Recipe Notes: English Muffins

12 June 2018

Recipe from Bread Illustrated, America's Test Kitchen, 2016, p. 159.

I regularly enjoy English muffins for breakfast and I prefer Thomas Brothers brand. The first time I had something like and English muffin that was home made was from a microwave recipe that Diane tried when we were living in Pittsburgh, many years ago; they were good but we haven't made them since. I recently tried a recipe for  English muffin bread which was good, but not quite the same thing. So I have been looking forward to trying the recipe for English muffins from Bread Illustrated and I finally got around to it.

Like biscotti and bagels, English muffins are cooked twice. But first, the dough is made and it rests overnight to develop the yeasty flavor characteristic of English muffins. AP flour, yeast, and salt were whisked together in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a large measuring cup, milk, water, melted butter, and sugar were mixed. With the mixer on low speed, the liquid ingredients were slowly added to the flour mixture. Once the liquid was fully incorporated the dough was kneaded for about 8 minutes. It was then left to rest for 30 minutes. Using a bowl scraper the dough was folded over on itself 4 times and left to rest until it doubled in volume. Next, the dough was portioned into 2½-ounce balls placed on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. The dough was quite sticky and I used plenty of flour so it was workable. A second baking sheet was placed on top of the balls and they were refrigerated overnight. The weight of the second baking sheet worked very well to form the dough into the shape of English muffins. These were then dusted with cornmeal, cooked in a skillet until well browned, about 3 minutes a side, then baked to 205°-210°, about 8 minutes.

I was wondering how these muffins would compare with those from Thomas Brothers. They were comparable to the commercial muffins! Fork-split and toasted, they had a plenty of nooks and crannies to capture melted butter and other toppings and they had a pleasant yeasty flavor like their commercial counterparts. Time will tell if they were worth the effort compared to picking up a package at the supermarket, but I wouldn't be surprised if homemade English muffins become a regular feature of my breakfasts.