English Muffins

Have you ever thought about making English Muffins from scratch?  If not, maybe you should!  They are surprisingly easy and lots of fun to make.  You might not know this, but English Muffins are baked on a griddle rather than in the oven. . . helping to contribute to a quickly made breakfast treat.

I had never considered making them before. Those of you who have read along for awhile know that I am afraid of yeast. I don't know why because I generally have success with anything I make using yeast but the fear is there. I blame my uber-yeast-phobic mother.

However, a few weeks ago there was a wave of recipes on food blogs for English muffins. Everyone blathered on about how easy they were. Then came the day that Paul was craving English muffins for breakfast yet I had none and couldn't be bothered to dash off to the store.

What to do?

Take the plunge!

I'm glad that I did. This recipe is easy to follow and the results are delicious. The muffins aren't as full of nooks and crannies as commercial English muffins (made with baking powder or soda) but the flavour is brilliant. This more than makes up for a fewer nooks and crannies in my book.

If you feel like avoiding the store this weekend - give these a shot!

English Muffins

1/3 cup water, warm (110F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup non-fat milk, slightly warm (100-110F)
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour

In a large bowl, whisk together water, sugar and yeast and let mixture stand for 10 minutes, until slightly foamy.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 40 minutes.

Heat a griddle/nonstick frying pan over medium/medium-high heat (water dropped on the griddle evaporates very quickly). Lightly grease with cooking spray.

Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto greased surface and cook until medium brown on the bottom. The top with look set and the sides will appear somewhat dry. The exact time depends on the temperature of your griddle and the size of your muffins, but expect this to take several minutes. Flip over and cook 2nd side until brown.

Cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes or until completely cool.

When ready to serve, split muffins with a fork and toast.

Serve with butter, jam, peanut butter, etc.

Comments

[Palma]

Oh, I've been waiting for this one! I may try it. Hope a nonstick skillet works, as I have no griddle.

[Barbara: Art and Barb Live in Italy!]

Jerry, I 'd be tempted to add a teaspoon of baking soda to the batter just before you put it on the griddle to get those nooks and crannies!

[sandrac]

Wow -- those do look good, and not impossibly difficult!

[Baked Alaska]

I've never made these either. Looks like something new to try. I don't have a griddle either, so it will have to be a skillet for me also. Mmm, English muffins with home-made raspberry jam. Maybe I need to go to the kichen right now.

[nancyhol]

Your English muffins look great! I may have to give them a try.

[JDeQ]

I'll try with the baking powder and report back.

The flavour is so good - none of those chemicals that are in the store bought ones.

[Barbara]

Okay, I FINALLY ate all the other English muffins so I tried this recipe. It's so much easier than the other two recipes I tried! I did add about 1/2 tsp of baking SODA to the batter just before I cooked them, but I can't say the finished product has a lot of nooks and crannies. Maybe next time I'll up it to 1 tsp just to see if there's any difference. Other than that, this is a great recipe - thanks for sharing it!

[JDeQ]

Barbara - I also found that if I got the griddle REALLY hot there were far more nooks and crannies . . .