Easy Homemade English Muffins Recipe

Make the most delicious English muffins and use this easy Homemade English Muffins Recipe to help you do so. You won’t regret it! They’re gorgeous toasted with butter which melts and seeps into all those wonderful textured, nooks and crannies. You’ll never want to go back to shop-bought muffins after this. Quick and simple to make with a short proving time. Then, all you need to do is cook them in frying pan for a few minutes, followed by a short time baking in the oven. A very simple process for very beautiful muffins.

What is an English Muffin?

An English muffin is an open textured bread, unlike the American muffin which is like a sweet cake. In England, English muffins are known as muffins and the sweet versions are more often referred to by their full names such as a blueberry muffin or chocolate muffin.

The open texture of the English muffin becomes something quite lovely when it’s toasted. It’s very good at holding onto toppings and fillings, soaking up butter, jam and delicious sauces. The outside usually has a dusting of semolina or polenta and it has a slightly tangy flavour making it perfect for all kinds of uses.

Skills and Equipment required to make this Recipe

You don’t need any exotic skills or equipment to make these delicious breads. You will need to be able to

• Measure out the ingredients accurately, a digital scale is a real help with this.
• A large enough bowl to hold all the ingredients and a spoon to mix everything together with.
• Allow enough time for the dough to prove. This should only take an hour in a reasonably warm kitchen. Plus, 30 minutes for a second rise just before cooking.
• Baking tray – something to sprinkle the semolina or polenta on and sit the individual dough balls whilst they make their second short prove. This is a simple way to get that nice texture on the outside of the muffin. You will also need a baking tray to finish the muffins off in a warm oven.
• You’ll need a non-stick frying pan to bake the muffins in and a slotted turner or fish slice to turn them over once one side is cooked.
• Happy to get stuck in there and knead that dough for a few minutes? This isn’t difficult and can be quite relaxing. This is a good YouTube video of How to Knead if you’re not sure about what to do.

Ingredients in this homemade English Muffins Recipe

These easy English muffins contain only simple ingredients that you’re likely to have in your pantry. They are made using;

• strong white flour also known as bread flour.
• dried yeast (suitable for hand baking) & sugar – to ensure that the dough rises.
• butter & salt – to flavour the finished bread
• beaten egg – adds a little richness
• warmed milk – to bring everything together as a dough.
• semolina or fine ground polenta to dust the muffins with. Gives a nice crunchy finish.
• a little butter to grease the pan.

Making this Homemade English muffins recipe

This is so simple you won’t believe it to be true! This method involves mixing the ingredients together to make a dough, kneading the dough, leaving it rise (prove), cooking on the hob in a frying pan and finished off in the oven. The baking tray that the dough sits on for a short second rise, is dusted with either semolina or finely ground polenta so that it transfers to the dough pieces. Once they’re all lined up on the baking tray thay are dusted with more semolina to give that characteristic outside to the muffins.

Making the dough

• Add all of the ingredients to the bowl, placing the salt at the opposite end of the bowl to the yeast. (If salt and yeast sit in contact with one another for long, the salt will kill the yeast and the bread will fail.)
• Then, add the beaten egg and the warmed milk. The milk needs to be just warm enough that if you put your finger in it, it barely feels warm. This is sometimes called blood-heat.
• Stir until everything is combined. Now the fun begins. Tip this rough-looking dough out onto the countertop and begin to knead it.
• If it seems a little wet and is sticking to everything add a little flour on the surface and keep kneading.
• If it seems too dry and the flour won’t come together to form a dough then add a little more milk. Just go cautiously, it is surprising how a small amount can make a big difference.
• Knead the dough until it forms a small, silky smooth ball of dough. This is likely to take between 5 – 10 minutes and the dough is ready when it springs back when you poke it with your finger.
• Brush a little olive oil on the inside of a clean bowl, pop in the dough and cover with a clean tea towel. Set it to one side and leave it to prove.

Proving the dough

The length of time this takes depends a little on how warm your kitchen is. You don’t want to sit it in the sunshine as it will begin to rise too quickly and spoil the dough. You just need a spot out of the way of doors that open to the outside (in cool weather) and not too close to any direct heat. On cool days I sit mine in the oven with the oven light on just for gentle warmth.

Baking the English muffin dough

• Once the dough has doubled in size, divide the dough into 8 roughly similar sized balls.
• Sprinkle semolina or finely ground polenta onto a baking tray. Shape the dough into small round balls and sit them on the baking tray. Do this with all 8 pieces.
• Dust the tops with a little more semolina or finely ground polenta. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
• Once this time has elapsed. Get out the frying pan and warm it gently on a low to medium heat. Add a little butter until it sizzles.
• Add the first piece of dough. Allow it to sit in the pan for about 5 minutes and then turn it over using the fish slice or slotted turner. It should look golden brown on the top.
• Allow a further 5 minutes for the dough to cook and then turn it over again and check that it to is golden brown. If it is, remove it from the pan and place on a baking tray. Pre-heat the oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F.
• Cook all the dough in this way. Depending on the size of your pan you should be able to cook a few at a time.
• Once all the muffins are cooked and on the baking tray put in the oven for about 5 minutes just to ensure that they’re baked all the way through. They should be a beautiful golden brown.

Eating the best English Muffins

Your delicious homemade English muffins are now the best English muffins you are ever likely to find and the absolute best way to eat them in my opinion is to toast them. There is something wonderful about toasted English muffins. But how will you serve with them? There are an amazing number of options, basically anything you love on toast will be delicious on a toasted English muffin.

It’s craggy open textured bread is great for grabbing hold or sauces and flavours. It makes a good snack or can be part of a light meal. It is an important part of Eggs Benedict, but that may be a rich dish to eat very often. I love them just with butter and sometimes jam. Here a few ideas that you may love.

Some serving ideas

Toast the best homemade English muffin you’ve ever tasted and add…

• Butter … the butter will just ooze down into the open texture of the bread.
• Butter and jam – choose your favourite fruit jam or marmalade… makes a lovely treat.
• Toasted English Muffins with peanut butter and banana – how does that sound?
• Toasted English Muffins with butter and thin slices of your favourite cheese. This has an extremely savoury taste.
• Struggling to think why I haven’t mentioned marmite? If you love marmite then try it on a toasted muffin. It’s awesome.
• Poached, scrambled or fried eggs are lovely on toasted muffins too. The flavours really compliment each other. Quite delicious.
• Feeling fancy? How about using your Homemade English muffins as part of making Eggs Benedict?

Tips for success making this homemade English Muffins Recipe

• Measure the ingredients carefully. I always use a digital scale for this.
• Give enough time for the dough to prove both the first and second time.
• Coat in the semolina or finely ground polenta for a really nice textured crust.
• Read the recipe and the method before beginning to make this recipe to give you the best chance for sucess.
• If you’re tempted to cook the muffins in the oven and skip cooking them in the frying pan altogether, please note that the texture of the baked muffins will be different, less open and a little denser.

How to split your English muffin

I didn’t even know this was a thing until I started looking around the internet. The best way to split your muffin is to cut around the perimeter and then prise it apart with either your thumb or a fork. This way, it exagerates the texture of the bread and it’s the texture that grabs hold of the butter or sauces and the holes or crannies that make sure that it all runs through the dough. Yum!

How long can I store homemade English Muffins?

These will last for up to 4 days, covered in a suitable container, before they get a little dry. But the good news is they freeze well. See below.

Can I freeze English Muffins?

Yes, you can. If you wish to make a large batch and freeze some for later, then know that they’ll last for upto 3 months in the freezer. Defrost thoroughly before toasting them and adorn them with your favourite toppings.

If you like this recipe then you may be interested in theses;

• Soda Bread
• 4-Ingredient Yogurt Flatbreads
• Focaccia (Italian flatbread) with ideas for different toppings

What about sweet muffins?

• Easy Vegan Blueberry muffins
• Blueberry Orange Muffins
• Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

I would love to hear from you. Have you tried this recipe? Did you love it?

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