Tuesday, February 16, 2010

English muffins

As part of my goals for the year, I've been working on making more items from scratch that we would normally buy.  Today, it was making english muffins.  I wanted them to be whole wheat and made with ingredients that I could pronounce.  They were remarkably easy. 

The recipe is
1/4 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast (1 T of bulk yeast)
2 C whole wheat flour, plus about another 1/2 C for kneading
1 C white flour, or use all WW  (guess what I did)
1 t salt
1 C milk
3 T oil
1 T honey
1 egg
cornmeal for dusting

Bloom yeast in water, until foamy.  Mix flour and salt in large bowl.  In separate bowl, mix milk, oil, honey and egg, then add water and yeast.  Add liquid to the flour slowly and mix to combine.  I did this in my kitchen aid with the dough hook. 
 
Add enough extra flour to make a loose dough.  I tend to make my whole wheat doughs on the wet side.  It needed another 1/2 C of flour for me.  Then let rise in oiled bowl, covered with a towel, until doubled.  It will take an hour or so, depending on how warm it is.  My house is cold, so it took over an hour, even sitting next to my crock pot.
Then turn the dough onto a surface covered with cornmeal.  You then pat, or roll it to about 1/2 inch thick and cut out your rounds.  I used my 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter.  Put a towel over them and let them rise for another 20-30 minutes.  
 
Lastly, heat a griddle, or large skillet over medium heat.  Cook the muffins for 5 minutes, flip for another 5 minutes.  Continue flipping every 2-3 minutes until they are browned and the insides are soft, but not gooey.  You may need to cut into one to test it.  

 
They look like english muffins, don't they?

I had to try one with butter and my Triple Berry Jam.  It was delicious!

5 comments:

Lise said...

Oh, thank you so so much! I love English muffins, but they're a guilty pleasure, full of ingredients I don't really want us to eat and wrapped in plastic. I can't wait to try this! I've conquered bagels, now, so surely I can do this, right?

The Mom said...

Lise, these were easy. Much easier than bagels. Try it!

Daphne Gould said...

I so love english muffins. I ought to try it sometime.

kiwi gomes said...

They look nutricious and delicious! Yum!!!

kitsapFG said...

Well, I am definitely going to have to give this a go! That looks easy and yummy!