With the school year starting back up, I am all about quick and easy breakfast ideas to get my kids out the door on time. I also do not want them to be starving after their first class. My solution: the English muffin! English muffins are so versatile and can be toasted or untoasted and topped with whatever you want. We love to fill them with eggs, Canadian bacon and strawberry jam to start the day with some protein. However, the sky is the limit when it comes to filling these carb filled muffins. What do you like to put in your English muffins?
When creating this recipe, I went through 6 different variations to come up with the perfect one. My first two tries tasted like a flattened dinner roll. Don’t get me wrong, you know my love of rolls, but what makes an English muffin perfect are all those nooks and crannies. Both of those options just did not have those needed holes. Round three and four were getting better and the fifth try was so close, but this recipe is perfection! They are soft yet sturdy, full of holes and so much tastier than those store bought ones. Also, added bonus is you don’t even need a mixer. The key to this recipe’s perfection is the long rise time (where all those perfect little nooks and crannies develop). This recipe is so easy and you will love your new breakfast option.
English Muffin Recipe
In a large plastic bowl, using a dough whisk or a rubber spatula, mix together the milk, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing between each cup to fully incorporate. Once the flour is fully incorporated, your dough will still be fairly sticky and shaggy looking.
Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for 5-8 hours. Every thirty minutes, for the first two hours of your rise time (so a total of 4 times), fold the sides of the dough towards the center using a dough whisk or rubber spatula.
For the remaining hours of the rise, let the dough remain untouched and covered. After the 5-8 hours, the dough should be more than doubled in size and full of bubbles/holes.
Line a large baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Also, add 1-2 cups of white cornmeal to a small bowl and set aside. Spray a clean work surface with cooking spray and remove the dough from the bowl onto your work surface. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal parts and roll each part into the bowl of cornmeal to lightly coat. Place each dough ball onto the lined pan and form each into about a 3 inch round (it does not have to look perfect). Place them about 1/2 inch apart on the pan so they all fit. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat a skillet (or fry pan on low heat) to 300 degrees F. Carefully place the cold dough onto the warm skillet and bake for 7-9 minutes per side until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Be sure to cook them while they are cold. If you don’t cook them all at once be sure to put the pan back into the refrigerator until ready to bake.
For best results, allow them to cool for several hours, but honestly who does that?! Divide them in half with a fork or your fingers (be sure they are cooled if you go that route!). Then toast them (or don’t) and fill them with your favorite creation. Enjoy!
English Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk, lukewarm cook in the microwave for 45 seconds
- 1 1/4 tsp yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 4 – 4 1/2 cups flour
Instructions
- In a large plastic bowl, using a dough whisk or a rubber spatula, mix together the milk, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Add the flour, one cup at a time, mixing between each cup to fully incorporate. Once the flour is fully incorporated, your dough will still be fairly sticky and shaggy looking.
- Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for 5-8hours. Every thirty minutes, for the first two hours of your rise time (so a total of 4times), fold the sides of the dough towards the center using a dough whisk or rubber spatula.
- For the remaining hours of the rise, let the dough remain untouched and covered. After the 5-8 hours, the dough should be more than doubled in size and full of bubbles/holes.
- Line a large baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. Also, add 1-2 cups of white cornmeal to a small bowl and set aside. Spray a clean work surface with cooking spray and remove the dough from the bowl onto your work surface. Divide the dough into 14-16 equal parts and roll each part into the bowl of cornmeal to lightly coat. Place each dough ball onto the lined pan and form each into about a 3 inch round (it does not have to look perfect). Place them about 1/2 inch apart on the pan so they all fit. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10-24hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat a skillet (or fry pan on low heat) to 300 degrees F. Carefully place the cold dough onto the warm skillet and bake for 7-9 minutes per side until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Be sure to cook them while they are cold. If you don't cook them all at once be sure to put the pan back into the refrigerator until ready to bake.
- For best results, allow them to cool for several hours, but honestly who does that?! Divide them in half with a fork or your fingers (be sure they are cooled if you go that route!). Then toast them (or don't) and fill them with your favorite creation. Enjoy!
