I used the recipe for English muffins from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Since this was a bit of an impulse baking frenzy, I didn’t have the cornmeal on hand to dust these with before browning and baking them. I’ll have to make sure to have cornmeal available next time. And, as you can see, my first English muffin (the one hiding all the way in the back on my top picture) came out kind of flat because I plopped it onto the griddle without reshaping it, but then I knew better on the next four. The recipe was also supposed to make 6, but I ended up with 5 on the larger side. The dough was stickier than I thought it was going to be, and I probably added a bit too much milk in the beginning. I did add some flour, but didn’t want to overdo it so I just hoped for the best and they were still lovely. We made some breakfast sandwiches with them.
English Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups Unbleached Bread Flour
- 1/2 tablespoon Sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon Instant Yeast
- 1 tablespoon Shortening or Unsalted Butter – at room temperature
- 3/4 to 1 cup Milk or Buttermilk – at room temperature (I use buttermilk for more flavor)
- Cornmeal – for dusting
Directions
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix in the shortening/butter and 3/4 cup of the milk/buttermilk until the mixture comes together and forms a ball. Slowly add the remaining milk, if necessary, to form a soft, workable dough.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, sprinkling in additional flour if necessary, to form a tacky dough. Place dough a lightly oiled bowl and roll to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and shape into balls. Place the balls of dough on the baking sheet, evenly spaced about 3-inches apart. Lightly spray the boules with oil and loosely sprinkle with cornmeal. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise, at room temperature, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until almost doubled in size, in both height and in width.
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet or seasoned griddle over medium heat for several minutes. (If using an electric griddle, heat to 350 degrees F.) When hot, brush skillet/griddle with vegetable oil or mist with oil spray. Using a metal spatula, gently transfer the dough rounds to the skille/griddle, a few at a time, spacing them at least 1-inch apart. (Keep any remaining rounds covered with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out or forming a skin.) Cook the dough rounds for about 5-8 minutes on each side. Transfer them to a sheet pan and immediately place the pan onto the center rack of the oven. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes to ensure that the muffin centers are completely cooked. While the first batch is baking, brown the remaining muffins and transfer them to the oven.
Transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before splitting open or serving. Store muffins in a sealed ziploc bag or an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.
Makes 6 muffins.