Looking Back: What Happened? This has definitely been my favorite lab so far, I worked with Savreen on this one as well and we made muffins. I love to bake which is why I was really excited for this lab because I was able to learn while doing something I enjoy, and the muffins turned out great. I was surprised with the outcome of the muffins because we were making them in the toaster oven so I was sure how they would come out. One thing that we weren't so successful in was the look of the muffins, we had liners but no muffin tin that would be able to fit in the oven, so the muffins were put in without a tin. This caused them to be a weird shape but it didn't alter the taste at all. Another thing we could have improved on was not trying to experiment more without really looking into it, Savreen and I wanted to put one muffin in the microwave and see if it would bake. It didn't, but it did start to smoke so we quickly opened the microwave and started fanning it to get rid of the smoke. It wasn't the smartest idea which I now realize, but I think this proves how we both work in dangerous situations, we quickly got everything under control and since we were very alert we were able to detect the burning early on. Looking Beyond: What's the science? There's a lot more science in baking than you think, every ingredient added has a purpose and it was very interesting to learn about that. I love to bake, but I never thought about why or how what I'm baking turns out the way it does, so it was very cool learning all of that new information. Here is everything that was used in making muffins and what it does. Flour: An ingredient that is used to not only bind all of the ingredients together, but it also makes gluten. This happens because when you add water to the flour all of the proteins bond together forming gluten. Eggs: Also helps bind the ingredients together, the egg whites are leavening agents, egg yolks bring richness and moisture to the pastries, eggs also give your pastry structure. cause the goodies you bake to brown, and adds the harder shell on the outside. Sugar: Helps keep what you’re making moist, if you have a lot of sugar not much gluten forms, causes the muffins to brown and adds a harder shell on the outside. Milk: Adds to making the baked goods moist because, in milk there’s sugar lactose which ends up bonding with the proteins in the flour changing the gluten content. Milk also causes the muffins to brown and adds a harder shell on the outside. Salt: In a large majority of pastry recipes you’ll need a pinch of salt, and that’s because salt makes dough more elastic the amino acids in the flour mingle with ions in the salt and that gives your baked good better texture. Salt also helps balance sweetness. Looking Inward: Did you get desirable results? I do think we got desirable results because not only did we learn about the science in baking and how every ingredient plays a very key role in the making of muffins, they also tasted really good. We made quite a few so we got to share them with our friends, and teacher. I think the reason we got desirable results is because Savreen and I both did research before we started the lab, and before we even started the proposal. We also contributed evenly with who was bringing what, and we knew we had to make the batter right away so the muffins would have to bake, and we would have enough time to clean up. I think I performed well in this experiment, other then being the one who suggested we put a muffin in the microwave, I didn't do anything stupid after that. I measured the ingredients and added them while Savreen did most of the mixing, then I spooned the mixture into the liners and took them out when they were done. Looking Outward: Collaboration and Impact I worked with Savreen for this lab, and I think we worked really well together. I think we worked really well together which is why I always work with her. We both like doing the same projects, and my other friends like doing experiments that I'm not really interested in. I think I contributed a lot, I brought in half of the materials that were needed, and I also helped make the actual muffin, and I learned a lot about the science in baking which helped us both out a lot. Looking Forward: What's Next? If I were to do this lab again, I would double the recipe to make more muffins because a lot of people enjoyed them and were asking for more. I would also try to find a muffin tray that can fit in that microwave oven so the muffins keep their shape. So far I've only worked with Savreen on my labs, and that's because we get along really well, and we have very common interests so we want to do all of the same things. Starting next section, I think I'm going to try to work with Savreen and someone else as well, just to have more of a variety. I don't think there's any way to continue this experiment, I could make a muffin in a mug and see if that effects its tastes? Other than that no, I don't think there's any way to continue the lab. I would like to do this lab again just because it was so much fun. Take Away: Summary Making muffins is actually really easy, all you need to do is add all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, and all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. One of the wet ingredients is melted butter, so we popped some butter in the microwave to melt it then put it in the bowl. Once we tried to mix the wet ingredients we realized the butter wasn't melted enough, so we put that bowl in the microwave for a few seconds at a time until the butter was soft enough to mix. After we mixed the butter we started adding the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients slowly, until we ran out of wet ingredients. Then came the chocolate chips which were generously added into the mix. We did all of this is the Chemistry room, so we went to the staff kitchen put the mix into liners, put those into the oven and let them bake. Once they were done baking we let them cool for a little, then enjoyed!
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December 2015
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