How to Make Banana Muffins

Bake Your Own HomeMade Muffins To make muffins using the classic muffin method, choose a favorite muffin recipe that does not call for the creaming of sugar into the fat. (Look for a recipe that calls for oil or melted butter or, if you prefer, you can use one of our muffin mixes.) In preparation, grease the muffin tins. We like spray oil from an aerosol can or the spray genie we sell on our site to reach the corners of the tins. Be sure to cover the top edges where the muffins will flow when baking. (You can use paper liners but since the batter adheres slightly to the paper, you will have slightly less volume to the muffins.) Set the oven to preheat. Temperature is one of the secrets to those nicely domed muffins that you find in the better bake shops. Commercial ovens use precise heat settings and timers. In the kitchen, we can approximate those results by: Making sure that the oven is completely heated before baking. We like to let the oven sit at full temperature for at least ten minutes before baking so that the heat is well-absorbed into the structure of the oven. Closing the door as quickly as possible to keep the heat trapped. Setting the temperature at a higher initial setting and lowering the temperature later. We almost always start out at 425 degrees. The higher heat creates a burst of steam that lifts the batter. (We have experimented with turning the heat down immediately and waiting as long as six or eight minutes before turning it down. It doesn't seem to matter. Just test your muffins to make sure they are done.) Placing the muffins in the upper third of the oven where it tends to be hotter and the heat more constant. Always measure flour precisely using a scale if you have one. Muffin recipes are sensitive to the ratio of flour to liquid. Too much flour and the muffin will not rise properly and will be dry. Too little flour and the muffin will flow over the edges of the muffin cup rather than dome nicely. If you need to fine tune your favorite recipe, change the flour by a tablespoon or two. To make cake-like muffins, use a lower protein flour—cake or pastry flour. Higher protein all purpose or bread flours will make a muffin that is chewier and more bread-like.