English Muffins

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WhateverYouWant

Sous Chef
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
Messages
609
Never made these before. Canvassed the recipe sites and came away with the following differences:

Water, milk, or buttermilk.
Egg white, or whole egg (beaten).
Vegetable oil, or melted butter.
Long proof (overnight fridge), or short proof (2hr warm room).
Griddle dry, or in clarified butter.
Griddle only, or griddle then finish in 350°F oven.

So what is your Go To English Muffin recipe/method?
 
i used to make them with the recipe from Joy of Cooking, the 1970s edition. I used whole wheat flour. I lived in a log cabin, so in winter, it was definitely a long rise. There were no "warm rooms" in winter in that cabin. I used butter or bacon fat; never tried oil. Fried on an electric skillet. I think I fried them dry, but don't remember for sure. I do remember there was a dusting of corn meal on the bottom. I never bothered to bake them afterwards. I'll post the recipe later, if I remember.
 
Never made these before. Canvassed the recipe sites and came away with the following differences:

Water, milk, or buttermilk.
Egg white, or whole egg (beaten).
Vegetable oil, or melted butter.
Long proof (overnight fridge), or short proof (2hr warm room).
Griddle dry, or in clarified butter.
Griddle only, or griddle then finish in 350°F oven.

A whole egg, milk and melted butter. Short proof.

I cook them on an electric griddle with just corn meal sprinkled on it. I use muffin rings because I like uniformity. If they are well browned but the internal temperature is not up to 200ºF, they go into a 350ºF oven to finish.

26D9C5CB-8FDB-4F05-9038-F5BB75248D12_1_105_c.jpg

SO is not a fan as they don't have enough "nooks and crannies". I'm going to try Alton Brown's recipe next.
 
A whole egg, milk and melted butter. Short proof.

I cook them on an electric griddle with just corn meal sprinkled on it. I use muffin rings because I like uniformity. If they are well browned but the internal temperature is not up to 200ºF, they go into a 350ºF oven to finish.

View attachment 43593

SO is not a fan as they don't have enough "nooks and crannies". I'm going to try Alton Brown's recipe next.

That's an excellent suggestion.
 
SO is not a fan as they don't have enough "nooks and crannies". I'm going to try Alton Brown's recipe next.

Thanks Andy. As opposed to using a cutter in rolled out dough, you may get more N&K by kneading/folding the dough gently, and then into individual balls, and lightly pressing them down. In other doughs, I have experienced rolling it out can deflate it more than hand forming it.

At least that is going to be the method I apply in my first try tomorrow... I'll let you know.
 
Thanks Andy. As opposed to using a cutter in rolled out dough, you may get more N&K by kneading/folding the dough gently, and then into individual balls, and lightly pressing them down. In other doughs, I have experienced rolling it out can deflate it more than hand forming it.

At least that is going to be the method I apply in my first try tomorrow... I'll let you know.

I don't use the muffin rings to cut out muffins from rolled out dough. The rings sit on the griddle surface and I portion the dough and shape it to fit in the rings. They rise in the rings then I cook them in the rings resulting in nice round muffins.
 
I don't use the muffin rings to cut out muffins from rolled out dough. The rings sit on the griddle surface and I portion the dough and shape it to fit in the rings. They rise in the rings then I cook them in the rings resulting in nice round muffins.

Hmmm... never used rings of that sort. Here is Claire's method from BA for forming (I think she is a pretty good baker):

https://youtu.be/yxGczEE3NSw

BTW, your fork splitting these, right? As opposed to using a knife?
 
Wow! Never attempted to make them myself.
Thomas's promises is what we buy. They are the best store bought I have found. I freeze them.

I am a horrible baker/pastry chef. Well not horrible. My wife says its good. She is supportive is all.
I am working on my bread skills as I write. The bread never comes out as I had hoped. I am tossing two loaves I made yesterday. Gotta get the old out for the new after all.
I may need to start a thread about my lacking of baking skills before I run out of baking supplies. I have lots of flour and yeast I bought. Pandemic purchasing.
I am certain y'all can help me.

Moderators. is it okay to start a help thread? Steps. Pick a bread and get it worked out. Then if possible move on to another bread? Practice type of deal.
I sure could use some continued guidance and maybe it could help others like me.
I really want to get this right. I love great bread. I love crusty loaves.
Maybe I'm trying to make bread that takes some skill instead of picking something like a loaf pan of regular white bread?
I do have one loaf pan. Only one though. I can get more. I'm certain I will need at least two given the recipes I have been working on.

Any suggestions on loaf pans that work the best. The one I have is very dark and quite heavy.
 
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Wow! Never attempted to make them myself.
Thomas's is all I ever had. They are the best store bought I have found.

I am a horrible baker/pastry chef.
I am working on my bread skills as I write. The bread never comes out as I had hoped.
I may need to start a thread about my lacking of baking skills.
I am certain y'all can help me.


RB, you must be the one guy in the world who failed on a first attempt at baking. All the rest of us were perfect from the start.:ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO::LOL:

I was intimidated by baking as well until I started trying it. It's a skill you develop just like all your other skills.
 
RB, we've had lots of threads like that. Go ahead and start one.

A few years ago, I hadn't baked much. I decided to learn and started reading about it. Asked questions now and then. There are lots of experienced bakers here who would be glad to help you.
 
After my 4th batch of experimentation, I have settled on this recipe. They are wonderful, smell amazing, and come out with serious nooks a crannies. I cook them a little underdone, with a slightly doughy center. This results in serious nook and cranny-dom when fork split… and then the toasting process cooks them to perfection.

While my recipe calls for bread flour, the AP flour I buy (and use in this recipe) has similar protein content to some bread flours (11%). If you have a higher protein bread flour you might want to go with half bread/half AP.

In any event, I'd love to hear from folks who give this recipe a try.
 
I too used the Joy of Cooking recipe. The English muffins came out delightful, with lots of nooks and crannies when fork split.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

That's the one I used for years and the one I would use if I ever get around to making them again. Yes, they came out great. I have always made them with whole wheat flour and I just followed the recipe with no changes needed.
 
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