How I Developed a Muffin Recipe
If you like muffins and software, you are in the right place.
Today, this is a foodie blog.
But about software.
And muffins.
After my last post, How I Plan Software Projects, I unknowingly applied a similar methodology to developing a muffin recipe.
If you want to hear about muffins, read on. If you want to read about problem-solving techniques you can apply to software development, read on.
If you like muffins and software, you are in the right place.
The Inspiration
My partner found a make-ahead muffin recipe in an old issue of Cooks Illustrated. They made a few batches of muffins and froze them before baking them. For breakfast, we popped them in the oven, and 40 minutes later, we had steaming hot muffins. Wonderful!
The Problem
Protien. I have a long list of food intolerances, but fortunately, eggs, yogurt, rice protein, and meat are on my "can eat" list. Peanuts, beans, and soy don't work for me, which limits my breakfast choices.
Muffins for breakfast are wonderful but not filling. A couple of hours later, I'd find myself looking for something filling. I'd usually land on a protein shake but be a bit disappointed in the flavour and texture.
So I decided to set out and make a high-protein breakfast muffin. Peanut and legume-free!
Iteration
Version One: The Kibble
This muffin was not good, but it was a muffin—and it was filling and edible.
In this version, I found a base recipe that satisfied my number one need: a filling muffin. I started with an egg, almond butter, rice protein, and yogurt base, which worked for the filling factor. I added cocoa powder for this version, but I forgot salt, which, of course, made these muffins taste like paper.
Two of these kibble lumps held me over until lunch with no problem, but they resembled kibble more than a muffin.
Version Two and Three: The Protein Shake
For version two, I pivoted to a vanilla blueberry muffin and kept the recipe mostly the same. Vanilla blueberry was a flavour winner, but the rice protein still came through too strong in flavour and texture.
Version Four: The Winning Muffin Recipe
The final version tweaked the moisture content, sweetness, and protein powder. Despite having less protein powder than my first version, these still have roughly 13 grams of protein per muffin. They have great flavour and a good texture and keep you full without sugar crashes like a typical muffin!
How This Applies to Software Development
I have never made a muffin recipe before. I bake here and there, but I am in no way a food blogger, and I have certainly never worked in a test kitchen. But I know a bit about how ingredients work and how to look up what I don't know. I also know that I'll make mistakes and learn from them. Frankly, I'm surprised I landed on a good recipe in only four versions! I thought I'd be doing this for weeks.
Software development is similar. There are plenty of software recipe books out there, and plenty of people have done similar things that you can learn from.
You also don't know how the end product will look and feel or how people will use it. But you can make some guesses, look things up, and ask people for their opinions.
When I build software projects, I start with a proof of concept: the kibble muffin. With the kibble muffin, I proved that you can make a satiating, high-protein muffin. The next challenge was to refine the flavour and then the texture. I wanted the muffin to have the whole muffin experience, but I knew versions one, two, and three wouldn't get there.
Each iteration brought me closer to the final product, and I tweaked one variable at a time until I had a full-fledged high-protein muffin.
Successful software projects follow the same process: prove the fundamental concept and refine one variable at a time. Iterate, measure, adapt, and repeat until you have something that wows you.
The Recipe
Prep Time: 10 Mins. | Cook Time: 35 Mins. | Total Time: 45 Mins. | Yield: 12
Preheat oven to 350 F
Ingredients
Wet:
4 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups of Greek Yogurt
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2/3 Cups Almond Butter
1/2 Cups Honey
Dry:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 C Unflavoured Rice Protein Powder
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
Fruit:
1 cup of Frozen Blueberries or an alternative.
Sift or stir together dry ingredients. If you used a sifter, dump the bran in the bowl with the sifted ingredients.
Whisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Mix wet ingredients into dry until combined.
Fold in 1 Cup of frozen blueberries.
Scoop into a muffin tray.
Bake at 350 F for 35 mins.
