Homemade English Muffins

Although I haven't posted any of those adventures yet making homemade English Muffins is a continuing step in a long line of bread-making endeavors. For some reason "dough" products like bread, sourdough bread, pancakes, English Muffins, etc. have been at the forefront of my food trials in order to prepare food for my family that is both healthy and something that we can make ourselves. I think I got wrapped up into the entire "yeast" family because I know that with some skills I can take flour, sugar and some yeast and turn it into so many different healthy things for my family. I take comfort in knowing that having these staples on hand will allow me to provide for ourselves no matter what else is going on out there.

The recipe I used to make these are as follows (found on another Blog and cited from (Beth Hensberger's Bread Bible):


1/4 cup warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast (or a little less than a tablespoon of instant yeast)
Pinch of sugar
4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cup warm milk
2 tablespoons melted butter
Cornmeal (for dusting)

If using active dry yeast, combine the water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. If using instant yeast, as I did, you can just mix the yeast in with the flour and omit this first step and the sugar.

Combine 2 cups of the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in egg, milk, butter, and yeast mixture. Mix until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring in each time, until you have a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 3 to 5 minutes. Return the dough to a clean, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Sprinkle a work surface with cornmeal. Pour the dough out of the bowl and onto the surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cornmeal and then roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Use a large round cookie cutter or an upside down drinking glass to cut the muffins out of the dough.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Place the muffins onto the skillet and let the bake for 5 to 10 minutes until quite dark before flipping.

An optional step, if you are concerned about baking them all the way through (which I was), is to have your oven heated to 350. After baking the muffins on the griddle for 5 minutes on each side, place them on a cookie sheet and place them into the oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. This assures that they are baked through.

I tried a small a small one that I had made from the leftover dough when it had cooled and it tasted great! Good bit of firmness on the outside but nice and chewy inside. Wasn't too dense and seemed to have decent crumb inside to make some good nooks and crannies. I can't wait until breakfast tomorrow!