Recipe: English Muffins

Recipe Source: Ingram, Christine and Jennie Shapter.  Bread.  Anness Publishing, London, 2007 p. 144

And so we return to breakfasts.  For a very long time I had eliminated breakfast from my diet, not being particularly hungry in the morning and wanting to shave calories anyway.  Well, the decreased appetite was part of a specific medical issue that was taken care of recently, and now I'm finding that I am absolutely ravenous when I get up in the morning.  Toward that end, I've been trying to come up with tasty morning treats that won't require me to use any equipment before I've had my coffee.  This has largely involved toast, as you've seen with the Vermont Oatmeal Honey-Maple Bread and the Cheese Bread.  I was trying to think of something to make for the coming week when I found this recipe for English muffins. 

I made no changes at all, and I was quite pleased with how they came out.  They lacked the "nooks and crannies" popularized by a certain Mr. Thomas, but they tasted better than store-bought.  They kept decently from Sunday until Thursday, getting a little stale but what did I care I was toasting them anyway.  If I had refrigerated them I have every confidence that they would have lasted the week. 

English Muffins (made 12; approx. $0.48/serving)

4 cups white bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 2/3 cups lukewarm milk

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 ounce active dry yeast

1 tablespoon olive oil

Equipment:

• Baking sheets
• Small bowl
• Stand mixer with bread dough attachment
• Rolling pin
• 3" plain cutter or pint glass (guess which I used)
• Griddle or large, dry frying pan

1. Combine 1/3 cup of the lukewarm milk, the sugar and the yeast in the small bowl.  Let sit 5 - 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer. 
3. Add the yeast mixture and mix on low speed for 2 minutes, until combined.
4. Increase speed very slightly and knead 4 - 5 minutes, until the dough holds its shape.
5. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 - 60 minutes
6. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll to about 1/2" thick. 
7. Using the cutter or pint glass, cut rounds out of the dough.  I re-rolled the scraps and got 12 out of what was supposed to provide 9 muffins with no noticeable difference in quality. 
8. Cover and let rise 30 minutes.
9. Warm the griddle (or frying pan, which is what I used since I don't have a griddle) over medium heat. 
10. When hot, transfer the muffins in batches to the griddle.  Cook 5 - 7 minutes per side, until each side is brown.  Watch carefully so you don't burn them!
11. Serve, or store and serve toasted.