Homemade English Muffins

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Nothing screams breakfast food like an English muffin slathered in boysenberry jam and butter, at least in my house.   I used to by them by the two pack at Costco, and go through them in a week.  They are so incredibly versatile they worked for every meal.  English muffin sandwiches with eggs, cheese, and bacon for breakfast, or mini english muffin pizzas for lunch, or as a bun for a hamburger at dinner.  They are the perfect bread item.

Imagine my absolute astonishment when I found out that not only can you make these at home, but they are easy, and 100 times tastier!  I now refuse to by English muffins.  Every other week or so I make a double or triple batch.  We eat a bunch right then and there, I send some home with my mother-in-law, some to my parents, and stick the rest in the freezer.  A few seconds in the microwave and they are good as new.  Here is a care package I sent with my parents the morning of a road trip they were taking to Vegas.  Some English muffins hot out of the skillet, banana chocolate chip mookies, s'mores truffles, and some butter and black raspberry jam for the English muffins.

As I confessed in my first ever post, I am a King Arthur Flour recipe and product addict.  If I had to move somewhere in the country, away from my wonderful Southern California spot, it would be Vermont.  For the sole reason that this is where King Arthur Flour's bakery and shop is located.  This would be my dream job.  Anyways, enough daydreaming.  This recipe is their creation.  I do it by hand with no stand mixer, just a little elbow grease, but believe me, it is doable and worth it.  The recipe from KAF was written for a bread machine, but I have adapted it for no equipment necessary.  If you want to prep the dough in a bread machine, check out the link below. 

Just a note though: To get the traditional English muffin nooks and cranny's, make sure you use a fork to split them, because you wont get them if you cut it with a knife.  Or, you can just do it my husbands way and grab one warm out of the skillet and eat it plain, no waiting for splitting or toppings of any kind.

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English Muffins  
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour's English Muffin Recipe)


Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) milk, warm (can sub soy milk)
• 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter (or shortening, or vegan butter like earth balance sticks)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 4 to 4 1/4 cups (17 to 18 ounces) Unbleached Bread Flour (if you don't have bread flour, all purpose will work, but the texture will be a bit different
•  2 teaspoons instant yeast (*if you don't have instant yeast, make sure to proof your yeast for 5 minutes with the milk and sugar first before incorporating the rest of the ingredients)
  
  **You will also need cornmeal for covering the surface of the pans.

Directions:

1. Place the ingredients in a large bowl and combine thoroughly.  Knead for 5-7 minutes by hand, until it is fairly smooth and when poked quickly, the dent starts to spring back.  If you want to do it in a stand mixer, place all ingredients in the bowl and after mixed, use a dough hook and let it go for 5 minutes on medium high.  If you want to let it rise in the fridge overnight for use the next morning, proceed to step 2.  Otherwise, let this rise for an hour or until it has doubled in volume.
2. To rise in fridge for next day use:  Stick this dough in the fridge until the next morning, without letting it do the first rising.  I like to make the dough the night before, do the kneading, then let it do its first rise in the fridge over night.  In the morning take the dough out, and proceed with step 3, just let the muffins rise a bit longer after they have been cut into the circles.
3. Transfer the dough to a cornmeal-sprinkled surface and roll it out until it's about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out circles with a floured 3-inch cutter. Re-roll and cut out the leftover dough. Cover the muffins with a damp cloth and let rest for about 20 minutes. 
4. Heat a frying pan or griddle to medium low heat. Do not grease, but sprinkle with cornmeal. Cook four to six muffins at a time (whatever fits), cornmeal side down first, for about 7 minutes, covering the skillet for the first 7 minutes. Flip and  lower the temp to low, cooking uncovered for another 7 minutes.  Repeat until all muffins are cooked.
5. Check after about 3 to 4 minutes to see that the muffins are browning gently and are neither too dark nor too light; if they seem to be cooking either too fast or too slowly, adjust the temperature of your pan or griddle. 



This is what step four looks like, after they have been flipped




6. When the muffins are brown on both sides, transfer them to a wire rack to cool, and proceed with the rest. If you have two frying pans (or a large griddle), you'll be better able to keep up with your rising muffins. 

Yield: 16 muffins.

Big pile of English muffin happiness!  They even look like the store bought, just better!

Nutrition information per serving, via King Arthur Flour (1 whole muffin, 2 halves, 59g): 140 cal, 3g fat, 4g protein, 23g complex carbohydrates, 1g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 24mg cholesterol, 194mg sodium, 78mg potassium, 38RE vitamin A, 1mg iron, 77mg calcium, 55mg phosphorus.