We love english muffins, but the store bought ones are often a little tough… especially after being toasted, so I set out to develop tender, fluffy english muffins that are not too tough to make and not at all tough to eat…
Now these english muffins are exactly what I crave when I start dreaming about a good english muffin. They are thick, because they are super fluffy and they have a beautiful subtly sweet, buttery flavor.
Something else that I love about them is that they stay wonderfully tender for 3-4 days in just a regular bag at room temperature, which is not often true about scratch made baked goods.
If you love english muffins and want to make a batch of your own using real ingredients with no processed sugars or additives then I would love for you to give these a try!
Let’s get started…
This recipe is very straightforward and it comes together quickly, so I like to start by gathering everything I will need before I actually start putting it all together.
You will need 4 components:
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- A large bowl with 450 grams of bread flour, all purpose flour or a combination of both and 10 grams of salt (thats 3 1/2- 3 3/4 cups of flour total and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt)
- A small bowl with 60 grams of warm water, 18 grams of honey and 7 grams of active dry yeast whisked until combined (thats 1/4 cup of warm water, a tablespoon of honey and an envelope of active dry yeast)
- A small bowl with 58 grams of melted butter (4 tablespoons or a half stick)
- 305 grams of buttermilk (thats 1 1/4 cups of butter milk or 1 cup and 3 tablespoons of whole milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar stirred in to create your own buttermilk)
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Once your yeast has bloomed and is all nice and foamy, add it into the flour along with the melted butter and buttermilk and mix everything well until you have a sticky, craggy dough with no dry ingredients left behind.
See how the dough does not look like our typical smooth, elastic bread dough? That is actually what you are looking for. As long as all of the ingredients are evenly distributed and you don’t see dry flour left behind or clumped inside the dough, you can transfer it into a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.
Let it rest in a warm spot for about an hour or until it has doubled in volume. See how big and puffy it got? That is exactly what you are looking for….
Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and divide it into 8 equal portions.
This dough is very sticky, so flour your hands and shape each portion into round balls by pulling the outer edges into the center until the underside forms a smooth, round shape.
Transfer your shaped portions onto a flour board, a parchment lined baking sheet or you can just leave them on your floured counter top and cover them with a light kitchen towel to rest for 30-45 minutes.
While they are resting, place a backing sheet onto the center rack of your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees. Add about a half cup of cornmeal onto a small plate and place a large cast iron skillet or flat griddle onto your stovetop.
Now everything is ready to go as soon as the dough is nice and puffy.
As soon as the dough is all puffy, preheat your skillet for a few minutes over medium heat. Transfer one of the english muffins onto the plate with the corn meal, carefully flip it and then place onto the warm skillet.
It is perfectly fine if the dough deflates a little when you are handling it. I would still be gentle, but the dough is quite airy and it will puff back up as it cooks.
Cook the english muffin for a few minutes on the first side until it develops a golden brown crust and then carefully flip and cook on the other side until both sides are golden brown.
A few notes on cooking your english muffins…
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- Cook your english muffins on a dry skillet. No oil or non-stick spray needed this time.
- Keep an eye on the heat. Cast iron skillets are great at developing even heat, but they do tend to develop a little more heat than regular skillets do when they sit over heat for a while, so if you notice that the muffins are getting too brown too fast, reduce the heat a little.
- I needed to cook them in batches of 3, so after the first and second batch, I had quite a bit of cornmeal in the skillet and it started to burn a little. If this happens to you, carefully discard the excess cornmeal before adding your next batch.
- Because these english muffins are so thick and fluffy, it can be tough to cook them through on the stovetop, so after a few minutes on both sides, I transfer them into the preheated oven for 5-6 minutes to continue cooing those inner nooks and crannies.
- English muffins are fully cooked when their internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.
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Once your english muffins have been cooked, let them rest on a cooling rack until they are all done and once they are cooled, you can store them in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for 4-5 days.
They can also be individually wrapped and frozen if you don’t plan on eating them all in time.
These english muffins are fantastic. Thick, fluffy and just a little bit chewy with the absolute best flavor. That little bit of honey and butter we added into the dough shines through making them delicious as is or toasted and smothered in butter and jelly.
They are also perfect for breakfast sandwiches! Just split them with a fork, lightly toast and layer a slice of havarti, some crispy bacon or pancetta and an egg fried to your liking and you will have yourself one delicious breakfast sandwich!
Cheers!
English Muffins
Ingredients
- 450 grams of bread flour, all purpose flour or a combination of both (3 1/2 - 3 3/4 cups spooned and leveled)
- 10 grams of salt (1 1/2 teaspoons)
- 60 grams of water, warm (1/4 cup around 100 degrees)
- 7 grams of active dry yeast (1 envelope)
- 18 grams of honey (1 tablespoon)
- 58 grams of butter, melted (4 tablespoons or half of a stick)
- 305 grams of buttermilk (1 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 cup of cornmeal (for cooking)
Instructions
- Whisk 18 grams of honey into 60 grams of warm water until fully combined
- Add 7 grams of active dry yeast and set aside for about 5 minutes or until foamy
- In a large bowl, combine 450 grams of flour (you can use bread flour for more chewy English muffins, all purpose flour for more tender English muffins or a combination of both flours totaling 450 grams) with 10 grams of salt
- Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the flour along with 58 grams of melted butter and 305 grams of buttermilk and mix until a sticky, shaggy dough develops
- Transfer the dough into a large greased bowl, cover and rest in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in volume
- Transfer onto a floured surface and divide into 8 equal portions
- Shape the portions into round balls and let them sit on the floured surface
- Once all of the portions have been shaped, cover with a kitchen towel and rest for 30-40 minutes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place a parchment lined baking sheet on the center rack of the oven
- Place a large skillet over medium heat
- Add some cornmeal onto a plate
- Place a portion of dough onto the cornmeal, gently press into a disk shape and flip so both sides are lightly coated in cornmeal
- Place 2-3 portions into the skillet being sure not to crowd the skillet
- Cook for about 4 minutes per side to develop a golden brown crust and then transfer them onto the parchment lined baking sheet in the oven for about 5 minutes to finish cooking the interior
- Repeat the process with the remaining portions (be sure to set a timer for the English muffins in the oven!)
- Allow the English muffins to cool on a cooling rack
- Store fully cooled leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days
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