English Muffins, Whole Grain

1. Starter: Scald milk in saucepan (heat it, stirring occasionally, just to the point where steam begins to gather at the surface, but do not let it begin to bubble). Remove from heat and let cool to 105°F, about 30 minutes.
2. If using active dry yeast, sprinkle it over the cooled milk and let proof (rest in a warm spot) about 10 minutes to dissolve. If using instant yeast, whisk it into the ½ cup whole wheat flour in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk the cooled milk (or milk/yeast mix) into the ½ cup whole wheat flour until all the lumps are gone. Set aside until the yeasty mixture becomes frothy, about 30 minutes.
4. Dough: Stir butter, honey, and salt into the milky mixture.
5. Add the 1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour (or whole and unbleached white flour mix) and stir vigorously until you have a thick, sticky mixture, 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Ferment: Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 8 and up to 16 hours.
7. Shape the muffins: Flour a work surface (I use a pastry cloth) and then dust it with cornmeal. Flour your hands and gently deflate the dough in the bowl; transfer it to the work surface and shape it into a rough rectangle.
8. Using a floured rolling pin (I cover mine with a sock-like cover), roll the dough into a 10″ x 8″ rectangle that’s about ⅜ inch thick. Use a dough scraper to lift the dough and dust the surface with more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Dust the top of the dough with 1 to 2 teaspoons of cornmeal.
9. Using a floured round cutter, punch out 5 to 6 muffins. Dip the cutter in flour before each cut to prevent sticking. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or large plate(s).
10. Gather and gently reroll the dough scraps ⅜ inch thick; punch out 1 – 2 more muffins in the same way, and transfer to the sheet/plate. Reroll the last bit of dough to punch out 1 – 2 more muffins and transfer to the sheet/plate.
11. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 15 minutes.
12. Cook the muffins:  While dough rounds are resting, position a rack in the center of the oven, and put a large rimmed baking sheet on it. Heat the oven to 400°F.
13. Heat  griddle or skillet over medium-low heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Working in batches and using floured fingers, arrange the dough rounds on the hot surface, leaving about 2 inches of space between each. Cook, flipping once with a spatula, until the tops and bottoms of the muffins are browned and firm but the edges remain soft, about 4 minutes per side. Remove to rack to cool 1 – 2 minutes.
14. Transfer muffins to baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Meanwhile, wipe out any flour on/in griddle/skillet and brown the next batch of muffins; repeat browning and baking the muffins until all are cooked.
15. Serve: The muffins are best served while still warm. Using a fork or a sharp pointed knife, perforate the muffins along their equators all the way around; break open the rest of the way by hand.
16. I like to toast them and serve with butter and orange marmalade or apricot jam.

Leftovers

English muffins will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for 2 to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Toast before eating.

Variations

Cinnamon-Raisin English Muffins:

As above except:

• Increase honey to 2 Tbsp;
• In the dough step: Stir milk mix into only 1 cup of the whole wheat flour (or whole wheat/unbleached white flour mx);
• Dredge ½ cup raisins (or Zante currants) and 1 tsp ground cinnamon in remaining ½ cup of the flour to the dough

Rye English Muffins: 

As above except:

• Use dark rye flour in place of the whole wheat flour in the ‘starter’ step;
• Use light rye flour in place of unbleached white flour if using a mix of flours in the ‘dough’ step. You can also use it in place of white flour when rolling and cutting the dough.
• Add ¾ tsp caraway seeds to the dough after stirring in the bread flour (optional).

 Tassajara English Muffins

This is the first recipe I tried for English muffins, adapted from the Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Epse Brown (4). It includes an overnight (at least 12 hour) sponge rest before adding salt, butter and remaining flour, so is similar to the fermenting time in the above recipe, but the sponge is thicker (greater flour to moisture ratio).  Another difference is that this recipe uses an egg.

Overall, this recipe makes more muffins (about 20) than the above recipe, as it has roughly double the amount of total flour.

NOTE: if you don’t have a round cutter, you can use a very sharp knife to cut the rolled dough into 3″ squares, dipping the knife blade into unbleached flour before each cut.

Ingredients & Equipment

NOTE: references to ‘whole wheat flour’ should be hard-wheat type; I prefer whole hard white wheat flour.

• Sponge:
• 1 cup scalded fresh whole milk
• 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp raw local honey
• 1 farm-fresh egg
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• Dough:
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp Unrefined sea salt
• 2 – 2 ½ cups sifted whole wheat flour, or mix of whole wheat and unbleached white flour
• Organic or Non-GMO cornmeal (fine grind), as needed (about 2 Tbsp) for rolling & cutting
• Unbleached white flour, as needed for rolling & cutting
• Equipment:
• As in above recipe

Method:

1. Sponge: Scald milk in saucepan (heat it, stirring occasionally, just to the point where steam begins to gather at the surface, but do not let it begin to bubble). Remove from heat and let cool to 105°F, about 30 minutes.
2. Sprinkle yeast over the cooled milk and let proof (rest in a warm spot) about 10 minutes to dissolve.
3. Stir in flour until a thick batter is formed, then beat with a wooden spoon for at least 100 strokes (to activate the gluten).
4. Place bowl in plastic bag and let it rest a minimum of 30 minutes, but preferably overnight, at least 12 hours.
5. Dough: Melt butter. Sprinkle salt and melted butter over dough, then fold in.
6. Fold in additional flour until dough comes away from sides of bowl.
7. Knead on floured board, sprinkling on more flour a little at a time to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 – 15 minutes.
8. Cover with damp cloth and let rise 50 minutes, using finger test for rise in bowl.
9. Flour hand, punch down to let most of the air out of the dough, then let dough rest 10 minutes.
10. Shape the muffins: Roll ¼” – ⅜” thick, then cut into rounds, dipping cutter into unbleached white flour before each cut.
11. Sprinkle tops of each muffin with Organic or GMO-free cornmeal (fine grind).
12. Cover with dry towel and let rise about 45 minutes until double in size.
13. Cook muffins: Heat un-greased griddle or skillet over medium-low heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Working in batches and using floured fingers, arrange the dough rounds on the hot surface, leaving about 2 inches of space between each. Reduce heat to brown the muffins slowly and flipping once, about 5-6 minutes per side. Remove to rack to cool slightly.
14. Repeat for each batch, reheating griddle/skillet to hot before adding each batch, then reduce heat as for first batch.
15. Serve as for previous recipe. I like to toast them (after breaking them open) and serve with butter and orange marmalade or apricot jam.

References:

1. Fine Cooking recipe: finecooking.com/recipes/overnight-english-muffins.aspx
2. Fine Cooking article, video: finecooking.com/articles/how-to-make-english-muffins.aspx
3. Wheat Montana’s Prairie Gold flour: wheatmontana.com/retail/flourpancake-mixes/prairie-gold®/prairie-gold-flour-1
4. Tassajara Bread Book by Edward Epse Brown (see Beloved Cookbooks for more about this book)