Curdled Muffins
June 30, 2020 8:38 AM Subscribe
What is going sour in my muffins? The batter is good, but sometimes I take a bite of the finished muffin and there's this horrible curdled taste. Please help!
These muffins have the following ingredients:
Flour (2 C)
Baking Powder (3 tsp)
Salt (.5 tsp)
Sugar (3/4 C)
Egg (1)
Milk (1 C)
Vegetable Oil (1/4 C)
Recipe Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients together and form a well in the center. Beat the egg, stir the milk and oil in with the egg, and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
You can then fold in other ingredients if you want (a cup of blueberries, a cup of chocolate chips, a cup of cheese, etc). I usually do, but change this ingredient every time, it just depends on what I have on hand.
Bake the muffins at 400F for 20-25 mins, in a silicon muffin tin and paper cups. As soon as they're cooked, take them out of the tin and put them on the cooling rack.
What is Curdling?!
I taste the batter every time, and every time it's good. So something must be curdling in the muffins while they're baking?
I bake in the oven plenty and other food generally comes out fine. For example, I baked chicken thighs in it yesterday and they were good.
I did make peanut butter bread in a metal tin a while back and had something in it "curdle," but I thought at the time it was because my milk had gone sour. Now I use powdered milk that I reconstitute right before finishing the recipe. To reconstitute, I stir a 1/4 cup milk powder into warm/hot water, and then I put it in the freezer to cool for a few minutes while I gather the rest of the ingredients.
I have used applesauce instead of oil -- same issue (that batch of muffins was actually so sour I had to throw them away). I have used powdered and regular milk -- same issue. Yesterday I ate eggs for breakfast and then made the muffins using an egg from the same carton, and the eggs were delicious on their own despite the muffins being horrible, so I don't think it's the egg.
Wtf is the problem and how do I fix it?
These muffins have the following ingredients:
Flour (2 C)
Baking Powder (3 tsp)
Salt (.5 tsp)
Sugar (3/4 C)
Egg (1)
Milk (1 C)
Vegetable Oil (1/4 C)
Recipe Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients together and form a well in the center. Beat the egg, stir the milk and oil in with the egg, and pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
You can then fold in other ingredients if you want (a cup of blueberries, a cup of chocolate chips, a cup of cheese, etc). I usually do, but change this ingredient every time, it just depends on what I have on hand.
Bake the muffins at 400F for 20-25 mins, in a silicon muffin tin and paper cups. As soon as they're cooked, take them out of the tin and put them on the cooling rack.
What is Curdling?!
I taste the batter every time, and every time it's good. So something must be curdling in the muffins while they're baking?
I bake in the oven plenty and other food generally comes out fine. For example, I baked chicken thighs in it yesterday and they were good.
I did make peanut butter bread in a metal tin a while back and had something in it "curdle," but I thought at the time it was because my milk had gone sour. Now I use powdered milk that I reconstitute right before finishing the recipe. To reconstitute, I stir a 1/4 cup milk powder into warm/hot water, and then I put it in the freezer to cool for a few minutes while I gather the rest of the ingredients.
I have used applesauce instead of oil -- same issue (that batch of muffins was actually so sour I had to throw them away). I have used powdered and regular milk -- same issue. Yesterday I ate eggs for breakfast and then made the muffins using an egg from the same carton, and the eggs were delicious on their own despite the muffins being horrible, so I don't think it's the egg.
Wtf is the problem and how do I fix it?
I second a clump of baking powder. Very sour-metallic tasting to me. Try tasting a bit of the baking powder.
It tends to clump with moisture, which can make it easy to get these little clumps even if you mix well.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 8:46 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
It tends to clump with moisture, which can make it easy to get these little clumps even if you mix well.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 8:46 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yes, I am pretty sure you are experiencing the same thing I had for a while, with clumps of baking powder. Horrible! I'm not sure if it was the brand (dollar store) or if it was just me being bad at mixing, but I threw away the can, went back to using Trader Joe's brand, and now I whisk baking powder in with my dry ingredients VERY carefully. If in doubt I sift. Have not had a problem since instituting these measures.
PS your recipe is fine, there's nothing in there that can "curdle." Try dealing with the baking powder. Good luck!
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:50 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
PS your recipe is fine, there's nothing in there that can "curdle." Try dealing with the baking powder. Good luck!
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:50 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Curdled milk doesn't taste sour when baked - the acids react with the baking powder and it all just rises better. in fact, when I make scones, I purposely will use sour milk and many cake recipes use sour milk.
That said, 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) seems like a lot of baking powder for 2 cups of flour, and itself can have a funny taste. Most batter recipes will be more like 1-2 tsps.
The brand/style of baking powder can affect your recipe. I have a British scone recipe that works great with Canadian or British brands of baking powder, but when I used an American brand (slightly different ingredients), it had this horrible salty-baking soda flavour. I've also had the clumping problem, and that tastes nasty.
I would recommend trying a new muffin recipe. It's a pretty straight forward simple sweet cake recipe, I'm sure you can find another that is similar to what this is supposed to be (maybe it wasn't tested well). If it happens again with a different recipe (that calls for less baking powder), maybe you want to look at switching brands.
posted by jb at 8:56 AM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
That said, 3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) seems like a lot of baking powder for 2 cups of flour, and itself can have a funny taste. Most batter recipes will be more like 1-2 tsps.
The brand/style of baking powder can affect your recipe. I have a British scone recipe that works great with Canadian or British brands of baking powder, but when I used an American brand (slightly different ingredients), it had this horrible salty-baking soda flavour. I've also had the clumping problem, and that tastes nasty.
I would recommend trying a new muffin recipe. It's a pretty straight forward simple sweet cake recipe, I'm sure you can find another that is similar to what this is supposed to be (maybe it wasn't tested well). If it happens again with a different recipe (that calls for less baking powder), maybe you want to look at switching brands.
posted by jb at 8:56 AM on June 30, 2020 [5 favorites]
A tablespoon of baking powder (3 t) is kind of a lot in a dozen muffins. Generally one doesn't fuss with the leavening in a recipe if it's working properly, but I'm going to say it's not working properly if you don't like the finished product. Some people are sensitive to the taste of baking powder and baking soda, especially if the baking powder is an aluminum type. That baking powder taste is often called "metallic." Try a non-aluminum baking powder - Rumford is easy to find - to see if it still troubles you, and if so, try a muffin recipe with similar ingredients but less baking powder, and see if that solves it.
posted by jocelmeow at 8:57 AM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by jocelmeow at 8:57 AM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
oh yeah jb is right, I didn't notice you have too much baking powder in there. Standard amount is 2 tsp for a whole cake. Take it down, sift your dry ingredients and try again.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:57 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:57 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
You could also try using sour milk on purpose - if the flavour you're tasting is excess baking soda (baking powder is a mix of baking soda and another ingredient), then the sour milk might react more effectively and use it up.
posted by jb at 8:58 AM on June 30, 2020
posted by jb at 8:58 AM on June 30, 2020
My muffin recipe is quite similar to yours, although mine calls for butter instead of oil. However, significantly different directions, which I suggest you try next time.
posted by Rash at 9:00 AM on June 30, 2020
- Sift together flour, baking powder & salt.
- Mix sugar and butter until creamy, then stir in the egg.
- Stir into the egg the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk, a little at a time.
- Then mix the fruit in, and bake.
posted by Rash at 9:00 AM on June 30, 2020
seconding too much baking powder. i would try 2 teaspoons.
posted by pmdboi at 9:18 AM on June 30, 2020
posted by pmdboi at 9:18 AM on June 30, 2020
Also, in addition to the advice above, double check the vegetable oil you are using.
posted by gudrun at 9:30 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by gudrun at 9:30 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Pointing out that the OP is talking about a sour taste when she says things are "curdled", so I think people talking about lumps of baking powder may be referring to more of a textural problem. Although the taste of pure baking powder probably isn't pleasant, so the advice to thoroughly sift ingredients is still good.
Something about the use of powdered milk seems...wrong. Like, I think that may be exacerbating the problem. Or, the oil - if you haven't gotten new vegetable oil in a while, it may be going rancid. And I have a funny hunch something about the pans you're using may be not right.
So here's what I'd try.
* Get some disposable pans - those cheap tinfoil things you can find at the grocery store. That ensures that you have a clean pan.
* Get all fresh ingredients, and get exactly the ingredients listed in the recipe.
* try again, following the recipe exactly.
If that still doesn't work, then get another recipe. There are umpty-squiillion muffin recipes out there, and it's possible you may be working with one that just tasted like ass.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on June 30, 2020
Something about the use of powdered milk seems...wrong. Like, I think that may be exacerbating the problem. Or, the oil - if you haven't gotten new vegetable oil in a while, it may be going rancid. And I have a funny hunch something about the pans you're using may be not right.
So here's what I'd try.
* Get some disposable pans - those cheap tinfoil things you can find at the grocery store. That ensures that you have a clean pan.
* Get all fresh ingredients, and get exactly the ingredients listed in the recipe.
* try again, following the recipe exactly.
If that still doesn't work, then get another recipe. There are umpty-squiillion muffin recipes out there, and it's possible you may be working with one that just tasted like ass.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:36 AM on June 30, 2020
Crush (or sift) the lumps in the baking powder before adding it to the dry ingredients.
posted by bricoleur at 9:39 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by bricoleur at 9:39 AM on June 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
A lump of baking powder is indeed a horrible taste. The easy way to avoid this is to put the baking powder (1 to 1.25 teaspoons per cup of flour) in at one side of the bowl, then crush the lumps of baking powder against the side of the bowl with the back of the spoon. No reasonable amount of whisking will disperse tiny clumps, but crushing them works very well, after which a good stirring or whisking with the flour will be sufficient.
Also, some baking powders taste much worse than others. Aluminum-containing baking powder does not cause Alzheimer's disease, but it tastes much more bitter than aluminum-free baking powder. Check the label when you buy. Rumford brand baking soda (named after a man known as a famous American Revolutionary war traitor) is good.
posted by chromium at 10:03 AM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Also, some baking powders taste much worse than others. Aluminum-containing baking powder does not cause Alzheimer's disease, but it tastes much more bitter than aluminum-free baking powder. Check the label when you buy. Rumford brand baking soda (named after a man known as a famous American Revolutionary war traitor) is good.
posted by chromium at 10:03 AM on June 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
If your oil is fine, I would definitely check your baking powder and chuck it if it is a type that contains aluminum—some people [raises hand] are particularly sensitive to the bitter taste it imparts. Anything I've ever made with the "wrong" baking powder has tasted irredeemably rancid.
posted by wreckingball at 10:25 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by wreckingball at 10:25 AM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Baking powder contains an acid to activate the leavening reaction, so it could indeed be the culprit if you're tasting something sour. The suggestions above -- to reduce the amount of baking powder, try aluminum-free baking powder, and sift before using -- are all good ones. My baking powder tends to clump up in the tin, so I always push it through a little sieve when I measure it out to prevent lumps.
The only other possible culprits are milk (but you've eliminated even the possibility of sour milk by using powdered, which may taste slighly thin and artificial but will not taste sour), and the fruit/cheese add-ins (but since this is happening to every muffin you bake, I doubt it's those). I think the baking powder is the most likely issue.
posted by ourobouros at 11:25 AM on June 30, 2020
The only other possible culprits are milk (but you've eliminated even the possibility of sour milk by using powdered, which may taste slighly thin and artificial but will not taste sour), and the fruit/cheese add-ins (but since this is happening to every muffin you bake, I doubt it's those). I think the baking powder is the most likely issue.
posted by ourobouros at 11:25 AM on June 30, 2020
I've had this taste from cheap baking powder, applied too liberally. (No-Name brand, if you're in Ontario.)
posted by warriorqueen at 11:33 AM on June 30, 2020
posted by warriorqueen at 11:33 AM on June 30, 2020
I’m also with the idea that the problems are bad baking soda, too much (cut that quantity in half), and not fully combining and sifting with the other dry ingredients.
posted by lemon_icing at 12:48 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by lemon_icing at 12:48 PM on June 30, 2020
Well you can sift the baking powder, then rub the clumps through the screen, problem solved. I buy bulk baking powder at Winco, it sits around, so I have to deal with the clumps all the time, you can just put it in the bowl for dry ingredients first, the rub it on the side of the bowl to break it up. I end up doing that. For muffins, cake like things that I want to be crumbly, I stir the oil into the dry indgredients first so they are all coated, then stuff like eggs, and milk and so forth go in.
posted by Oyéah at 1:12 PM on June 30, 2020
posted by Oyéah at 1:12 PM on June 30, 2020
I've had baked goods take on a weird flavour from being in contact with the (buttered/oiled) tin, to the extent that I've had to throw them away because they just didn't taste edible enough... but you're using cake cases, so that's not it.
I've also had oil that was getting on a bit (but still fine for frying with, not rancid by any means) result in a cake that tasted intensely oily... but you've ruled that out too.
And I've had powdered milk result in scones oxidising and turning an unappetising grey inside... but that's not it either!
That doesn't leave many options. Perhaps it's worth trying replacing the plain flour and baking powder with self-rising flour?
If you can't get to the bottom of it, I'd try adding cocoa and see if that's enough to disguise the flavour you're reacting to.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:02 PM on June 30, 2020
I've also had oil that was getting on a bit (but still fine for frying with, not rancid by any means) result in a cake that tasted intensely oily... but you've ruled that out too.
And I've had powdered milk result in scones oxidising and turning an unappetising grey inside... but that's not it either!
That doesn't leave many options. Perhaps it's worth trying replacing the plain flour and baking powder with self-rising flour?
If you can't get to the bottom of it, I'd try adding cocoa and see if that's enough to disguise the flavour you're reacting to.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:02 PM on June 30, 2020
It might help to follow a recipe that uses baking soda instead of baking powder for at least some of the leavening.
I have been using Mark Bittman's recipe for sour cream or yogurt muffins. Two cups flour, one egg, 1 Tbsp melted butter or oil, 1/4 c sugar (or more to taste), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/4 c sour cream or yogurt.
I always use melted butter for flavor. I have never used sour cream in this recipe. I usually use yogurt, but for a pandemic special I use buttermilk powder. The powder is mixed in with the dry ingredients and an appropriate amount of water added with the egg and melted butter.
Before the muffins go in the oven I sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar, just a little bit.
posted by SereneStorm at 9:13 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have been using Mark Bittman's recipe for sour cream or yogurt muffins. Two cups flour, one egg, 1 Tbsp melted butter or oil, 1/4 c sugar (or more to taste), 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/4 c sour cream or yogurt.
I always use melted butter for flavor. I have never used sour cream in this recipe. I usually use yogurt, but for a pandemic special I use buttermilk powder. The powder is mixed in with the dry ingredients and an appropriate amount of water added with the egg and melted butter.
Before the muffins go in the oven I sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar, just a little bit.
posted by SereneStorm at 9:13 PM on June 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Only because a friend of mine just learnt last week that there was a difference between baking powder and baking soda, I feel I should point out that they are different and if you happen to use soda when the recipe says powder you will not enjoy the taste at all.
posted by applesauce at 4:51 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by applesauce at 4:51 AM on July 1, 2020 [1 favorite]
I have given up on baking powder entirely because I don't bake with it often enough to use it up before it goes flat, no matter how tightly I seal the container to keep it dry (it reacts with itself and becomes inert). It took a lot of horrible cake bricks for me to realise that this was happening. Now I only use baking soda plus some kind of acidic ingredient.
posted by confluency at 5:19 AM on July 1, 2020
posted by confluency at 5:19 AM on July 1, 2020
I had a string of bad baking during quarantine, when I decided my bulk container of baking powder was on the old side and I replaced it with Aldis brand baking powder. Everything was just slightly bitter for two weeks, my kids refused to eat my blueberry muffins or cookies... and I dug back out my too-old-but-actually-fine name brand baking powder and tossed the Aldis can, and the problem was solved.
It was definitely not clumps. Even well-distributed, the baking powder was as bitter as if I’d accidentally doubled it in the recipe. So, maybe try a new/different baking powder?
posted by instamatic at 9:32 PM on July 3, 2020
It was definitely not clumps. Even well-distributed, the baking powder was as bitter as if I’d accidentally doubled it in the recipe. So, maybe try a new/different baking powder?
posted by instamatic at 9:32 PM on July 3, 2020
Response by poster: Thank you for letting me know about the baking powder! I made peanut butter bread this weekend with a new can of BP (different brand) and did not have those awful bitter bites this time around.
Next time, I’m going to go even further and buy a baking powered that’s aluminum-free.
posted by rue72 at 11:10 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Next time, I’m going to go even further and buy a baking powered that’s aluminum-free.
posted by rue72 at 11:10 AM on July 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Could it be clumps of baking powder? Are you sifting the dry ingredients?
posted by mekily at 8:43 AM on June 30, 2020 [11 favorites]