Today’s post is my first baking challenge of the new year and I’m excited to say it is the King Arthur recipe for English Muffins which can be found here. I was nervous that I would mess this recipe up for two reasons: 1. You “bake” this bread on the stove rather than in the oven and 2. I don’t have a bread maker or standing mixer like the recipe calls for. A friend helped me find a solution to the standing mixer concern and let me know that I can simply mix the dough the old fashioned way – with my hands/spoon. Once I was told that, I felt better but I was still worried that I would under or over mix it. Either way I just went for it! Read on to see how they turned out!
The first step to making the English muffins was pretty easy and involved weighing out 540 grams of flour (I used my scale thanks to my friend Meredith!). Then, I added the rest of the ingredients except for the Semolina flour to the mixing bowl. As I said before, I don’t have a stand mixer or a bread machine (I just have a hand mixer), so I had to mix the ingredients together with a large wooden spoon. The recipe warned that it would take some muscle and time, and thankfully I have been lifting weights so it wasn’t too bad (although I did feel my arms later lol!!)
Once the dough came together and looked satin-y smooth, I shaped it into a ball and placed it in a clear glass bowl to proof until it had puffed up nicely. It took about two hours to get it to be about double it’s original size.
While the dough was proofing, I prepared the pans I was going to use to cook the English muffins. Since I was using pans that were not already seasoned, I sprayed two pans with cooking oil and sprinkled a somewhat thick layer of Semolina flour across the surfaces.
Once the dough was beautifully risen, I deflated the dough with my fingers and dumped it out onto a cutting board so I could divide the dough into sixteen sections. I weighed it out to find that each piece should be about sixty-four to sixty-five grams. I rolled each one into a ball and then pressed them down into a disc that was about three inches or so in diameter across. I laid four of the dough pieces into one pan, three pieces into the other, and placed the rest of dough onto a baking sheet that had a layer of Semolina flour on it. Then, both pans and the baking sheet were covered with a piece of parchment paper and rested for 20 mins to allow for the dough to puff a little bit.
After the dough rested for a bit, I turned on the stove to medium-low and cooked the muffins for about 10 minutes per side until they started to expand a bit and each side was a nice golden brown. It was an interesting process because it kind of felt as though I was making pancakes. I was prepared to have to cook the muffins longer in the oven but when I stuck my thermometer into the centers of each muffin, it read to be at or close to 200 degrees. I placed the first batch on the cooling racks and then repeated the process until all 16 circles of dough were cooked through. It took a long time to finish all of them but I will say it was totally worth it.
Once the first batch of muffins were cooled, I had to dig in. Using a fork instead of a knife to keep the nooks and crannies in place, I cut the English muffin open to reveal a beautifully baked/cooked center. I bought some nice Kerrygold Irish salted butter and Sarabeth Orange Apricot Spread and smeared a nice layer of both onto the bread. I was so excited and relieved to taste the traditional flavors of an English muffin that had the right texture and consistency that I was hoping it would have.
Here’s the link to watch the process of how I made these – https://youtu.be/-9xEit19f-Q.
I totally encourage anyone to try this recipe out. It was incredibly satisfying to complete and it made enough for Pete and I to enjoy as well as share with some friends. If you do try it out, please let me know. Also, if you have any recipes you’d like me to try in an upcoming month, send them my way!
Sending you all lots of love,
Alanna
every so often... 
Leave a comment