Today I am sharing my recipe for a real treat, homemade English muffins! They are so chewy, fluffy and make the best base for fried egg and bacon.
Do you want to elevate your breakfast and lunch and surprise your loved ones with an amazing sandwich? – make these golden beauties. These wonderful English muffins are a great alternative to a standard sandwich bread. Whether you want to serve it with a savoury or a sweet topping, hot or cold, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.
How to make homemade English muffins
There is nothing extraordinary in this recipe or overcomplicated. The first thing you need to do is to make the dough. This is yeast dough. I use standard instant yeast in granules, but you can use yeast of your choice. I would recommend activating yeast first before adding them to the flour mix. Then you need to knead the dough and let it proof until it doubles in size. Next roll the dough and cut out muffins using a cookie cutter. The last step is to cook muffins on a hot pan.
TIPS:
- Always check if your yeast are not out of date. Out of date yeast will not work.
- Make sure that you do not add yeast to a very hot milk. Hot temperature kills yeast and your dough will not raise.
- When you proof dough, make sure that you place it in a warm temperature. Ideally 22C-24C (71.6F – 75.2F).
- Do not roll the dough to thin or thick. I would recommend rolling the dough about 1 cm thick.
- Muffins should be cooked on a hot DRY pan. Do not add any fat for cooking.
- You can flavour your dough with pretty much any herbs or spices.
How to serve homemade English muffins
I like serving muffins warm. Cut them into half and warm up in a toaster or on a hot pan. Adding a generous amount of salted butter is obligatory. Butter makes everything better, do you agree?
Once you try these beauties, you will never look back. My husband completely fell in love with these muffins and requests them on a daily basis. I am not joking! I always have them in the freezer, so he can have his favourite breakfast.
You can serve muffins with pretty much with anything you want. In our house, I serve muffins with streaky crispy bacon and fried egg – my husband’s beloved duo. When we do not have bacon in the fridge, I add ham and cheese and warm it up on a pan, so the cheese can melt and ooze. This muffin can be a great base for famous Egg Benedict or Egg Royale. Pretty much any savoury combination will do, sky is the limit.
If you have a sweet tooth, you can spread some Nutella and add caramelised banana in the middle. OMG! I am telling you guys, you need to try it. Or try adding crunchy peanut butter and sliced strawberries – heaven!
Try replacing a burger bun with an English muffin. They are easier to eat and add a nice chewy texture to the mix.
How to store English muffins
This recipe makes from 10-12 muffins depending on the thickness and size of the cookie cutter you are using.
Store muffins in an air-tight container for up to 3-4 days at room temperature. If you store them in a fridge, they will last a little bit longer – up to a week.
Freezing muffins is easy. I sliced my muffins into half first, so they can defrost quicker. First, make sure that all the muffins are completely cold and place them in a Ziploc bag, making sure that the zip is properly closed. You can freeze muffins for up to 6 months. In order to defrost your chewy goodies, place them on a plate and leave at room temperature until they soften. Alternatively, place them in a toaster and cook from frozen.
These English muffins are to die for. Be careful though, once you make them, you will be asked to make them over and over again, they are soooooooo good!
If you are looking for more ideas for breakfast, I can recommend you the following:
Pumpkin and Guinness soft rolls
Cheese and coconut flour pancakes
You can find more amazing recipes for breakfast here
I hope you will make my recipe and if you do, please leave a comment below and let me know your feedback. You can also find me on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Gab and Gettr. Please say hi and do not forget to tag me in if you make my recipe. I love seeing your creations.
Recipe source – my Mother-in-law
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Instructions
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Please read recipe post as well. It includes storage direction and other useful information.Â
I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh ingredients as it helps to achieve the best results. The US measurements in cups are the estimate and I can not guarantee the best results.
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In a small pot mix together milk, butter and sugar, heat it up until just warm, not hot. Do not warm up milk too much as high temperature kills yeast and your muffins will not rise.
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Add yeast to the milk mix and set aside for 15 min. It will help to activate the yeast.
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In a big bowl add flour, salt, baking powder and the milk and yeast mixture. Knead the dough until smooth. It took me about 12 minutes. Dough should be smooth and not very sticky.
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Cover the dough with a cling film and a kitchen towel and leave the bowl in a warm place for about 1 hour or 1.30 min - until the dough doubles in size.
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When dough is ready, divide it into 3 parts. Add chili to one part, chives to the second part and leave the third part plain. This step is optional, you can leave your dough plain if you wish.
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Roll each piece of dough 1 cm thick and using a cookie cutter, cut the circles. I used 9 cm ( 3.5 inch) cookie cutter.
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Take a large baking tray or a chopping board, sprinkle it with corn mill. Place the circles on top.
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Sprinkle the tops of the dough with more corn meal.
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Cover the dough circles with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for about 30 min in a warm place.
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When you are ready to cook, heat up a medium baking pan and place dough on the pan.
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Cook muffins for about 7-8 min each side at medium heat until golden brown. DO not add any oil. The muffins should puff up nicely.
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Place muffins on a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.