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English muffins

English Muffins

Preparation:20 minutes
Baking:20 minutes
Proving:1 hour 40 minutes
Total:2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 muffins
My homemade English muffins are utterly delicious and one of my favourite breakfasts. I love them sliced, toasted, slathered in butter and jam or made into a sandwich with ham and eggs. 

INGREDIENTS LIST
 

  • 250 ml milk
  • 15 g fresh yeast (5g dried yeast)
  • 400 g white bread flour (plus extra for dusting worksurface)
  • 5 g fine sea salt
  • 5 g caster sugar
  • 1 medium egg (lightly beaten)
  • 40 g butter (softened)
  • 30 g fine semolina flour (optional for dusting )

Preparation
 

  • Dough: In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk until it reaches body temperature 37°C/98°F. You should be able to comfortably put your finger in it and hold it there. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast.
  • Remove from the heat and stir in the yeast. Set it aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to react.
  • In a large bowl (or in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook), combine the flour, salt, sugar and egg.
  • Using your hands or a stand mixer, add the yeast mixture to the flour and knead into an elastic dough (4 minutes). The dough will be sticky, but avoid adding extra flour. (see notes)
  • When the dough is smooth, add the softened butter and continue to knead until there are no visible traces of butter left. This stage will be a little messy by hand but it will come together after a few minutes.
    Once the butter has been absorbed, I like to let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the gluten to develop and then knead for another minute. I find this gives you a much smoother, elastic finish to the dough.
  • Cover the bowl with a kitchen cloth and leave to prove at room temperature for an hour or until doubled in size.
  • Shaping: Dust the work surface with a mixture of the semolina and flour. Turn out the dough onto the worksurface and divide the dough into eight equal parts. I usually cut the dough ball into 4 and then cut each wedge in half again for simplicity.
    English muffins
  • Shape each piece of dough into a round ball, then gently press the ball down (I like to use an 8-9 cm (3-4 inch) biscuit cutter to push the ball dough into, this helps to form a nice even shaped disk).
  • If you have the space, you can leave the muffins on the dusted worksurface covered with a kitchen towel to rise for 30-40 minutes or place them on a small tray sprinkled with semolina that fits in your fridge overnight if you want to bake them for breakfast. Ensure to leave some space between them so they can rise and let them come to room temperature for 30 minutes prior to cooking.
  • Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6.
  • Baking: Place a large cast-iron skillet or non-stick pan with a lid over a low-medium heat. In batches, brown the muffins for 2-3 minutes each side and then transfer them to a baking tray. Once all the muffins have been browned in the pan, finish baking them in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
    English muffins

Notes & Tips

Storage and freezing: These English muffins will keep well at room temperature stored in a bread bag or airtight container for 3-5 days. Simply toast them to enjoy! Store them up to 3 months in the freezer, just defrost them overnight in the fridge then toast before serving.
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KEYWORDS bread recipes, breakfast muffins, English muffins, muffin recipes

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