In January I started writing on another site called Home Chef World. I was hired to provide them with between 4 and 8 recipe posts a month. This is in addition to what I share here. I have really enjoyed doing it thus far and I hope this lasts a long longer than my other job did. One never knows with the unstable world we are living in at the moment, but one thing is for sure, people will always want and need to eat.
One of the recipes I will be sharing on there over this next month required English Muffins. Do you think I could find any? None to be had anywhere, and I tried. We are living in precarious times and I have realised that certain things have become very difficult to find. One is flour (we won't talk about toilet paper).
I am rationing my flour out very carefully because I don't know how long it will be before I can get any more. It has become a very precious commodity in this house.
I did a lot of research before I picked a recipe to try. I am not the most experienced bread baker and my results have always tended to be a bit hit and miss. I found this recipe on a site called Bigger Bolder Baking. It also had a video, and quite a few good reviews, so I felt fairly confident in using this recipe
It differed a bit somewhat in the English Muffins I am used to in that there is no cornmeal or semolina involved. Some recipes use this to keep the dough from sticking to things. You do need to start it 18 hours prior to when you want to bake/grill them.
You do not need an oven for these. They cook entirely on top of the stove in a large non-stick skillet with a lid. I found that my dough was a tiny bit drier than what hers looked like, so I was a bit worried that it wouldn't turn out, but my fears were completely unfounded. It was perfect.
They cooked very easily in my largest skillet. I was going to use my griddle pan until I realised I didn't have a lid to cover it. DUH.
Using a lid to cover the muffins while they are first baking is integral to the success of the recipe. This action allows them to rise higher and to cook thoroughly.
You might be interested to know that English Muffins are not really English at all, although they were invented by an English Ex Pat, living in New York City named Samuel Bath Thomas back in 1874.
Invented in America by an Englishman. He owned a bakery known as Chelsea (could there be a more British name?) and were originally called Toaster Crumpets.
They were very quick to catch on and became very popular in Hotels and restaurants, soon taking on the name of "English Muffins."
The best way to open up an English Muffin is to run the tines of a fork into them all around the centre of the circumferance of the warm muffins. Once you have done that. it is very easy to gently pull them apart.
This helps to prevent them from being squashed . . . they are filled with lovely butter catching holes, nooks and crannies and separating them with a fork helps to create even more.
Oh my . . . I have fallen in love. Their texture was beautiful. Todd enjoyed one later on, toasted on the open side under the hot grill and those little nooks and crannies, toasted up really nicely.
Just beautiful . . . . I enjoyed one warm from the oven with some cold butter thinly sliced over top . . . .
and some Bonne Maman Intense strawberry jam. Oh boy, but this was sooooo good!
They were light and fluffy, beautifully golden brown on the outside and crisp at the edges . . .
I could find no fault with them, no fault at all . . .
In fact the worst thing I have to say about these is that once you have tried one you will never ever be happy again with a ready made one. Never ever.
English Muffins
Yield: makes 8 to 10
These are fabulous. The worst thing you can say about them is that once you eat one of these you will be forever spoilt from ever enjoying a store made muffin again. You will need to start these the day before.
Ingredients:
- 350g strong bread flour (2 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 160ml milk (2/3 cup)
- 120ml water (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBS salted butter
Instructions:
How to cook English Muffins
- Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the yeast on one side of the bowl and the salt on the other. Don't let them touch as salt kills yeast. Mix lightly together.
- Measure the milk and water into a microwave safe jug. Add the butter. Cook for about 30 seconds in the microwave to melt the butter and slightly warm the milk mixture. The temperature should be only blood warm. Take care not to over heat.
- Holding some of the liquid mixture back, stir it into the dry mixture, adding only enough to give you a soft dough. It may be a bit sticky, and you may not need it all. Cover bowl with a sheet of plastic cling film and then cover with a clean tea towel. Set aside in a warm, draft free place for 12 to 18 hours. (You can refrigerate the dough after 18 hours if you are not quite ready to griddle them.)
- When you are ready to bake, dust a surface lightly with flour. Scrape the dough out onto the surface. Recover with the cling film and kitchen towel. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Line a baking tray with baking parchment.
- At the end of the rest time, gently pat out to a thickness of about 1 inch. Using a sharp 3 inch round metal cutter dusted in flour, stamp out rounds, removing and placing them onto the baking sheet as you cut them out, leaving plenty of space in between. Continue until you have cut all the rounds out. Any scraps leftover can be rerolled and cut into rounds, although they won't be quite as perfect in appearance as the others.
- Cover the muffins with cling film and the kitchen towel and set aside to rest for 45 minutes.
- At the end of that time heat a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat. It should feel quite warm when you hold your hand just above the surface. Working in batches, carefully remove the muffins from the baking sheet, about 4 at a time, and transfer them into the heated pan. Do not crowd them. Leave at least 2 inches between each muffin. Cover with a lid and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes until golden brown on the underside. Having the lid on will create steam which will help the muffins to rise and cook thoroughly.
- Once the underside is golden brown, carefully flip over and toast on the other side.
- Set aside to let them cool slightly before eating. I like to split them in half using a fork, sticking it carefully into the centre of the muffins all the way around and gently pulling them apart. This gives you lots of craggy bits. Serve warm with butter and jam.
- Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Split and toast in a toaster or under the grill. You make also freeze the in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
In fact these are so good thatI think that I may have to make some again really soon. I highly recommend!
