Corn Muffins From Homemade Mix!
Congratulations! You have a nice big bowl of corn muffin mix, and are wondering what to do with it! (Well – maybe you don’t. In fact, you’re probably sensibly waiting for this post before you make it. Work with me, here…)
We’re going to keep using the scale. I know that feels like more fuss, when you’re not used to it, but it is so much easier than fooling around with cups once you are. Faster, less clean up, less hassle all around.
First, set your oven to preheat to 425°, and grease your muffin tin.
Then take the scale, and a bowl. Or, well, I usually actually use a quart measuring pitcher – it’s a good size, and it is easy to pour the batter into the pan from it. I used a bowl here, though, for the pictures, so the markings would not confuse anyone. And these are the amounts for 6 muffins – it doubles easily if you want a dozen.
Break an egg into the bowl, beat it with a fork until it is well mixed. Then put the bowl on your scale (and you can leave the fork in, if you want, as long as you remember to keep it in the bowl while weighing… I do that, because then I don’t need to find a place to put a messy fork.) Put the scale on, make sure it is set to metric (kg, not lb,) and hit Tare or Zero or whatever your scale calls the button that brings it to 0.
Your magic number here is 225. Pour in 225 grams of milk. I know we’re not used to thinking of milk by weight, but this way you don’t need to wash a measuring cup… Use the fork to beat the milk into the egg, until it is all completely blended.
Now hit Tare again, so your bowl, egg, milk (and fork) all register as 0. Then use a scoop to add 225 grams of corn muffin mix to the liquid in the bowl. (I collect small scoops from protein powder and dry milk, small measuring cups… I keep them in containers of flour or mix, and use them to scoop the flour out. It is neater and safer than pouring – I don’t suddenly have a clump of Too Much falling into my bowl – and I don’t have to keep washing measuring cups, since the scoop just stays in the canister.) Once you add the mix to the liquid, use the fork to stir until smooth. We are used to the warning to not overbeat muffin batter, but that is because of the concern about awakening the gluten and making the muffins tough, and that’s not an issue, here. I’ve found, though, that a pretty quick stir makes it smooth, and then it is easier to pour.
Now you can put the scale away. Pour the batter into your greased muffin tin, put it into the oven, and bake at 425° for 20 minutes.
Now, at least the first few times you do this, you’ll want to check for doneness – use a sharp knife to pierce a muffin and make sure it comes out clean. Ovens do vary in temperature, even the humidity of your kitchen (and therefore your cornmeal) can affect timing. I have found this to be a very forgiving recipe, though – I’ve varied the amount of milk several times, and while I think this comes out best, slight fluctuations have still worked.
When you take the pan from the oven, set it on a heat resistant surface, and (ideally) let it rest five minutes before removing the muffins. They contract slightly as they cool, which has two advantages – it’s easier to get them out of the pan, and they’re firmer and less likely to tear and crumble. No, I don’t always give them the resting period – but they really do come out better when I do… Don’t leave them more than 10 minutes in the pan, though, or they start to become harder to remove.
Now, a glance behind the scenes – I’m going to tell you the scientific way in which I reached the milk measurement. I started out with a volume measure – a cup of milk. When I was working with other flours, I found that was too wet, and I went down to 3/4 cup. I kind of went back and forth with the corn muffins – 3/4 cup of milk was a bit dry… but I was also trying the conversion to weight.
Then one day I read the wrong line, and put in the same amount of milk as I used of mix. And got the nicest muffins I’d made yet – not too dry, nice rise… and you know, that’s easy to remember, too!
I’m telling you this for two reasons. One – you should know that mistakes serendipity happens… The other is that I know some of you will still want to use volume measurements when you actually make the muffins… and in that case, use 1 3/4 c of the mix, and a scant cup of milk. I would beat the egg in a measuring cup and add enough milk to bring it to 1 cup.
An option with the mix – one that may make a lot of sense in some families – is to make it and go right ahead and divide it into 6 zip bags (or 3, for that matter, if you usually make a dozen muffins.) And write the recipe on the zip bag. That way, anyone in the family who can light the oven can go ahead and make them. Then you can leave a note, or call when you leave work (if you are delayed) and say “Start the muffins, and take the chili out of the freezer” so that dinner isn’t late, but you’re not too rushed.
And in that circumstance, the volume measurement might make sense, especially if you are enlisting someone who isn’t used to measuring weight in the kitchen – your spouse, your mom staying with you, whoever.
Individual packaging, and using volume measurements, will also be an easy way to ensure that you can get a whole grain, gluten free bread if you travel and stay with family or friends, who might not have a scale. Ask to use the kitchen, bring a bag or two of muffin mix in your suitcase, buy disposable muffin tins (I wouldn’t normally use them, but in this case, it’s the easiest way to avoid cross contamination) or bring your own – and be prepared to share! (“No, I don’t feel deprived – why would I feel deprived? Yes, of course you may have a muffin!”)
If you’re teaching a kid to cook, you may want to make them together a time or two, first. Honestly, the way I learned to bake was using mixes and slice and bake cookies – because I could do that without my mom looking over my shoulder when I was 12. (Once she was confident that I could manage the kitchen, and was careful…) Then I got bored and graduated to baking from scratch – but by then, I knew how to tell if something was cooked through and how to add dry ingredients to wet, I could measure, I learned a few steps at a time. Muffins are a nice quick-reward place to start – and to talk about the reasons you are making the mix together, instead of buying a box…
You may not have known there were that many reasons to make a muffin mix – I didn’t, when I started making it! But it really is very convenient, and solves several problems… And the muffins are good! As I said when I first wrote about the original recipe – these are not the sugar and fat filled almost-cupcakes the local coffee shop gives you. They are, indeed, a quick bread – which add a spark to any meal.
Have a hot muffin!
Corn Muffins From Homemade Mix!
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 225 g milk
- 225 g corn muffin mix
- oil or butter to grease pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425.
- Beat the egg in a bowl. Add milk,and beat it in.
- Add [corn muffin mix|https://www.inhabitedkitchen.com/homemade-corn-muffin-mix/} and stir it in well.
- Pour batter into greased 6 muffin tin. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.
- Let rest in pan for 5 minutes before removing, to make them easier to remove.
