Bakery-style High Domed Muffins – how do they do that?
from https://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/

Follow these tried and true bakery secrets to make High Domed Bakery-style muffins with your favorite from-scratch standard size muffin recipe!

So how many of you have bought a muffin at a bakery and just were in awe of high they rose without really spilling over? They domed so beautifully almost like you were getting twice as much muffin for the price of one. BONUS, right?! One thing to keep in mind, this is for MUFFIN batter, not cupcakes. There’s a huge difference between cupcakes and muffin batters folks.

…and I’m sure you went home, decided to try it by adding more baking soda/powder to your mix and instead of filling them 1/2-3/4" of the way full, you filled them to the brim. . , and I’m sure about 6 minutes into the baking you started to smell that smell. You know that the smell. The smell of your gorgeous batter overflowing the cupcake pans and onto your oven floor.

Most from-scratch muffin recipes tell you to do the following (which will not get you high domed muffins):

Bakery Secrets to High Domed Muffins

There are important steps here:

  1. Let the batter rest. Cover your batter tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (can go overnight as well). Bakeries mix their batter at night so they can quickly bake them for the breakfast crowd.
    Do you know why you should let your muffin batter rest? During the resting period, starch molecules in the flour are absorbing the liquid in the batter.
    This causes them to swell and gives the batter a thicker, more viscous consistency. Any gluten formed during the mixing of the batter is also getting time to relax, and air bubbles are slowly working their way out.
    See Why Rest Muffin Batter Overnight
  2. How you bake them temp-wise. Start at a high temperature.
    By starting them off at such a high temperature is the initial high heat of 425 degrees F causes the batter to have greater oven spring or the rapid rise during the first few minutes of baking. The higher heat creates a burst of steam that lifts the batter and this initial burst of heat gives the muffins immediate rise. Makes sense, huh?
    When they have baked for about half the time noted in the recipe, turn the oven down to 350 degrees. Other recipes say wait just 5 minutes before turning the temperature down.
  3. Use a thick batter. The thicker the batter, the more you can fill each muffin cup while ensuring that the muffins rise up (and not out) in the oven.
  4. Fill your muffin tin! Don't worry about each muffin cup being only 1/2 full or 2/3 full or whatever it is many recipes will suggest. If you have a thick batter with the right proportion of ingredients, you can safely fill your muffins cups pretty much entirely full (just leave about a 1/8" from the top), and that'll help you get those big, domed tops.

Don’t forget to let the muffins cool in the pan for about 2 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack, otherwise the sides and bottom will become soggy from the moisture escaping from the muffins.