To grease a muffin pan, use a fat or pan-release product that is suitable for the pan, and spread it evenly over the inside of each well. If your recipe calls for flour as well, add a light coating and tap out the excess. You can also use suitable baking liners when the recipe allows them.
The right preparation depends on the pan and the batter. Greasing can help prevent sticking, but it cannot make up for every problem. For example, batter that overflows and bakes onto the rim can make a muffin difficult to remove even when the well was greased.
Choose preparation for your pan and recipe
Before you start, read the pan’s care instructions and the preparation step in your muffin recipe. Check whether they call for grease, grease and flour, or liners. If a recipe recommends a product that your pan maker advises against, choose a preparation that both allow rather than using it anyway.
These differences are real. For example, Nordic Ware’s Naturals Jumbo Muffin Pan allows liners or butter or shortening with flour. USA Pan’s 12-cup muffin pan tells you to grease and flour as the recipe directs, but advises against cooking spray.
Using butter, shortening and flour
Butter and shortening are options when they suit the pan and recipe. Butter alone is not a reliable substitute for every preparation method, so do not leave out flour just to save a step if the recipe asks you to use it.
If you are using butter, it only needs to be soft enough to spread. Wilton’s butter-and-flour method uses softened butter and a thin coating. The aim is to cover the required surfaces evenly, rather than measure out a tablespoon for every muffin.
- Spread the permitted butter or shortening inside each well with a suitable pastry brush or paper towel. Cover the base, sides and any crevices, leaving a thin, even layer.
- If the recipe calls for flour, sprinkle a little into the greased wells and tilt the pan to distribute it over the coated surfaces.
- Turn the pan over and tap out the excess flour before adding the batter.
Once the pan is prepared, portion the batter according to the recipe. Use its baking directions too; greasing the pan does not change how much batter each well should hold.
Check whether cooking or baking spray is allowed
A spray can be convenient because you can apply it directly to the pan. But first check the exact type that your pan allows. A neutral flavor does not tell you whether a spray is suitable for the coating.
Ordinary cooking spray and baking spray that contains flour are not always interchangeable. For example, Nordic Ware’s Floral Cakelet Pan, which the manufacturer also describes as suitable for muffins, permits flour-containing baking spray but says not to use regular cooking spray. That instruction applies to that pan; it is not a rule for every muffin tray.
When a spray is allowed, follow its label for the amount and spraying distance, and coat the required well interiors evenly. There is no need to spray every outside surface of the tray.
Using commercial or homemade pan release
Pan-release mixtures are another option. For a commercial product, follow its own application and storage directions, and check that it is suitable for your pan. A homemade mixture has its own instructions, so do not assume that the same handling advice applies to both.
In its cake-pan preparation trial, King Arthur Baking describes a homemade mixture made with equal volumes of vegetable shortening, flour and vegetable oil. The ingredients are mixed until smooth. King Arthur says to keep that mixture refrigerated and notes that it remains spreadable when chilled.
That trial used round cake pans, so it does not establish how the mixture will perform with every muffin recipe. If it is suitable for your pan and recipe, use a pastry brush or paper towel to spread it evenly over the required well interiors, including the bases and sides.
Do silicone muffin pans need greasing?
Do not assume that switching to silicone means you can always skip greasing. King Arthur’s baking-pan guide recommends greasing silicone pans, even though they are naturally nonstick. Check the directions for your own mold and recipe before deciding how to prepare it.
Make sure that the mold is intended for oven baking and that your recipe stays within its temperature limit. If the pan is flexible, place it on a baking sheet for support before filling and moving it. Its flexibility can help you release the muffins, but follow the recipe and mold instructions for cooling and removal rather than pushing them out as soon as they are baked.
Do nonstick muffin pans need greasing?
Nonstick describes a surface that is designed to help food release; it does not identify one particular coating. For example, the USA Pan model mentioned above has a silicone coating on aluminized steel, while Lékué’s six-hole muffin tray has a ceramic coating on carbon steel.
Whether you should grease a nonstick pan still depends on its care instructions and the recipe. Needing grease is not, by itself, evidence of a poor-quality coating. If muffins keep sticking, check the preparation, the condition of the coating and whether batter has overflowed onto the rim.
Using muffin liners
You can place paper or foil baking liners in the wells, or use suitable reusable silicone baking cups. Choose liners that fit the pan and are intended for oven use at the temperature in your recipe. They can reduce baked-on residue and make the muffins easier to handle after cooling, although they do not prevent every spill or sticking problem.
Whether to grease a liner depends on the liner and the recipe. Reynolds says its nonstick parchment liners do not need greasing. King Arthur has found that greasing some papers can help delicate cakes release, and it advises following a tested recipe when that recipe specifically calls for greased parchment.
Liners can also affect the finished shape. In King Arthur’s cupcake-liner trial, folded tulip papers produced a more squared-off shape than ordinary paper liners. That was one batter and pan, but it shows why changing the liner can change more than the cleanup.
Making fitted parchment liners
If you want to make your own liners, use parchment that is suitable for the oven and temperature you will be using. Reynolds’ parchment-liner method uses squares that are shaped to fit the muffin wells. Test one before cutting the rest, because the size and depth of the wells can vary.
- Cut a square of parchment and shape it around the bottom of a glass or jar that fits inside one of your muffin wells.
- Remove the glass or jar, then place the shaped paper in the well. Check the fit and adjust the square if needed before making the remaining liners.
- Fill the liners with the amount of batter directed by your muffin recipe, then bake as the recipe instructs.
- Let the muffins cool as directed, then use the parchment edges to help lift them out of the pan.
The corners may extend above the wells, but that does not mean any amount of overhanging paper is safe. Follow the paper’s oven-use restrictions and keep it clear of flames, heating elements and oven surfaces. Reynolds’ parchment guidance, for example, excludes broiling and toaster-oven use. Check your own product rather than assuming that all parchment has the same limits.
Folded paper can leave creases in the sides of the muffins. It can also reduce the amount of batter that sticks to the pan, but overflow may still leave residue to clean up.
Fill and cool according to the recipe
Use the portion size in the recipe for the pan you are using, and divide the batter consistently. Half-full is not a rule for every muffin: recipes and well sizes vary. Liners do not make it safe to add an unlimited amount of batter.
Follow the recipe’s cooling and removal directions too. If you need a utensil to loosen a muffin, use one that the pan maker permits so that you do not damage the surface.
Related: Muffin and Cupcake Pan Comparison
Takeaway
Start with the instructions for your pan and recipe. Use a suitable fat or release product when greasing is required, add flour when directed, and choose properly fitting liners when you use them. Careful preparation, sensible filling and the recommended cooling steps can reduce sticking without relying on a promise that one method works for every batch.
