Basic English Muffins
Submitted by hmanser
Homemade English muffins cooked on a griddle, dusted with cornmeal for that signature crackly bottom and full of nooks and crannies for melted butter to pool in.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
240 minStore-bought English muffins get the job done, but homemade ones are a different animal. The crackly cornmeal bottom, the steam-pocked interior with all those craggy nooks and crannies, the chewy crumb that holds up under butter and jam: nothing in the bread aisle competes.
The trick to the famous nooks and crannies is the wet, lively dough and the griddle cooking method. The dough should be soft, almost sticky, never tight. A tight dough makes a dense muffin without holes; a wet, well-risen dough creates the irregular pockets that turn into the perfect butter traps once split.
Griddle cooking, not baking, is what defines the format. Low heat (very low, the recipe insists) for 8 to 10 minutes per side gently cooks the muffins through without burning the surfaces. The result is a pale golden-brown muffin with that classic flat-top, flat-bottom shape.
Don’t compress the dough rounds when transferring to the griddle. Sliding a wide spatula gently underneath preserves the air pockets that create the holes. Squashed dough makes squashed muffins.
Split with fork tines, never a knife. Forking pulls the muffin apart along its natural seams, exposing all those craggy surfaces that toast into crispy edges. Knife cuts make smooth interior surfaces that won’t catch butter the same way.
Pro Tips
- Keep the heat truly low. Medium-low burns the cornmeal coating before the inside cooks. Use a thermometer if your stove runs hot, aim for around 300°F (150°C) griddle surface.
- The hollow tap test is the doneness check. If it doesn’t sound hollow, give it another minute per side.
- Generous cornmeal dusting on both top and bottom is the signature look. Don’t be shy.
- Let cool fully on a rack before splitting, or the steam trapped inside will leave a gummy interior.
- Store airtight at room temperature 3 days or freeze 2 months. Toast straight from frozen.
Variations
- For onion English muffins, add 1 envelope of onion soup mix and 3 tablespoons of nonfat dry milk to the yeast-flour mixture, decrease salt to 1 teaspoon, increase butter to 2 tablespoons, and substitute water for milk.
- Add ¼ cup of whole wheat flour to the second flour addition for nuttier flavor.
- Sprinkle muffins with everything bagel seasoning instead of cornmeal for a savory twist.
Ingredients
Directions
Yeast-flour Mixture: In large bowl of mixer stir together 2 cup flour, the sugar, salt and dry yeast; set aside.
Liquid Mixture: Heat milk, water and butter until very warm (120 to 130 degrees F). Add gradually to yeast-flour mixture and beat at medium speed 2 minutes. Add egg and 1 cup flour; beat at high speed 2 minutes. Stir in just enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, adding more remaining flour if dough is sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm, draft-free place until double, about one hour.
Punch down. Cover and let rise again until double, about 45 minutes. Punch down. On lightly floured surface roll out ½ inch thick. With a 3¼ inch round cutter cut out muffins. Sprinkle cookie sheets lightly with cornmeal. Add muffins, about 1 inch apart.
Sprinkle with additional cornmeal. Cover; let rise until double, about 45 minutes. Heat lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.
With wide spatula carefully remove muffins (do not compress or puncture or they will collapse) to griddle. Bake over very low heat 8 to 10 minutes on each side until light brown. (Muffins should sound hollow when tapped) Cool on racks.
To serve, split with fork tines; toast.
VARIATIONS - ONION: Add 1 envelope onion soup mix and 3 tablespoon nonfat dry milk to yeast-flour mixture and decrease salt to 1 teaspoon Increase butter to 2 tablespoon Substitute 1 ¾ cup water for the milk in liquid mixture (total 2 cup water).
Comments
