Muffin - what is this? Classic muffins in molds: recipe

To us, the muffins came along with McDonald's. Cute brown or beige cakes for three bites easily fit in the palm of your hand. People, far from cooking, believe that the muffin is a cupcake in American style. But there is a huge difference between two kinds of baking. And not only in form. There are also small, portioned muffins placed in paper sockets. The difference is different. Do you want to know what? And also learn how to cook this exotic dish? Then read on this article.

The main difference

British cooking knows perfectly well what a cake is. In principle, the homeland of this sweet pastry is good old England. There muffins make a variety of shapes and types: large, which must be cut; Small, in small bowls; Topped with a sweet or creamy (capkake). But all this is not muffins. Cupcakes are much lighter, airy. But thus and more high-calorie. Muffins are heavier, their dough is more lumpy in structure. In the muffins sometimes put pieces of dried fruits, grated zest, raisins, but they never come with filler. Dough for muffins differs from biscuit as ingredients, and the way of kneading. It is closer in composition to ordinary bread. Probably, that's why there are also unsweetened muffins. Also this pastry is made with the addition of oatmeal.

How people invented muffins

Like all the good things in this world, these cakes owe their appearance to the occasion. In the rich houses of the Foggy Albion, the cooks collected scraps of dough from the "master's table" and baked from them for themselves small scones, filling them with all sorts of remnants of goodies. The Lord, having known about this, took the sample and was delighted. Thus, the muffin is a small loaf with a damp stuffing - berries, peach, pumpkin. It's very easy to make it - the whole process together with the baking takes a little more than half an hour. And because muffins quickly became a symbol of "English-Brackfest", the same indispensable attribute as the croissants in the French "poultry de jeune". Since the fifties, this baked goods was also used by the food industry. In America and Britain, dry mixes for baking muffins appeared on the market. And from the sixties, network cafes-houses were opened, where they were served at breakfast.

The etymology of the word "muffin"

This culinary product, as we have already mentioned, was born in England. However, the name was "imported", which makes it doubt its British origin. According to one version, the word has French roots. Moufflet means simply "soft bread" (probably an unprecedented import luxury for the population of the eleventh century islands). But there is another version. According to her, "muffin" is a modified old German word muffen. It means "patty." This version seems more plausible. Since the muffins even at the dawn of their existence were still small pies, mostly with sweet stuffing. There are two types of these confectionery products. British muffins at first looked like flat cakes. Over the ocean, in the New World, they were baked in tin cans. So there were muffins - cupcakes, to which we are accustomed.

Kneading test

As already mentioned above, muffins and baby cakes in a paper outlet differ in the proportions of the ingredients. For muffins use more eggs and milk, but less sugar. As a result, dough, and the finished product, it turns out harder. For cakes, butter is ground with sugar, eggs and milk are injected. The basis for them is whipped with a mixer. For muffins, however, there is one rule when mixing: separately mix solid and liquid ingredients. At the same time, the dough is rolled with hands, at the extreme, with a mixer with a blade attachment. We have already mentioned that there are British - classic - muffins, and American ones. They differ in that the traditional recipe includes yeast. In American muffins, the dough rises due to the addition of baking powder or soda. As for flour, it can be corn - especially in the American version.

Recipe: muffins in molds

Without long words, let's get down to business. Bake muffins, which are a visiting card of Minnesota cookery - with a stuffing of blueberries. We will successfully replace it with blueberries on the Old Continent. Remember that in the preparation of muffins extremely important is the sequence of the laying of products. First, mix an equal amount of butter (spread and especially margarine does not fit) and sugar. Then we introduce eggs - three pieces, if the previous ingredients are taken for a hundred grams. In a separate bowl, mix 100 grams of sifted flour and a half bag of cookie powder. In sweet muffins, you can add cinnamon - on the tip of the knife. The dough should not be mixed with a mixer - this will negatively affect its splendor.

The form for muffins can be metallic and silicone. Choose any, but lubricate it with oil, and inside place a rosette of parchment paper. Place the dough, filling only one third of the mold. Blueberries should be laid out in a bowl beforehand and sprinkled with a small amount of flour, trying not to damage the integrity of the berries. If the product is frozen - the better, do not bring it to room temperature. We put a spoonful of berries in the center of the muffin. Immediately covered with a test. We spread it first on the periphery, and then on the filling. Attention: the muffins in the oven are growing, so no more than two thirds of the mold volume should be filled. Immediately put the bake for fifteen minutes over medium heat. The oven should be heated to 180-190 degrees. We check the readiness of the luster.

British muffins

Two grams of dry yeast is diluted in half a glass of warm milk. In another bowl, we rub out sixty grams of butter with two tablespoons of sugar. In the third dish we sift 250 g of flour. We mix it with a pinch of salt, two tablespoons of raisins and a handful of ground almonds. We will combine flour and oil masses. Lastly, milk with yeast. We knead the dough and leave for three quarters of an hour in a warm place. When it rises, we run it around, divide it into twelve portions, rolling each into a ball. We will roll each into a thick cake. In the middle we will lay out a spoonful of thick confiture. We protect the edges. The form for muffins from yeast dough can be without a paper outlet, but it should still be greased with oil, and the bottom is recommended to sprinkle with flour a little. Bake the products in a preheated oven for about half an hour.