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If you love English muffins but have never had a real freshly “baked” one and instead have always relied on those awkwardly packaged, stiff, store bought kinds then you owe it to yourself to changed that habit. They are easy to make and taste miles better than anything made in a factory. Being a yeast leavened bread it does take time to make, but most of that time is spent ignoring the dough and doing what ever else you feel like doing while the yeast does its thing.
If you are new to bread baking, this is a fantastic place to start! The recipe is incredibly forgiving. If you are already familiar with bread baking this can be a fun deviation from your regular bread baking routine. While making the dough will be familiar to you, this bread is actually fried instead of baked and, well, perhaps this is just a sign that I am a cooking geek, but little things like that are just SO awesome to me!
This recipe yields anywhere from 6 to 12 English muffins, depending on the size muffins you like. When I make this recipe I like to make 8. To me this provides the perfect sized muffins that are just slightly larger than the typical commercial type.
-Ingredients-
2 cups All Purpose Flour
Do not use bread flour. These are meant to have a gentle crumb (nooks and crannies?) and bread flour would cause the crumbs to be more smooth and tight. Also, a rough measure will do just fine. No need to meticulously measure and level off flour when making bread since you usually end up adjusting flour and liquids by feel. Have extra flour handy in case it is needed for kneading.
1 cup Water
Any time you are making a yeast dough you want to use tepid to slightly warm water.
1 teaspoon Instant Yeast
I always use instant yeast, but if you have a different kind then perhaps this post can help you figure out how to use what you have.
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
Melted. You may also want a bit extra for greasing the pan and greasing surfaces that the dough will rest on.
1 teaspoon Salt
I use sea salt but table salt is fine.
1 teaspoon Sugar
approximately 1/4 cup Cornmeal or as needed
The crumbly cornmeal coating on English muffins are part of their charm but this is optional. If you do not like the affect that the cornmeal creates then you can skip this part of the recipe. Just be sure to coat the pan where the dough balls will rise with butter or something else that will prevent them from sticking.
-Method-
In a mixing bowl combine 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon instant yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix all together until all ingredients are well combined.
Add 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. You may use your fingers, but I prefer to use a wooden spoon.
Once a dough forms and it is difficult to stir it is time to start kneading the dough. There may or may not be dry flour left in the bowl. If there is, then simply dust your work surface with some of this in order to keep the wet dough from sticking. If you have incorporated all the the flour into the dough already then use fresh flour to dust the work surface.
Turn the dough out onto the work surface. At this point the dough should still be very wet and will be unstructured. Work the dough by folding one side of dough into the middle, give the dough quarter turn and repeat this action over and over, always turning the dough the same direction. You will quickly notice a smooth, round dough forming. Keep dusting with flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to the work surface and your hands but only add just enough to keep the dough from being sticky. You do not want to add more flour than is necessary or else the dough will be too dry.
After kneading for about 5 full minutes and you feel that you have a very smooth homoginous dough, place it seam side down and tuck in all sides underneath it in order to form a nice round ball of dough (this is called “rounding off” the dough). It should have a smooth and tear free skin all around it.
Now lightly grease a large bowl with butter (or oil) and place the rounded off dough into the bowl. I also like to brush the dough VERY LIGHTLY with a little butter to keep it from drying out.
Cover the bowl. Customary ways of doing this is with a wet towel or plastic. Since I have a plate that fits perfectly over this bowl and keeps all air out I just use that. The goal is to prevent the dough from drying out. Place the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours or until the dough doubles in size. I place my dough into the oven (turned off) with the light on. The light bulb provides just a little heat and the yeast loves it.
Once the dough has doubled in size it is time to move onto the next steps.
Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
Now you need to decide how many English muffins you want to make. The more you make the smaller each will be. I like to make 8, but you will have to experiment and see what you like. Whatever you decide, cut the dough into equal sized pieces.
Now round off each piece of dough by folding all sides in and pressing into the center.
Dip each side of the dough balls into cornmeal to lightly coat them.
Arrange the dough balls seam side down onto a pan or plate (or whatever you would like to use) that is dusted with cornmeal. I have this handy baking pan with a fitting plastic lid that is the perfect size so that is what I use.
Cover, place into a warm spot (for me its the oven again, with the light on), and let rise for 30 minutes.
after 30 minutes the dough will have risen and you will have light fluffy balls of dough.
Now the really fun part! It is time to cook these babies. So, you may use a frying pan, griddle, or anything else of that nature. What I like to use for this purpose is a cast iron skillet. Whatever you use, preheat it to about a medium heat. You want it to be hot enough that a couple drops of water sizzle and evaporate quickly, but not so hot that water skips along the pan. Once you have the right temperature, butter or oil the pan lightly and place a few balls of dough into the pan. Do not crowed the pan because they are going to swell. Allow the dough to cook for 3 to 5 minutes before you flip them. Check the colour of the side that is cooking occasionally. You want it to become a nice dark golden brown.
Once you think the first side is cooked sufficiently flip them. By this point they will be quite a bit larger than they were before you started cooking them. The sweet aroma of baking bread will be filling your house right around this time as well and you will feel a deep sense of satisfaction as you look upon your beautiful little creations. Continue to gaze in love and awe as you allow them to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes on the other side. Do not press them down at all. Due to the roundness of this side the circular browned area will be a bit smaller than it is on the other side. This is how they are supposed to be! Once the other side turns a deep golden brown the muffins SHOULD be done. You can use a food thermometer if you want to be absolutely sure, by poking it into the middle of one of the English muffins. If the temp is at least 194 F then it is done. There is not a ton of danger of under cooking these, but I just wanted to offer that tip. Re-butter the skillet and repeat this process until all of the English muffins are cooked.
Place the hot English muffins onto a cooling rack to prevent one side from becoming soggy.
Your English muffins are DONE! You can rip into them as soon as they are cool enough to handle! Eat them as they are or use them in whatever way you normally use English muffins. Once they are completely cooled they can be placed into a plastic bag and kept fresh for around 5 days.
If you want to split your English muffins do not use a knife. Well, you can… but this is the “right” way! Using a fork score the edge all the way around the English muffin.
Now simply pull the sides apart to reveal a stunning, loose crumb. Now you can toast each side, and/or spread with butter, jam, or whatever you like! You can make sandwiches, or of course the holy grail of breakfast…
-Printable Version-
ENGLISH MUFFINS
Ingredients:
2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Water
1 teaspoon Instant Yeast
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
approximately 1/4 cup Cornmeal or as needed
Method:
1. In a mixing bowl combine 2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon instant yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix all together until all ingredients are well combined.
2. Add 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
3. Once a dough forms and it is difficult to stir it is time to start kneading the dough. There may or may not be dry flour left in the bowl. If there is, then simply dust your work surface with some of this in order to keep the wet dough from sticking. If you have incorporated all the the flour into the dough already then use fresh flour to dust the work surface. knead the dough for about 5 minutes adding only enough flour to keep it from sticking to your hands or the work surface.
4. Round off the dough and place it seam side down into a lightly buttered bowl. Cover, and set in a warm place and allow the dough to rise for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours. Or until the dough doubles in size.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut it into equal pieces. You can make anywhere from 6 to 12 depending on the size that you prefer. I like to make 8.
6. Round off each piece of dough and dip each side into cornmeal to lightly coat it. Dust a pan with cornmeal and place the rounds of dough into the pan and cover. Place in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat a skillet to a medium heat and brush with a little butter. Place a few pieces of dough onto the skillet leaving at least an inch in between each piece to allow room for them to rise. cook on each side for 3 to 5 minutes and allow each side to become a deep golden brown.
8. Remove from skillet when fully cooked (if you have a food thermometer you can make sure they are done by making sure the temperature is at least 194F) and place them onto a cooling rack.
9. Once they are cool enough to handle you may use them in whatever way you normally use English muffins. Once they have completely cooled they can be stored in a plastic bag for about 5 days.
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