I think I will never again need to buy Thomas's English Muffins at the grocery store. I've got a notebook filled with bread recipes that I've been collecting from one place or another. I had a whirlwind of a day yesterday so when the spirit moved me in the afternoon to bake something, I found myself gravitating towards this English muffin recipe from the King Arthur Flour website. It seemed like something I could tackle pretty easily. At first, I couldn't wrap my head around any kind of bread being "dry fried". I can only say that this recipe made me feel like I could be a master bread baker. The muffins turned out perfect and they were so ridiculously easy to make. I really loved the fact that I could finally dust off the griddle attachment (never used since we've been in this house for 5 years) for the stove. This recipe makes 16 English muffins. My stove top griddle only accommodates 6 muffins at a time but I was patient and did them in batches. I felt like a freaking toddler jumping up and down yelling, "Look! It really is an English muffin! Look what I made!!!"
This is what they look like when first placed on the griddle:
And this is what they look like after I took them off the griddle to cool:
English Muffins
from King Arthur Flour
1 3/4 cups lukewarm milk (99-105 degrees)
3 Tablespoons softened butter
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to taste
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
semolina or farina for sprinkling the griddle or pan
1. Combine all the ingredients (except the semolina or farina) in a mixing bowl or the bucket of your bread machine.
2. This is a very soft bread dough, so you'll need to treat it a bit differently than most yeast doughs. If you have a stand mixer, beat the dough using the flat beater paddle until it starts coming away from the sides of the bowl and is satin smooth and shiny; this will take about 5 minutes on medium-high speed. When you lift the beater, the dough will be very stretchy. If you have a bread machine, simply use the dough cycle.
3. Scrape the dough into a rough ball and cover the bowl. Let the dough rise until it's nice and puffy; this will take about 1-2 hours. (Note: I covered my bowl with a tea towel and placed it in my microwave, which I ran for about 3 minutes prior so that it created a nice warm environment for the bowl to sit in for 2 hours. The dough doubled in size. Obviously, don't have your microwave running while your bowl is in there.)
4. Prepare your griddle. Using 2 griddles allows you to cook all your muffins at once; but if you don't have 2 griddles, you'll need to cook the muffins in shifts. Whatever you use-an electric griddle, stove top griddle, frying pan, electric frying pan- sprinkle it heavily with semolina or farina. If your using a griddle or frying pan that is not well-seasoned (or non-stick), spray it with non-stick vegetable oil spray first, before adding the semolina or farina. (Note: Next time I make these on my stove top, I will line underneath the griddle area with foil for easier cleanup. The semolina was everywhere.)
5. Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 16 pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball , then flatten the balls until they're about 3" to 3 1/2" in diameter.
6. The easiest way to handle these muffins is to lay them right on to the cold surface you'll be frying them on. That way, you don't have to move them once they've risen; and they won't mind cooking very slowly as you fire the griddle up to its desired heat. If you don't have enough griddle space to do this, sprinkle a baking sheet heavily with semolina or farina and place the muffins on the sheet; they can be fairly close together. Either way, sprinkle the tops of the muffins with additional semolina or farina. (Note: In my case, I started with 6 flattened balls of dough on the griddle and I let the others sit on a baking sheet until I was ready to do a new batch).
7. Cover the muffins (a piece of parchment paper will work fine) and let them rest for 20 minutes. They won't rise like crazy but will puff a bit.
8. Cook the muffins over low heat for 7 to 15 minutes per side, until their crust is golden brown, and their interior is cooked through. When done, the center of the muffin should register 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. If you've found that the muffins have browned before they're cooked all the way through, no worries; simply pop them into a preheated 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or so, or until they're thoroughly cooked.
9. Remove the muffins from the griddle (or oven) and let them cool thoroughly before enjoying. Remember: use a fork to split, not a knife to cut. Fork split muffins will have wonderful nooks and crannies; knife cut ones won't.
