I first made the Tassajara whole wheat muffins around 1971 and found
it a foolproof recipe. I tried making them again a year ago they were
a total disaster - overdone and tough. I tried varying time,
temperature and ingredients with no improvement. Eventually, I bought
a silicone pan, which was an improvement, but still not good enough.
Today, I finally succeeded.
The key is the muffin pan - specifically, its color. I didn't have a
non-stick pan back in '71 - it was bare metal and reflective. When I
changed to the silicone pan I was placing it on a old, dark baking
sheet - not good enough. When I switched to placing it on a 9"x13"
exactly fitting shiny pan the muffins are perfect!
The no-knead recipe by Judith Fertig reminded Reggie that we have a
dough whisk that we've never used. During my work on the muffins, I
was concerned that I was over-mixing the dough with a spoon or
spatula. I used the dough whisk today and it took only a few strokes
to fully wet the flour mixture.
Jeff