English Muffins

Tiny nooks and crannies are hiding out inside of these billowy little rounds of dough, graced with a rustic note of yeast. With a gentle toast on the outside then split with a fork and toasted once again to crisp the inside, English Muffins deliver warm perfection!

English muffins are readily available in the markets but making them from scratch is really not difficult. The first time I made English muffins was about 4 years ago, shortly after yeast finally reappeared on the shelves – what a crazy time! Luckily, yeast is still plentiful so there’s no reason not to give these a try. And best of all, they’re made using a short list of pantry staples – flour, kosher salt, a touch of sugar, milk and shortening. Toss in the magic of yeast and the dough comes alive.

Using a stand mixer makes quick work of pulling the dough together. You can start by hand then turn it over to the mixer and let it do the hard work.

Most of the time spent making English muffins is in the rise. Let the dough rise once then roll it and cut out the muffin rounds. Dust them with cornmeal and give them a short second rise.

Toast the outside of these light, puffy rounds of dough on your griddle. Now they’re ready for a fork-split and a finishing toast to crisp the inside just a touch.

Add a smear of mascarpone cheese and maybe a touch of jam. Simple, yet wonderful.

And you’ll even have enough to share…

English Muffins

1 cup very warm water, between 105 to 110-degrees

2-¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, one ¼-ounce packet

2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup milk

¼ cup shortening

6 cups flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Coarsely ground yellow cornmeal for dusting, about ¼ cup

Stir the yeast into the warm water along with the sugar. Let the yeast proof for about 10 minutes.

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until it is hot and steaming. Remove the pan from the heat and add the shortening and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, stirring until the shortening has melted into the milk. Let the milk and shortening cool to 110-degrees.

Transfer the milk and shortening to a large mixing bowl. Pour in the proofed yeast. Add 3 cups of the flour, stirring in one cup at a time.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of your electric mixer and stir in the kosher salt along with the remaining flour about 1 cup at a time, blending in with a dough hook on low speed.

Knead the dough using the dough hook on low speed until the dough is very smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes. Grease a large mixing bowl. Turn the dough out into the bowl, turning once or twice to lightly coat the dough. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle coarsely ground cornmeal over the paper. Punch the risen dough down and turn it out onto a lightly floured board. Gently roll the dough to a thickness of ½”. Cut the dough with a 2-½” biscuit cutter. Gather up the scraps and roll out the remaining dough.

Place the rounds of dough on top of the baking sheets, leaving about an inch between them for rising. Sprinkle the tops with more cornmeal, cover the pans with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

Heat a griddle to 325-degrees. Cook the muffins for about 12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip the muffins over and continue cooking for an additional 6 to 8 minutes or until golden.

Transfer the muffins to racks to cool completely.

When you’re ready to toast, insert a fork all around the edges to split the muffins open, creating the nooks and crannies. Toast using a medium temperature just until lightly golden on the inside.

The muffins can be bagged and frozen. Makes about 20 English muffins.