English Muffins
English muffins are one those foods that never really occurred to me to make from scratch. I had a similar revelation with pita bread, actually. Sure, I bake loaves of bread quite often and have even made things like brioche, challah and bagels. Yet, for some reason it seems that there are foods that somehow magically appear in their packaging and surely must not have been made by human hands. For me, English muffins always fell into this category. They are perfectly split, have those nooks and crannies that so expertly collect pools of butter and jam, and are covered with a dusting of cornmeal that may have been sprinkled by the bread fairy. Imagine my shock when I finally hunkered down to make English muffins and discovered that they are actually EASY! No harder, in fact, than a simple loaf of white bread. They are delicious, their aroma will make your mouth water, and they have nooks and crannies that provide little swimming pools just waiting to be filled with sweet, creamy butter. Move over store-bought English muffins, you’re no longer needed!
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The process for making English muffins is very simple – you mix up the dough, which is strikingly similar to that of a basic bread dough, and you let it rise. Then you divide the dough into six pieces, shape into balls, and let them rise. Once they have doubled in size, the fun begins. English muffins actually start baking on the stoveop – a skillet or griddle (I used a cast iron skillet) is used to brown the muffins on both sides, and then they are moved to the oven to finish baking. Total baking time is less than 25 minutes – not too shabby! Since they are fairly small, the muffins cool pretty quickly – you’ll be gobbling up butter-and-jam slathered English muffins before you know it!
Is there a food that you never thought about making from scratch?
More favorites from Peter Reinhart:
Soft Cheese and Pepperoni Bread
Egg Bagels, Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels and Original Bagels
Potato Rosemary Bread
Greek Celebration Bread
Anadama Bread
English Muffins
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups (281.25 g) unbleached bread flour, (10 ounces)
- ½ tablespoon (0.5 tablespoon) granulated sugar, (.25 ounce )
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) salt, (.19 ounce )
- 1¼ teaspoons (1.25 teaspoons) instant yeast, (.14 ounce )
- 1 tablespoon shortening or unsalted butter, at room temperature, (.5 ounce )
- ¾ to 1 cup (177 to 236 ml) milk or buttermilk, at room temperature, (6 to 8 ounces )
- Cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- 1. Stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Stir in (or mix in on low speed with the paddle attachment) the shortening and ¾ cup milk until the ingredients form a ball. If there is still loose flour in the bowl, dribble in some of the remaining ¼ cup milk. The dough should be soft and pliable, not stiff.
- 2. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes (or mix for about 8 minutes), sprinkling in more flour if needed to make a tacky, but not sticky, dough. It should pass the windowpane test and register 77° to 81° degrees F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
- 3. Ferment at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size.
- 4. Wipe the counter with a damp cloth and transfer the dough to the counter. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces of 3 ounces each. Shape the pieces into boules (or round rolls). Line a sheet pan with baking parchment, mist the parchment lightly with spray oil, and dust with cornmeal. Transfer the balls of dough to the sheet pan, spacing them about 3 inches apart. Mist them lightly with spray oil, sprinkle them loosely with cornmeal, and cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap or a towel.
- 5. Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the pieces nearly double in size and swell both up and out.
- 6. Heat a skillet or flat griddle to medium (350°F if you have a thermometer setting). Also, preheat the oven to 350°F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
- 7. Brush the pan or griddle with vegetable oil or mist with spray oil. Uncover the muffin rounds and gently transfer them to the pan, sliding a metal spatula under them and lifting them to the pan. Fill the pan so that the pieces are at least 1 inch apart, not touching. Cover the pieces still on the sheet pan with the plastic wrap or a towel to prevent them from developing a skin. The dough that is being cooked will flatten in the pan and spread slightly, then the pieces will puff somewhat. Cook them for 5 to 8 minutes, or until the bottom of the dough cannot cook any longer without burning. The bottoms should be a rich golden brown; they will brown quickly but will not burn for awhile, so resist the temptation to turn them prematurely or they will fall when you flip them over. Carefully flip the pieces over with the metal spatula and cook on the other side for 5 to 8 minutes in the same manner. Both sides will now be flat. When the dough seems as if it cannot endure any further cooking without burning, transfer the pieces to a sheet pan and place the pan in the oven (don't wait for the still uncooked pieces, or the ones just out of the pan will cool down and will not respond to the oven stage). Bake for 5 to 8 minutes on the middle shelf in the oven to ensure that the center is baked. Meanwhile, return to the uncooked pieces and cook them, then bake them, as you did the first round.
- 8. Transfer the baked muffins to a cooling rack and cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Love. this. recipe. I swear by this and probably made more than 30 batches of English muffins in the span of 2 years or so. They are perfect for breakfast with egg and cheese. Just a spread of jam or butter and I’m in a bread heaven!
I made them both with buttermilk and milk and I prefer milk in this recipe. I don’t use the stand mixer for this recipe and a good 10 minute kneading results in a pliable, elastic dough that rises beautifully. Yum!
English muffins – if you make ahead of time, how do you reheat or keep fresh? Can you start the night before or would allowing to rise overnight ruin them?
Hi Renee, Store these in an airtight container. You can reheat them on the stovetop or a toaster or toaster oven (I’ve never tried reheating in the microwave). Sometimes, dough can be left to proof overnight but it would need to be refrigerated so that it is a slow rise, otherwise the dough would rise so much it would collapse on itself. I have not tried that with this particular recipe, though, so I can’t guarantee how it would turn out.
These were good, but next time I will try a different recipe. When I cooked them, they never spread out or flattened and I ended up with 6 muffins that were almost 2 inches tall! Maybe divide them into more, flatter muffins? Also, there were absolutely no nooks and crannies. Just light-ish bready texture inside.
This was wonderful, and turned out great!
I was a bit worried about the altitude (I live in Colorado), but these still turned out perfect.
Hard to find a simple, efficient, and good recipe for English muffins, but this is definitely the one I’ve been looking for. No unnecessary extra steps, and the part about finishing a batch in the oven while working on the next makes this recipe easy to scale, without adding much time to the process. Love it!
I had high hopes for these muffins but unfortunately they turned out awful… rock hard and with a weird texture. I’m sad to say they went straight to the bin. I have quite good baking experience and can easily make croissants, naan breads, and all sorts of rolls and buns but the two recipes that I have tried from your site have both been disasters.
These muffins are fantastic! How clever to shape them into balls, no rings required. Easy peasy. I flattened them slightly with the spatula when I turned them over in the frying pan, to get the perfect English muffin shape. These are also great as a hamburger bun, or a snack with cheese, and on the picnic.
Great recipe! I activated the yeast first for a few minutes, and didn’t need to bake as long in the oven. Yum!
Great recipe, but I thought I’d share my experience making these English Muffins. I followed the recipe per your instructions completely but I wasn’t happy with the results (and I bake, a lot). The recipe was great, truly, I will continue to use it, but I will not follow your instructions to use my mixer when the second batch, I decided to put everything in a bread machine and set on dough cycle and when it came time to make into balls, I used a cutter to make perfectly round English Muffins. I allowed them to rise and again I followed your recipe, the first time your instructions state put on 350 degree griddle for 8 minutes, first batch the crust was crustier than I’d like, still not burnt but not really my standard. The second batch I put on a hot griddle at 325 and let them cook slowly and to form a nice crust (we have to put them in the oven another of your instructions, which I agree with) so to truly brown to a dark color isn’t necessary. Anyway, the second batch did come out beautifully, light and fluffy. Every baker finds ways to improve on someone elses recipe or at least they should. They gain more respect for the person who originated the recipe. I also chose to use Buttermilk which is my secret weapon in several baked goods.
I just want to thank you for a very successful baking weekend. Yesterday made your salted caramel muffins and today made your English muffins. Next time I make them I’llnot have my griddle pan so hot, they came out a little too dark. Not to worry though I just cut off the “darker” bit. I didn’t have a lot of nooks and cranniesz, but they still tasted great. Now have to plan what I’m going to do next as there are so many!! I live in Spain so some ingredients are a big difficult to find like butterscotch chips, do you have any suggestions for a substitute ? Thanks again.
Hi Andrea, I would probably substitute white chocolate chips for butterscotch – they’re sweeter than a traditional semisweet chip.
I tried this recipe and they turned out a little dense, but the taste was wonderful. Much better than store-bought! They are easy to do. The griddle was great because they could all be cooked at once. This recipe made 6 quite large muffins. It would probably make 8 regular sized. Also, I just went with 8 mins per side on the griddle and no oven and they were completely cooked inside. Maybe it depends on how hot your pan/griddle gets, but this is what worked for me. Thanks for the recipe!
Mine came out huge too! I just tried this recipe for the first time last night. I ended up with enough dough for 3.4 oz each instead of the 3, so I don’t know if they were oversized and that is what caused them to be different? I don’t think they were dense, but the inside did not have those little nooks and crannies (and I’m only allowed to make them for my husband if they have the nooks and crannies). I did about 6 minutes each side and 6-7 in the oven. They still taste amazing.
put lots of butter on that and it would be a dream come true.
Could it be made with whole wheat flour instead of unbleached white?
Hi Audrey, I haven’t used whole wheat in these, so I can’t say for sure how they would turn out, but I would probably start with 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 all-purpose and go from there.
I always have English muffins in my home, and usually have more stashed away in the freezer. I love the idea of making them myself though! And that’s what I did, they are great thank you for sharing this! I want to try to make whole-wheat ones next time.
Love, love, love this recipe! I will never buy another english muffin from the store. Thanks for the recipe :)
You are most welcome, so glad you loved it! I agree – these blow store bought English muffins out of the water!
Being an englishman, I believe that muffins were made for one thing, and one thing only. Eggs Benedict. Toast these muffins, top with bacon and poached eggs, and finish with Hollandaise sauce. The King of breakfasts!
Ciao for now.
I made this same recipe, Chelle. I loved it! Your muffins look fantastic, too :-)
My absolute favorite English muffins in the world are from the Model Bakery in Napa Valley, CA. I have been searching for a recipe that reminded of these amazing treats and looks like you’ve cracked the code! Can’t wait to try them…
Christie Bishop
http://www.PardonMyCrumbs.com
I can’t believe that I have not thought about making these either! I buy a pkg every week as I have one for breakfast almost every morning. Goodbye store made, hello home made. The recipe seems so easy – I can’t wait to try it.
I have all of Peter Reinharts books. I can’t wait to try this recipe! It looks fantastic. My girls love English Muffins!
I love muffins, with this version it will surely strengthen my cravings for muffins everyday
Those look amazing and I loved the write-up. I cracked up imagining the bread fairy dusting the cornmeal, I think that fairy comes to our house occasionally! :-) I’m trying these muffins and filling those crannies with butter and cinnamon. As for a food I never thought of making from scratch but do now is mayonnaise. And I’ve discovered you can infuse with all sorts of yummy flavor innuendos.
I’ve been seeing lots of tweets lately by food bloggers (including you) making English muffins, bagels, graham crackers and marshmallows, all of which I used to think had to be purchased. I want to try them all! Last summer I learned to make some chocolate-covered candies that I thought had to be bought ~ faux Peppermint Patties, Almond Joys and Peanut Butter Cups. What I really loved was that the filling was from one basic recipe. Super easy. Messy, but easy. :-) Thanks for the recipe. “See” you on Twitter. Dani ddh77
You know, English Muffins are a food I never thought about making from scratch until now. You make it seem so easy!
These look amazing! Thanks so much for posting this, I’ve always wanted to make english muffins :)
I tried this recipe not too long ago as well and I completely agree with you – these are SO much better than store-bought and really not too difficult. Yours look wonderful!
Homemade english muffins, it would have never crossed my mind! But there are those morning where I just crave them but don’t feel like running out to the store to get them, now i can make them with your recipe!
Very cool. I knew that English muffins were not hard to make. Like all others, I have sat on my hands on making them. I shall have to get the keister in gear! The sad part is I actually own the book as well!
Thanks for the great recipe, Chelle. I’m starting my own “must make” list and English muffins are on it. It’s my “30 Things to Make While I’m 30”. Let the fun begin!
English muffins are the sick in bed comfort food for me. Buttered with a cup of tea. To make my own would be great, for like you, I think of them in the package made by Thomas.