that is how you know they are done. Toasting brings out the flavor in your baked item, so this is a step you should not skip.
• The pumpkin recipe above is broken down into different sections. The first 5 ingredients are the dry ingredients. Put the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. It's best to weigh all the ingredients, not only will this save you washing dishes, it's more accurate. (picture 1)
• Picture 2 shows adding the baking soda and powder to the flour. I use a small sieve to add this to the flour mixture, it gets all the clumps out so you can mix it better.
• Picture 3 is adding the spices and salt. Once all the dry ingredients are added to the bowl mix it with a whisk (picture 4)

(1) Weigh out ingredients.

(2) Use a small sieve.

(3) All dry ingredients.

(4) Whisk

(5) Toast Nuts

• The second 3 ingredients are the butter, sugar and eggs. After making many different types of muffins I find it is best to cream the butter and sugar. (Creaming Instructions) After creaming, add the eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.
  

(1) Chop up butter

(2) Use paddle attachment

(3) Add eggs 1 at a time

• The next 4 ingredients; pumpkin, buttermilk, molasses and vanilla, are the liquid in the recipe. Carefully weight or measure out the ingredients and put into a separate container. Mix them all together, then add them to the creamed butter mixture and beat.
  

(1) Weigh liquid ingredients.

(2) Mix them together

(3) Add to the butter mixture.

The idea with muffins is to not over develop the gluten, which makes a tough muffin. The gluten is the protein in the flour, so to achieve this we creamed the butter and sugar to help get a high muffin. Then we added all of the liquid ingredients to that mixture. We now will mix the dry ingredients BY HAND to the mixture in the bowl. Before adding to the bowl add the raisins and toasted nuts to the flour mixture and mix. Then add the dry mixture to the bowl and using a folding method and gently mix.

(1) Add the dry ingredients.

(2) Gently stir by hand

(3) All mixed

Place the muffin mixture into the fridge for minimum of 30 minutes to over night. This is an important step, letting the batter sit allows the bran in the whole grain to soften. It will also give you a taller muffin if the batter is cold when placed into the oven.
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees

(1) Grease muffin pan.

(2) Scoop out

(3) Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

(4) Bake

(5) Cool for 2 min. before removing from pan.

These muffin pans are the best I have ever used .... More Information.
I grease the muffin pan with my own Release Me Cream, .... Recipe
Scoop the batter out and put into the pan, sprinkle the top of each muffin with a course sugar.

Baking Time and Temperature
Time: Total time 17 minutes
Pre-heat oven 425 degrees
Put into the oven at 425 for (5 minutes)
Turn down the oven to 375 degrees for finish baking (12 minutes)

Remove them from the oven and let them sit 2 minutes in the pan, then remove onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before storing.

Storage:
I freeze them, they are perfect after being frozen. Take them out and leave at room temperature on a plate for a few minutes.

I hope you learned something from this step by step instructions. You can make perfect muffins also just take your time and make notes, just in case your first attempt is not your best.