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Muffins can be like bread or like cake.
The Muffins "native" to the UK are like bread. English Muffins use yeast as the leavener.
In North America, an English-style Muffin is called an English Muffin. In the UK, an American-style Muffin is often called an American Muffin.
American Muffins are more like a cake. They are made from a very thick batter that is spooned into metal or paper cups, and when baked, look like a large cupcake.
The American Muffin can also be classed as a quick bread, as it uses chemical leaveners.
The more sugar and fat in an American Muffin, the more it is going to be cake-like. You usually mix all the dry ingredients separately, then all the wet separately, then combine. This not only prevents the chemical leavener from activating too soon, it keeps the liquid away from the flour as long as possible, because as soon as liquid hits the wheat, gluten will start to develop. You combine both just enough to blend: small lumps don't matter.
The two most common mistakes when making American Muffins are over-mixing, and over-baking. Over-mixing causes gluten to develop, which results in tough Muffins.
Cooking Tips
Always cool American Muffins on a cake rack. Let cool first, though, in pan for 5 or 10 minutes, then invert out onto the cake rack -- trying to get them out of the Muffin pan right away could cause them to fall apart, but leaving them in much longer than that will give them soggy bottoms that will just never recover.
See Also
Baking Cups
Other entries for Quick Breads
Arepas, Bannock, Barm Brack, Crumpets, English Muffins, Fadge, Farls, Irish Soda Bread, Muffins, Pancakes, Pikelets, Singing Hinnies
Other entries for Bread
Bagels, Baguettes, Biscuits, Boston Brown Bread, Bread Crumbs, Bread Improvers, Damper Dogs, Flat Breads, French Bread Law (1993), French Breads, Kalach Bread, Kalakukko Bread, Koulouri, Limpa Bread, Orindes, Pain au Froment, Pain au Levain, Pain au Son, Pain Complet, Pain d'habitant, Pain de Campagne, Pain de Mie, Pain Pavé, Pain Paysan, Pain Poilâne, Pain Viennois, Pretzels, Pullman Bread, Quignon, Rusks, Sippets, Tartine, Toast, Toutons, Unleavened Bread, Utah Scones
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