English muffins

English Muffins

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So today I have one of my greatest accomplishments to share with you. Welcome to my delicious, homemade, English Muffins.

English muffins
English Muffins

Honestly speaking, I am not really sure why I have hesitated so long before making these, all I can say is that I wish I hadn’t. Since these homemade English Muffins are a world away from their shop bought counterparts.

While I have eaten plenty of supermarket muffins in the past, I have always found them a bit heavy and dense and although they’ve been eaten and enjoyed I honestly couldn’t go back now, homemade is the way to go!

Homemade English Muffins
English Muffins

They say that Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day, a couple of these English Muffins will certainly keep you going until lunchtime.

Although we very rarely have tea as a meal anymore, these would be absolutely perfect. A plate piled high with warm, homemade English Muffins, butter, pots of jam, sliced bananas and a large glasses of milk. A scene straight out of an Enid Blyton book!

Freshly made English Muffins.
English Muffins.

I honestly cannot encourage you enough to make these English Muffins. The reward for effort put in is ridiculously good. These don’t require baking either. Just an iron skillet/griddle, if you own one, otherwise a heavy based frying pan will be fine.

A couple of tips:

The dough is quite sticky, but not unmanageable, as long as you dust your working surface well, with flour and polenta (cornmeal) and keep the dough moving whilst rolling out.

No fat needs to be added to the griddle. Simply follow the method and your English Muffins will be fantastic!

Recipe : Makes 12-14 English Muffins

350g/12oz Plain White Flour plus extra for dusting  – I use Shipton Mill 

7g/1 sachet Active Dried Yeast

1/2tsp Honey – the runny kind

7g Salt – I use Maldon 

1 Large Free Range Egg

200ml/7 fl oz Milk – whole or semi skimmed

7g/ 1/4oz Unsalted Butter

2-3 Tbsp Cornmeal/Polenta for dusting

Method :

Making The Muffin Dough

Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment or a bread maker,

Lightly whisk the egg into the milk. Pour into the bowl of your chosen machine.

Add the yeast and honey. Mix using clean fingers.

Then add the flour on top of the liquid.

Add the salt and butter.

If using a bread maker set the machine to dough cycle. Press start.

If using a stand mixer, mix on a low speed until all the ingredients have combined, then continue mixing for 5 minutes on a medium speed. Stop the machine, remove any dough from the dough hook and place back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean, damp cloth and leave until the dough has doubled in size – approx. 1 hour.

When the dough cycle has finished, re-start your bread maker on the dough cycle and allow to mix for 2 minutes.

With a stand mixer, remove the cloth, mix with the dough hook for 2 minutes.

While the dough is proving dust 2 baking sheets with a 50/50 mix of flour and cornmeal (polenta is the same thing!).

Prepare the baking sheets by sprinkling with flour and polenta.
Prepare the baking sheets by sprinkling with flour and polenta.

 

Cutting Out The English Muffins

First of all, prepare the work top by dusting with the same flour/cornmeal mixture. Keep some to the side to use whilst working/rolling the dough.

Place the dough onto the prepared worktop
Place the dough onto the prepared worktop.
Roll out the dough, moving it regularly so it doesn't stick, until it is about 1/2 inch thick.
Roll out the dough, moving it regularly so it doesn’t stick, until it is about 1/2 inch thick.

Use a 2.5in (6 and 3/4cm) diameter, plain round cutter to cut the muffin dough.

Place the cutout discs onto the prepared baking sheets.
Place the cutout discs onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bring together the remnants of dough, left from cutting out the discs, knead back together and re-roll. Cut out the muffins as before.

Cover the baking sheets with a dry tea towel and leave the dough to rise, until doubled in size.

After 30-45 minutes proving the dough will have risen and have rounded edges.
After 30-45 minutes proving the dough will have risen and have rounded edges.

Cooking The Muffins

Preheat your griddle/heavy based pan on the hob, over a medium heat.

Place the discs onto a preheated skillet/griddle.
Place the discs onto a preheated skillet/griddle.
English Muffins cook for 5 minutes and then flip over.
English Muffins cook for 5 minutes and then flip over.

The English Muffins rise in the pan, as the cook before your very eyes. Our children were captivated! Either use a palette knife or fish slice to flip the muffins over.

They are cooked when they are well risen and set (you can pick one up and the sides hold their shape), both top and bottom should be golden brown and they will sound hollow when rapped with you knuckle.

Remove from the griddle.

English Muffins

Place the cooked English Muffins on a cooling rack.

These first 4 English Muffins were cooled for 5 minutes and then eaten straight away. Unbelieveably good.

Continue to cook the remaining muffins in the same way.

 

English muffins freshly baked on a wooden board.

 

Tasty Homemade Food

Finally and most importantly, these muffins lasted 5 minutes after I’d photographed them and then they were snaffled away to be eaten! Now that is definitely a sign of a great recipe.

Also, if you’ve never baked bread or cooked with yeast before, these English Muffins are the perfect starting point. No worrying if it is too early to open the oven door and take a peek, the cooking happens right before your very eyes. And if you are unsure if they are cooked through, remove one, cut through with a bread knife and check. What could be easier and more tasty?

And I can guarantee massive smiles all round when you serve up a big plate of these warm, delicious, English Muffins.

The muffins will keep for a couple of days in a bread bin and are delicious, split and toasted. Also, they be placed in a freezer bag, once absolutely cold and kept in the freezer for a month.

The gorgeous board that I’ve displayed the English Muffins on is from House of Frazer, that I picked up in the sale!

Have you put off making something, presuming it will be really hard, only to be surprised when you’ve taken the plunge and made it??

If you enjoyed making these English Muffins recipe you may also want to try other easy bread recipes:

Knotted Poppyseed Rolls

Knotted poppyseed rolls.
Knotted Poppyseed Rolls

Large White Bloomer

Large White Bloomer loaf
Large White Bloomer

Farmhouse White Loaf

Farmhouse style white bread loaf.
Farmhouse White Loaf

Please let me know if you make these, I love hearing from you?

Sammie x

No part of this post may be reproduced or duplicated without the written permission of the owner. Please see my Disclosure Policy.

 

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Sammie

Hi, I'm Sammie and I’m passionate about creating tasty recipes, both sweet and savoury that you can make at home. Every recipe is easy and fun to make and should taste like a feast without the fuss!

6 thoughts on “English Muffins”

  1. Just made these today and they are fab!!! The only change I made was using fresh yeast instead of dried . Hubby said they were fantastic. Thank you xx

    1. Thank you Julie, they looked amazing when you popped a photo on Twitter. Just double the weight of yeast when using fresh. I think I need to make these again! Sammie x

  2. I am drooling over these! I love using English Muffins for a breakfast sandwich as they are just the perfect proportion and balance of flavor. Intimidated to make bread? Me? Nonsense! Okay, maybe a little but with your step-by-step instructions, a quiet morning and some good tunes, I think I could make a go of it. I’ll keep you posted as to when I do! – Liz

    1. I love listening to music when I am baking. These really are the best ‘yeast’ recipe to start with and I’d love to see your results if you do make these. Talking of which I have yet to try your beer bread. I have a feeling it could play a starring role in something I have coming up!! Thank you for your encouragement Liz. Sammie x

    1. Hi Emma, thank you for such a generous comment. These muffins are delicious, I hope you get to make them yourself. Sammie x

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