Appreciation post: I read that most home bakers overmix their batter by a huge amount

I was looking at a baking science article from a university food lab, and it said something like 80% of people mix their muffin or cake batter way past when the flour is just combined. I always thought a few extra folds made it smoother, but the article said that's what makes things tough and dense. I tried it on a blueberry muffin recipe last night, mixing only until I couldn't see dry flour anymore, and the difference was crazy. They were way taller and softer than my usual hockey pucks. Does anyone else think the 'just until combined' rule is actually way less mixing than we think?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark3611mo ago

That university food lab number tracks with my own disaster. I burned through two whole bags of flour trying to make a simple loaf cake before I got it. The real trick is to stop the second you think it might still be a tiny bit under mixed. By the time it looks perfect to you, you've already gone about thirty seconds too long. It feels wrong, like you're leaving lumps, but those bits cook out.

lily_singh21mo ago

Why not just mix it long enough so you don't have to worry about lumps at all?

west.henry1mo ago

Yeah that part about it feeling wrong when you stop early really hits. I mean it's like a lot of things where the instinct to fix it just makes it worse. Like wiping a smudge on your glasses too much and just spreading it around. You gotta learn to leave the slightly weird looking thing alone and let it work itself out.