Remember that really cool, awesome weekend when I made bread and I was freakishly excited? Well, while I had been slaving away on that focaccia, my friend Nicole was on the other side of the counter making homemade English muffins! Yep! Homemade. They were moist and perfect and delectable and so wonderfully easy. (Keep in mind, easy does not mean fast.) Nicole did such an amazing job at these and I was absolutely delighted when she said I could take several home for myself. Try out this recipe, you’ll never want store bought again!
The recipe comes directly from Mikayla at MyFairBaking. (Update: I believe her blog has been removed from the internet universe.)
Homemade English Muffins
Yield 16 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)
- 1/4 ounce yeast
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 5 cups all purpose flour, + more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Mix it gently and set it aside for ten minutes to let it lightly foam.
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter, and honey until the butter is melted. Let it cool.
- Gently combine the yeast and milk mixtures together.
- In a large bowl, sift 3 cups of flour and then stir in the milk and yeast. Sift the remaining flour into the bowl along with the salt and stir until it’s all mixed.
- Flour a large surface lightly and knead the dough for 3 minutes or until it’s lightly elastic. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly sprinkle it with half of the cornmeal.
- Re-flour your work surface and roll the dough out until it’s a 1/2 inch thick. (Err on the side of too thick.)
- Using a drink glass that’s about 3 inches in diameter, cut out about 16 circles. Gently place them on the cookie sheet (over the cornmeal) and sprinkle the tops with the rest of the cornmeal and cover them all with a dry, light cloth.
- Let them sit in a warm place (an ‘off’ oven will work) for about 45 minutes or until nearly doubled in size.
- Heat a heavy bottomed, ungreased skillet on medium low heat.
- Gently shake each dough muffin to remove some of the excess corn meal and place several muffins in the pan together without letting them touch each other. Keep the heat on low and cook them for about 8-10 minutes per side or until they’re browned well. Flip them over and brown the other sides.
- When each side is browned, remove them from the heat and let them cool lightly on a wire rack.
- Repeat the process until all of the muffins are done.
- Now, enjoy with all things wonderful! (And boast to the world that you made homemade English muffins!)