Toasted English Muffins slathered with butter and jelly — a great way to start the month of March! When Barry dog-eared a recipe in the latest Cuisine At Home magazine (Spring 2021), it inspired our Sunday afternoon project. I’ve made English Muffins before but he thought he’d like to try his hand. Normally he’s not a bread baker but the top-of-the-oven dry frying appealed to him.
 |
| Marching into March with a freshly toasted English Muffin w/ butter & Sand Plum Jelly. |
Cuisine recommends using bread flour. Here’s why. Using bread flour aids in giving the muffins a chewy texture. Plus, you’re only using the minimal amount of flour, which means there’s optimal hydration, resulting in a soft dough that helps ensure the development of those desirable nooks and crannies.
Cuisine’s English Muffins Original recipe make 12 muffins using a 3” cutter; we used a 2 1/2" cutter for a yield of 15.
1 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (I heated it to 120° F)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 3/4 cups unbleached bread flour + more for dusting work surface (we replaced 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon table salt
Semolina or farina flour (we used semolina but cornmeal could be used if you these are not available)
- Combine milk, egg, bread flour, butter, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium-high speed until dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and shiny, about 5 minutes. (When you lift the paddle attachment from the bowl, the dough should be stretchy and soft.)
- Transfer dough to a lightly greased/oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size 1 to 2 hours (ours was ready in 1 hour).
Above: Before rise. Below: After rise.
- Generously dust a baking sheet with semolina flour.
- Lightly dust work surface with bread flour and semolina.
- Gently deflate dough and either 1) roll the dough until 1” thick; cut dough with 3” round cutters, rerolling if needed to yield 12 muffins (we used a 2 1/2” cutter and cut 15) OR 2) divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each dough piece into a smooth ball, then flatten into a 3 to 3 1/2" disk, about 1” thick.
- Place muffins on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle tops with semolina.
- Cover muffins with a sheet of parchment and let rest 30 minutes (muffins will puff slightly).
- Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over low; generously coat with semolina. (We eventually turned our griddle up to medium and watched the muffins carefully; we saw little browning at the low setting.)
- Cook muffins, in two or three batches, on griddle until golden brown and sides aren’t squishy, 8 to 12 minutes per side. (We used 2 griddles and cooked them all at once.)
- Muffins are fully cooked when a thermometer inserted into centers registers about 200° F. If muffin exteriors are browned but the interior isn’t to temp, place them in the oven and bake muffins until fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. (It took more like 10 to 20 minutes for our muffins to get up to temp.)
- Transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- And finally, here’s how to prepare an English Muffin – USE A FORK, not a knife, to split open your muffins. Using a fork keep those coveted nooks and crannies for butter, knife cut muffins won’t.
Recipe without photos . . . Cuisine’s English Muffins Original recipe make 12 muffins using a 3” cutter; we used a 2 1/2" cutter for a yield of 15.
1 1/2 cup lukewarm milk (I heated it to 120° F)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 3/4 cups unbleached bread flour + more for dusting work surface (we replaced 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon table salt
Semolina or farina flour (we used semolina but cornmeal could be used if you these are not available)
- Combine milk, egg, bread flour, butter, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium-high speed until dough starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and shiny, about 5 minutes. (When you lift the paddle attachment from the bowl, the dough should be stretchy and soft.)
- Transfer dough to a lightly greased/oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size 1 to 2 hours (ours was ready in 1 hour).
- Generously dust a baking sheet with semolina flour.
- Lightly dust work surface with bread flour and semolina.
- Gently deflate dough and either 1) roll the dough until 1” thick; cut dough with 3” round cutters, rerolling if needed to yield 12 muffins (we used a 2 1/2” cutter and cut 15) OR 2) divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape each dough piece into a smooth ball, then flatten into a 3 to 3 1/2" disk, about 1” thick.
- Place muffins on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle tops with semolina.
- Cover muffins with a sheet of parchment and let rest 30 minutes (muffins will puff slightly).
- Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over low; generously coat with semolina. (We eventually turned our griddle up to medium and watched the muffins carefully; we saw little browning at the low setting.)
- Cook muffins, in two or three batches, on griddle until golden brown and sides aren’t squishy, 8 to 12 minutes per side. (We used 2 griddles and cooked them all at once.)
- Muffins are fully cooked when a thermometer inserted into centers registers about 200° F. If muffin exteriors are browned but the interior isn’t to temp, place them in the oven and bake muffins until fully cooked, 8 to 10 minutes. (It took more like 10 to 20 minutes for our muffins to get up to temp.)
- Transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- And finally, here’s how to prepare an English Muffin – USE A FORK, not a knife, to split open your muffins. Using a fork keep those coveted nooks and crannies for butter, knife cut muffins won’t.
No comments:
Post a Comment