Experimental cookery

2. 60 strokes. 3. 100 strokes. 4. 300 strokes. TUNNELS 469 proportion of water that results in a very sticky gluten, and the gluten is attenuated to the point at which it is tenacious and somewhat elastic like rubber, the batter drips from the spoon into the muffin pan somewhat Fig. 49. — Muffins. Showing the effect of stirring the batter 85 strokes; then add- ing the baking powder and stirring 15 additional strokes. Compare with muffins (3) in Figs. 46 to 48 mixed with 100 strokes. 1. Tartrate baking powder. 2. Phosphate baking powder. 3. Sulfate-phosphate baking powder. as shown in Fig. 50 at A. The gluten strands of the batter are stretched toward the point in contact with the spoon. The manner or direction in which the tunnels form is partially dependent upon the way in which the gluten strands are stretched in mixing and in placing the batter in the 470 BATTERS AND DOUGHS pans. In the baked muffins the tunnels may form as shown in the cross- section diagram at B. When the batter from the end of the spoon falls near the edge of the muffin pan the tunnels may converge as shown in C, Fig. 50. Two other factors that influence the formation of tunnels, though their effect is not always consistent, are depth of the batter and the baking temperature. When the batter is mixed just to the verge of tunnel forma- tion, the deeper the batter in the pan the mort apt are tunnels to appear. The effect of temperature is still more variable than some of the other factors, but tunnels have been observed in portions of a batter baked at higher temperatures, when other portions baked at lower temperatures did not have them or they were less numerous. Fig. 50. — A. Cross section of muffin batter that has been mixed until the gluten is well developed, being dropped from a spoon into a muffin pan. B. Direction of tunnels in baked muffin. C. Direction of tunnels when the point of dough falls to one side of the pan. Varying the proportion of ingredients in muffins. Too large a proportion of flour or too little liquid increases the tendency to form tunnels, even with a small amount of mixing. If sugar and fat are increased the gluten develops less readily, but the effect is not very great. The omission of egg does not change the muffin structure to a very great extent, although there is less tendency for tunnels to form. The flavor of course is different if the batter contains no egg. Increasing the egg tends to give a tougher, more rubbery, elastic muffin. Egg not beaten sufficiently to blend easily with other ingredients or not mixed sufficiently with the liquid may produce a rather waxy texture with fairly thick cell walls. This texture is often seen in muffins which are not over-mixed. Baking powder. The electrolyte baking powder influences the viscosity and tenacity of the batter. When a muffin batter that contains no baking powder is just mixed, it separates from the spoon without forming strands and may be described as short. With longer mixing the batter becomes smoother, but there is not as definite a change as when the baking powder is in the batter during mixing. If the baking powder is in the batter during all the mixing period the batter is short when just mixed, but after the BISCUITS 471