Follow these tried and true bakery secrets to make High Domed Bakery-style muffins with your favorite from-scratch standard size muffin recipe!
So how many of you have bought a muffin at a bakery and just were in awe of high they rose without really spilling over? They domed so beautifully almost like you were getting twice as much muffin for the price of one. BONUS, right?! One thing to keep in mind, this is for MUFFIN batter, not cupcakes. There’s a huge difference between cupcakes and muffin batters folks.
…and I’m sure you went home, decided to try it by adding more baking soda/powder to your mix and instead of filling them 1/2-3/4″ of the way full, you filled them to the brim.
…and I’m sure about 6 minutes into the baking you started to smell that smell. You know that the smell. The smell of your gorgeous batter overflowing the cupcake pans and onto your oven floor.
… and I’m sure you’ve said one to 672 swear words, damning that bakery for teasing you with their perfectly high domed muffins while you’re left to scrapping burnt batter off of your oven floor.
It’s pretty basic and you’re going to love me FOREVER once I share this bakery secret with you. Actually, since you’re gonna love me forever, wanna help me open my bistro? 🙂
So here goes…
Most from-scratch muffin recipes tell you to do the following:
- Preheat oven to 325-350.
- Fill 1/2-3/4 full
- Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
Right?
Well, stop that! No, you can still make them that way but you won’t get high domed muffins.
Bakery Secrets to High Domed Muffins
There are 2 important steps here
-
Let the batter rest at least an hour or overnight in the fridge (preferred)
Do you know why you should let your muffin batter rest? During the resting period, starch molecules in the flour are absorbing the liquid in the batter.
This causes them to swell and gives the batter a thicker, more viscous consistency. Any gluten formed during the mixing of the batter is also getting time to relax, and air bubbles are slowly working their way out.
-
How you bake them temp-wise
By starting them off at such a high temperature is the initial high heat of 425 degrees F causes the batter to have greater oven spring or the rapid rise during the first few minutes of baking.
The higher heat creates a burst of steam that lifts the batter. Makes sense, huh?
Bakery-style High Domed Muffins – how do they do that?
Find more fantabulous recipes, tips and tricks at www.thekitchenwhisperer.net. Also, join our TKW Family on Facebook
Ingredients
- Any from-scratch standard size muffin batter – try the Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins!
Instructions
- Always use a From-Scratch muffin recipe, never boxed!
- Never use a mixer to incorporate your dry ingredients to your wet. Use a spatula or spoon. Do not over mix your batter.
- Cover your batter tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (can go overnight as well).
- Preheat your oven to 425F. Yes, I know the recipe calls for 350 but trust me on this. I typically bake my muffins in the upper third of the oven. You see placing the muffins in the upper third of the oven it tends to be hotter and the heat more constant. You can most certainly use the middle rack as well if you want.
- Spray the top of your muffin pan with non-stick spray. Line the pan with cupcake/muffin liners.
- The batter will be THICK. You can gently stir it first. Just try not to deflate it. Fill the muffin papers almost ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP OF THE PAPER. (just leave about a 1/8″ from the top). Yes I know, it’s spilled over before but this works.
- If you have empty cavities in your muffin tin (not enough batter), remove the liner and add 1/2 cup water in each.
- Bake 6-9 minutes at 425. The muffins should be about a 1/4″-1/2″ above the paper. That’s the sign the heat can be turned down.
- Reduce heat to 350 (DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO DROP THE TEMP.. sorry for the YELLING.. lol) and bake for 6-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out barely clean (crumbs are OK). *Note: this will depend on your actual recipe.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a rack for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the muffins (they will be hot) from the pan and cool on the rack. Do not leave them in the pan to cool completely as the bottoms and sides will become soggy. Leaving them in the pan builds up too much moisture.
Notes
- I do NOT use boxed muffin mixes – ever nor would I recommend using this technique on a boxed mix.
- The reason why this works is the initial high heat of 425 degrees F causes the batter to have greater oven spring or the rapid rise during the first few minutes of baking. The higher heat creates a burst of steam that lifts the batter.
Cheryl Horner says
Thanks turned out great was wondering if you can do the same thing with a cake to turn up the temperature for a short. Of time so it rises higher
Carol says
I can’t wait to try this method. Will post my results
Kate says
I wish I could post a picture of how amazing my muffins came out! No sad pathetic muffins here! The dome rose nearly as high (if not higher in some) than the bottom part of the muffin. I have one batch that’s been cooling for about 45 minutes and they haven’t fallen. Second batch in the oven. I used Krusteaz cinnamon swirl muffin mix for the first batch and Duncan Hines blueberry streusel muffin mix (no shame!). My oven runs a tad hot and cooked the first batch at 450 for exactly six minutes and the second batch (which took longer to rise and was making me nervous) for 7 minutes. Then turned the oven down without opening it! and cooked for about 8 minutes more. Glorious domed muffins! I was so worried they would overflow or burn but they didn’t! I got 8 muffins out of each box mix and cooked them in a 12 muffin pan with the empty cups filled with water. The only thing I changed was using butter instead of spray – muffins popped right out! Be careful not to spill the hot water or drop the muffins in water when removing if you’ve added water to the empty cups while cooking!
TKWAdmin says
Oh, Kate, I’m so happy to hear that; thank you! You can share pics in our TKW Foodie Group on facebook or you can tag me on Instagram (@thekitchenwhisperer). Make sure you’re in the group as we’re having a blast right now! https://www.facebook.com/groups/thekitchenwhisperer
Best Kitchen Whisperer!
Kerry Viney says
Hi lori ive started a muffin business & reading as much as i can & found your site! Im most interested in your batter in fridge method! I was always under the impression that when baking powder & baking soda is included you must get your baking into the oven asap? Look forward to your response! Thankyou kind regards Kerry
TKWAdmin says
Hi Kerry!
There are two opposite schools of thought on this. I’ve tried both methods and I’ve had the best success with resting it. Many bakeries do let it rest as they tend to make batters in bulk. The only batters that shoukd never rest as eggwhite ones (i.e., Angel food cake).
Give it a test on both methods and see which works best for you.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
John Eggen says
How do you adjust temp and time for mini High Domed muffins?
TKWAdmin says
Hi John,
Sorry I didn’t get back right away, I was traveling. Honestly I’ve never tried this on mini muffins but that’s a great idea. I would honestly watch it through the oven door. The key is to make sure that they are puffed up and over the rim of the muffin liner and then reduce the temp. Since most mini muffins take 10-12 minutes to bake I’m thinking at 425 bake for maybe 3-5 minutes and then finish at 350F for 5-6 minutes at most.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter that way you’ll never miss out on a single recipe, kitchen tip, bonus recipes and other TKW exclusives!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Wanda says
Will this work for blueberry muffins?
Christie Haun says
I have no idea if the picture will show up, but Blueberry Muffins Absolutely work with this method.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206941189471690&set=pb.1336956844.-2207520000.1555692670.&type=3&theater
TKWAdmin says
Hi Wanda!
Yes, it works for almost all muffin batters. If the batter is a super thick/heavy batter (like buttermilk based) it tends to need a bit more time at the higher temp as those batters are more heavy/dense.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Lynda Benningfield says
They are in the refrigerator now I can’t wait. They look great 😀. I’ll let you know.
TKWAdmin says
Yeah! Can’t wait!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Cathy Buschur says
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions!
I can’t wait to “re-make” my blueberry muffins!
Annie says
This didn’t work well for me at all. I used the chocolate zucchini muffin recipe referenced in the instructions. My muffins were not nearly done after the recommended time so I continued to add time but didn’t want to overbake so I kept having to open the door to check them. I also think filling the cups so full was a problem. And finally the cold batter didn’t seem to be too good of a method either. I am going to try again omitting the chill step (just a 10 minute counter rest perhaps) and filling the cups much less full. But still using the initial heat blast and lengthening the time at the lower temperature. This was disappointing as written.
Patricia Romero says
I can not believe that in the end I have found the perfect page to make the best sweet recipes. thank you very much, from Barcelona, SPAIN