Want sky-high muffin tops paired with a fluffy, tender texture? Here's how to achieve bakery-style muffins at home.
9 Secrets to Getting a Perfect Bakery-Style Muffin Every Time
Published on Mar. 12, 2025
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Use Room Temperature Ingredients
Butter, eggs and milk should all be at room temperature before you begin making your muffin batter. This simple step will make it easier to incorporate crucial ingredients without the chance of overmixing. Pull ingredients out of the fridge one hour before baking and it will make all the difference.
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Check Your Baking Powder
Baking powder is the main leavening agent used to help muffins rise while baking in the oven. If your baking powder has been tucked in the pantry for a while, it’s helpful to check that it’s still up for the job. Do a simple baking powder test by combining one teaspoon with 1/3 cup of hot tap water. If it bubbles, you know it’s still fresh and ready to use for baking.
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Avoid Overmixing
This tip applies to everything from muffins and quick breads to cakes. The key to a fluffy, tender crumb is to avoid overmixing the batter. Mix wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Don’t continue stirring or mixing once the streaks of flour have disappeared into the batter. Overmixing causes gluten to develop too much, which ultimately leads to a dense texture.
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Let the Batter Rest
While you wouldn’t want to use this tip for cakes, it works wonders for bakery-style muffins. Once the batter is prepped, cover the bowl and let it sit for one hour before scooping and baking the muffins. That rest will hydrate the flour for a thick batter. This helps reduce the amount of spreading the batter will do while baking, leading to a higher rise and beautiful muffin tops. It also plays a role in developing better flavor.
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Flour Your Mix-Ins
Don’t let those beautiful blueberries, blackberries or chocolate chips sink to the bottom of the muffins. Before folding any mix-ins into the batter, give them a quick toss in all-purpose flour. Just a tablespoonful is plenty to make a difference when it comes to even distribution.
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Choose a Sturdy Liner
For bakery-style muffins, choose a liner for the muffin tin rather than just greasing with cooking spray. This makes it easier to remove the baked muffins from the tin and also gives them a helpful wall to rise and climb against while baking. Choose to use paper liners or cut squares of parchment to create your own beautiful brown paper liners.
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Only Use Half of Your Muffin Tin
The most recognizable feature of bakery-style muffins is a definitively domed top. Baking powder in the recipe will help achieve this structure, but it’s important to give your muffins room to rise. Line every other muffin tin well and grease the top of the pan with cooking spray. This will give plenty of room for the tops to spread out while baking.
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Fill the Muffin Tin Wells
A cookie scoop is a handy kitchen gadget for this job. Use the scoop to divide the batter among the lined muffin tin wells. Fill each well to just below the top. This will provide plenty of batter for a good-sized muffin with a lovely round top.
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Add a Topping
Bakery-style muffins are often more eye-catching than a typical homemade muffin. Dress muffins up with toppings to make them extra special. Once the batter is divvied up, sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar or a streusel or crumb topping before baking. You could even add a drizzle of simple glaze on top once the muffins have baked and cooled.
