Sometimes the reason why I make things is because I can’t find them in the store. Last weekend I really needed english muffins for a brunch I was making and the local store didn’t have any so I decided to make some. How hard could it be? Turns out it isn’t that hard.

English muffins also stack nicely!

English muffins are very similar to a lot of other bread items. The real difference is the method of cooking.

English Muffins (From The Bread Baker’s Apprentice)

- 10 ounces (2.25 Cups) unbleached bread flour
- 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3/4 Teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 Teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 to 1 Cup milk (or buttermilk)
- Cornmeal for dusting
- Spray oil for cooking

The first mixing. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix that all together and then stir in the butter. Honestly, I just used my hands to mix in the butter, but you could use a mixer if you wanted to get all scientific. Then add in your milk until the dough forms a ball. Start with 3/4 a cup of milk and then drizzle in more until all the flour is in a ball.

It should be pretty sticky actually.

I use Reinhart’s tip of dipping my hand in water and sort of using it like a dough hook to mix the ball of dough even more. After a minute or two of that, knead the dough until it passes the windowpane test, probably about 10 minutes. Set this dough in a clean bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover and let ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes.

Shaping the muffins. Once the dough has fermented, use whatever method you have to cut it into six pieces. I actually weighed mine to get them pretty equal, but you could probably eyeball it.

Then take each piece and shape it into a boule. This means shaping it into a ball by folding the edges under and making a taunt surface on top. Should only take a few seconds to form each one.

The second rising. Get a baking pan and line it with parchment paper (if you have some). Spray the parchment paper with non-stick spray and then dust it liberally with corn meal.

Place each muffin on the sheet and lightly spray each one with another layer of oil and dust with more corn meal. Cover these with a towel and let them rise again for about 75-90 minutes.

Cooking the Muffins. The first thing to do when cooking these guys is to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. We will finish the muffins in the oven. Then get out your largest pan or griddle and spray or wipe it with oil. Turn your stovetop on medium-high heat and get your pan hot. Spray some oil (or wipe some oil) in the pan. You want to make sure these don’t stick, but you don’t need pools of oil for that. When the pan is hot, put each muffin down. The dough will spread out and start to puff up. Don’t crowd the muffins too much. You don’t want them touching.

These guys will brown quickly, but they won’t burn for some time. Cook them on the first side for 5 to 8 minutes. When they are a medium brown, give them a flip.

Cook these guys for 5 to 8 minutes on the other side and then transfer them immediately to a sheet pan in the pre-heated oven. The griddle cooks the outside and gives the muffins their distinctive crunch and flatness, but the insides of the muffins are still pretty raw. Cook them in the oven for 8-10 minutes to solve that problem.

Then let them cool for at least 30 minutes.

There are tons of ways to serve english muffins, but my favorite is with a little butter, salt, and honey. Freakin’ delicious.

This may seem like a bit of work, but they are really very tasty. Mine didn’t end up having the distinct “nooks and crannies” of some brands, but they tasted just as good if not better. What was nice about this recipe, and what I’m learning from baking more and more, is that I had every ingredient I needed to make them. It wasn’t like I had to go to the store to pick up any ingredients, which was nice.

If you liked this post, you should share it with your English muffin loving friends!