English Muffins

 English Muffins 

I will never use another recipe other than this one by Bim’s Sourdough Bread  

Her sourdough English muffins are easy and absolutely to die for and they use 100% milk instead of water. 

I did cut the recipe in half to make 14 English muffina. 

Weighing in about 89 g each and there are pretty thick and fluffy. 

600 g bread flour 

380 g milk .. I do warm up my milk to somewhere between 80 and 90° f.

150 g active starter or discard that is one week old.. I use active 

40 g honey 

11 g salt 

1 and 1/2 eggs.. I know you're saying how do we get a half an egg out of a whole egg. Trust me it's possible lol

Mix all of the ingredients together and do the typical stretch and folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours. 

Proof another 2 hours or until it rises about 70% at 78° f. Adjust that based on the temperature in your home of course 

I personally shoved it in the fridge for the night just to do a cold retard and to get some extra sour flavor but you can bake immediately. 

Use semolina flour on a paper plate and after you've measured out your dough balls roll them in a ball put them on the plate on the semolina coat the top as well and gently shake it off and press it down between your palms and throw it on baking sheet with some parchment paper. 

Get out the frying pan and I have an electric stove so I set my temp at level 4 to lightly cook on both sides approximately two to four minutes just depending on your pan and whether it's electric or gas that you're using. 

They can burn easy so keep an eye on them 

You do NOT need any oil or butter or anything in your pan. The semolina floir's purpose is to keep the muffin from sticking to the pan. 

Then throw it into an oven at 375° f for 4 minutes and you're done.  Temp at 180-190 degrees.  

10-12

 Muffins

245 g milk, whole or 2% (1 cup plus 1 tsp.)

120 g water (1/2 cup)

56 g unsalted butter, cubed (4 Tbsp.)

75 g active sourdough starter (heaping 1/3 cup)

24 g sugar (2 Tbsp.)

500 g all purpose flour (4 cups plus 2 Tbsp.)

9 g fine sea salt (1 1/2 tsp.)

cornmeal or semolina for dusting

For frying: 

1 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Oil for frying

Warm the milk, water and butter together. Cool slightly before adding to the dough. In a large bowl, add the sourdough starter and sugar. Pour in the warm milk mixture while whisking to combine. Add the flour and salt. Mix with a fork to form a rough dough, and then finish by hand to fully incorporate the flour. Cover with a damp towel and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

After the dough has rested, return to the bowl and work the dough into a semi-smooth ball.

Bulk Rise: Cover container with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature defined as 70 F until double in size, about 8-10+ hours. Once risen, chill overnight in the fridge.

In the morning, remove the cold dough onto a floured work surface. Rest for 10 minutes. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper; sprinkle generously with cornmeal to prevent sticking.

With floured hands, pat the dough into a rectangular shape, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 10-12 rounds using the rim of a 3 or 5 inch drinking glass, large jar or biscuit cutter. Place the rounds onto your sheet pan and dust the tops with cornmeal.

Second Rise: Cover the dough with a damp towel or inverted rimmed sheet pan. Let rest at room temperature until noticeably puffy, about 1 hour or more depending on temperature. Note: I like to place my sheet pan on top of the oven while it warms up.

Cook:  Warm a large, non-stick skillet over low heat. (Optional, add a small amount of oil and butter) Do a test batch: place one round of dough into the pan. Cover with a lid. Cook on one side for 8-10 minutes, checking at the halfway mark for even browning. Lower the heat if necessary. Flip the dough over, cover, and cook the other side for 8-10 minutes. Repeat to cook the rest of the dough. When the English muffins are ready, they should feel lightweight and the sides should spring back when pressed gently.  The trick to English muffins is finding balanced heat. If the heat is too high, the muffins will brown too quickly on the outside leaving the center undercooked. If this happens, finish baking the muffins in a low-heat oven about 250 F until cooked through. Do a a test batch first, cooking only 1 muffin at a time until you get it right. Find it online: https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2024/04/super-soft-sourdough-english-muffins-overnight/