Homemade English Muffins

Is there anything more comforting than the smell of toast? I heard somewhere, probably a reputable source like the radio or wikipedia, that the smell of toast instantly relieves stress because it reminds people of home. For me, the smell of toast makes me hungry. It does not matter if I've just eaten, if I smell toast, I want some!

This is NOT a post with instructions on how to make toast. We are more adventurous in the kitchen than that! This post is about making English muffins at home. And believe me, these are better than the store bought version. These muffins are not made in a muffin tin like their blueberry or poppy seed counterparts. English muffins are cooked on a griddle like a pancake. Once cooked and cooled, these muffins are very toastable.

This is a yeast-leavened recipe, so plan on these muffins taking a few hours start to finish because you have to factor in dough rising time.

Pour the yeast onto the warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles around the side of the pan. Stir in the sugar until dissolved and remove from heat.

Check the yeast. At this point, the yeast should be bubbly and activated.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the warm milk mixture, yeast, melted shortening, and 3 cups of flour. Stir on medium speed until combined.

Stir in the salt and remaining 3 cups of flour until the dough comes together to form a soft dough.

Let the stand mixer continue running for 10 minutes on medium speed, kneading the dough.

Place kneaded dough into a well oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit in a warm place in your kitchen until doubled in size, 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Look at that yeast action! Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a well floured surface.

Roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out circles using a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Dust with cornmeal.

Place the rounds of dough onto the cornmeal. Sprinkle more cornmeal over the tops of the rounds to coat both sides.

Let rise on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Preheat your griddle to medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Cook the muffins for 12-14 minutes until bottom side is browned.

Flip muffins and cook for 12-14 minutes more until browned on both sides.

Remove muffins from the griddle and let cool completely on a wire rack. This is a VERY important step. When these muffins come off the griddle, they continue to bake internally. This is called carry over baking. If you slice a hot english muffin in half before it has the chance to cool, the center will be gummy because it hasn't finished baking yet. So be patient. It'll pay off! When they are cool, slice open a muffin and spread with butter, jam, honey, cream cheese, or delicious Cinnamon Honey Butter. 

Homemade English Muffins

recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 1/2 tsp yeast

1 cup warm water
1/4 cup Crisco, melted
6 cups flour
1 tsp salt
cornmeal, for dusting

Directions:

In a small bowl, pour the yeast onto the warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes, allowing the yeast to activate and become bubbly.

Meanwhile, heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it bubbles around the edges. Add the sugar, stirring until dissolved completely. Remove from heat.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine heated milk and sugar mixture, yeast, melted shortening, and 3 cups of flour. Stir on medium speed until combined. Add salt and remaining 3 cups of flour, continuing to stir on medium speed until the dough comes together to form a soft dough. Keep the stand mixer running on medium speed for 10 minutes, kneading the dough.

Place kneaded dough in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm space in your kitchen. Allow dough to rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until doubled in size.

Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to 1/2" thickness. Cut circles out of the dough using a round cookie or biscuit cutter. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or a silpat and dust with cornmeal. Place the circles of dough onto the cornmeal covered baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops of the rounds with cornmeal. Allow rounds of dough to rise 30 minutes more on the baking sheet.

Preheat griddle to medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Cook muffins 12-14 minutes per side, until browned. Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing. Toast and serve with honey, jam, butter, cream cheese or Cinnamon Honey Butter.