I usually bake corn muffins without liners, but ran out of pan spray for the second half of the batter. No big deal, had liners on hand so used those instead not expecting it to affect the muffins all that much. Same bake time, same amount of batter, but the rise on the lined muffins was noticeably higher.
My family says they enjoyed the texture of the muffins in the liners more as well, so guess this is how I’ll be making them from now on.Out of curiosity, why are the results so different?
I believe it’s because the liners create a pocket of air around them, they aren’t in direct contact with the metal, giving more time for the leavening to occur during the bake.
@Fane
Mmmm yes delicious science words 
Sky said:
I believe it’s because the liners create a pocket of air around them, they aren’t in direct contact with the metal, giving more time for the leavening to occur during the bake.
Filet-Mention5284 is on the right track, the displacement variance is due to the liner period.
*Chef here, the liner does create an air pocket but it is that in combination with the fluting design of the liner that pushes the cake higher. Remembering that the liner is narrower at the bottom.
@Bin
I think there is another explanation.
The liner isn’t greased, therefore the batter clings to it, allowing it to rise higher. The batter in the greased tin has to battle the grease to rise, therefore doesn’t get as much lift before it reaches the point where the heat kills the leavening action.
@Zen
Especially if you are using a non-stick, even less to ‘grab’ onto during the bake.
Fane said:
@Zen
The liner has PFAS or wax coating. So it is ‘greased’ in a way.
Sorry, but no, my liners do not contain a coating. I’ve looked very carefully at the packaging. Plain old paper, nothing added. Which is why a thin layer of cake or muffin peels off along with the paper when you remove it in order to eat the cake or muffin.
There is a reason that we grease and then flour cake crumb or cocoa powder cake pans prior to adding cake batter. It’s so that the batter can cling to it and produce a better rise. Try it with just a greased pan and see the difference for yourself.
Or do a test on a muffin pan, grease one cup, don’t grease another one. Bake two muffins. Be amazed.
I understand your confusion; but no. If the paper wasn’t fluted and just flat there would still be the air pocket between the paper and the pan just a smaller one.
Sky said:
I believe it’s because the liners create a pocket of air around them, they aren’t in direct contact with the metal, giving more time for the leavening to occur during the bake.
That is a great explanation! I was having a problem with ‘too much rise’ when baking canelés and this was my observation when baking.
Sky said:
I believe it’s because the liners create a pocket of air around them, they aren’t in direct contact with the metal, giving more time for the leavening to occur during the bake.
Slight insulation goes a long way.
@Dale
So that’s a big question with a few caveats. Yes, there are books and videos. One of my favorite cookbooks is America’s Test Kitchen, because they have good recipes and usually do a good job of explaining what they are doing and why. They test a lot of different approaches to things and document their findings for each, and this is nice because it is not just someone saying a certain thing is gospel. It encourages you to understand and then to apply it yourself.
I don’t think I’m particularly smart at cooking/baking, but I am very interested in it and I have a perspective that you learn more from failures than success, so I’m not afraid to mess around and see what happens. I also try to challenge my own ideas so I can understand more of my own limits. An example, when I was a kid and learned about salting pasta water, I applied that logic to other seasonings with varying degrees of success. Then I did the same with boiling eggs. Then I took it a step further and tried other sources of flavor. Many of these were total failures. Let’s just say my dad was not pleased to see me trying to boil eggs in heavy cream.
Stay curious, be brave, have fun.
@Axel
I think the liner also gives it something to ‘climb’ as it’s rising compared to the smooth surface of the bare pan.
My grandma always floured her cake pans after buttering them so the dough could climb the pan better.
It’s just a guess but the batter in the lined tins may have risen more because it clings to the paper. If you’re using spray, that’s more slippery and possibly leads to less rise. I don’t know for sure though!
@Denver
The angel food cake theory. Interesting.
@Denver
I was going to phrase it differently, but yes, that is definitely a factor. The batter can climb the liner.
@Kaius
OP could try baking spray - it’s cooking spray + flour so you get the same result as greasing and flouring your cake pan with the ease of using your regular spray routine.
Terry said:
@Kaius
OP could try baking spray - it’s cooking spray + flour so you get the same result as greasing and flouring your cake pan with the ease of using your regular spray routine.
Love my baking spray.
But if I’m baking a lot (fall/winter), cake goop is better.
Thanks for sharing! I never would have guessed this would happen.
Thank you for posting this. I have my eye on a jumbo muffin pan. I have also been looking for liners and truly wondering what the difference would be. You saved me some valuable time and money!
