English Muffins... yeah they are great.

love the plug in the background... but really they are tasty, ignore my photography skills. 

So the other day as I was perusing pinterest I came across a recipe for English muffins. I am not a big bread person, but I have a soft spot for English muffins, especially with butter and apricot jam. Since I am still on my quest to gain weight and add bread to my diet I thought I would give it a whirl. The recipe is so easy, seriously you have lovely English muffins in 45 minutes, which seemed great to me because it didn’t involve buckling Mikey into the car, making sure he had milk (because what would a car ride be without milk, oh wait a screaming car ride), finding the English muffins, waiting in line, rebuckling, and driving home. Plus there are so few ingredients my guess is that they cost about the same as the store ones, and most people have these items on hand (maybe not the cornmeal, but splurge, spend the $2 it makes the recipe and you can use it... for awhile).

Okay so I have made these twice now (in 3 days) and found that the original recipe needed a bit of tweaking to be perfect or to work for me. Not sure why but here is my edited verion and a link to the original because her pictures are great and mine were taken with my phone.

Delicious English Muffins in 45(ish) Minutes

Makes about 12

Ingredients

3 c. all purpose flour (yeah the white stuff)

¾ c. milk (I used whole because we always have it for Mikey. Have extra milk ready you might need it)

2 T. butter (unsalted/salted whatever)

1 ½ T. honey

½ c. warm water

1 ¼ t. rapid rise yeast (no really you need to use the rapid rise kind if you want it in 45 minutes)

½ t. salt

1-2 T. cornmeal

½ t. sugar

Directions

1.     fill a large sauce pan with water. Boil. Pour boiling water into a large loaf pan, place at the bottom of your oven and shut the door (shh…. It is a secret trick!)

2.     Mix water and yeast in a container, slowly add a tiny tiny bit of sugar (to feed the yeast), stir, and set aside.

3.     Meanwhile, mix salt and flour together in a large bowl… yeah that is a separate step.

4.     In a sauce pan combine honey, milk, and butter. Simmer until the butter is melted but it is NOT boiling. Okay this part is important, pour mixture into another bowl, stick your finger in it (no really do it), if it is too hot to leave your finger in for 10 seconds wait until it isn’t (take your finger out, clearly). When it cools so you can put your finger in add the yeast. If the mixture is too hot you will kill the yeast, I have found this trick is pretty accurate… granted I guess it depends on your pain threshold but whatever. Mix until combined.

5.     Make a well/divet in the flour, pour the liquid in, mix. If it is sandy add milk until things combine. You can add cold milk, the rest of the dough should be warm enough.

6.     Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.

7.     Meanwhile back at the ranch clean up your mess and get ready for more.

8.     Lightly flour a clean counter (no really wash it first).

9.     Get your cookie cutter ready. I use a plastic kids cup from Ikea for mine (no round cookie cutters here). Have flour in hand just in case your dough is too sticky.

10.  Prep baking sheet, put wax or parchment paper down (they will stick, you DO want to do this).

11.  Knead your dough for a minute. Make sure it isn’t too sticky, knead in additional flour as needed (haha).

12.  Roll dough out, should be about ½ inch thick. Cut with cookie cutter or cup if you are me.

13.  Place cut muffins on prepared baking sheet. Once all muffins are cut sprinkle both sides with cornmeal (not too much but enough to make them English muffins).

14.  Cover with a clean towel and place in oven (you know with the boiling water which by now has made the oven a great place for bread to rise). Let dough rise for 20-30 minutes or until dough has risen a bit (not doubled in size but puffed a bit, you will be able to tell).

15.  Clean up your mess (no really it makes enjoying the muffins at the end a million times better).

16.  Heat a large non stick skillet on medium. Place uncooked muffins in pan, and toast/cook until they reach your desired toastiness level, or about 6 minutes per side. Flip and repeat. Place cooked muffins on a plate. The sides may look a bit doughy, split into one and make sure everything is cooked through. I found that they tend to look less cooked than they actually are.

17.  Be super impressed that you made English muffins to rival the grocery store.

*warning: there are not nearly as many nooks and crannies in these homemade English muffins than the store bought version. They are meant to be denser and more filling… so sorry! They are still really tasty!

Oh and go to the link for inspiration. Her photos are beautiful, it really will make you want to whip up a batch.