My adventures with sourdough has led me to try my hand at homemade English muffins. They are so easy to make and so good to eat. We've been enjoying them with butter and jelly, and also as an egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich for breakfast.
1 cup "fed" sourdough starter (Recipe HERE.)
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2-4 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal for coating
In large mixing bowl combine starter, warm water, butter, sugar, yeast, salt, dry milk, whole-wheat flour, and 1 cup all-purpose flour. Mix well. Gradually add enough remaining all-purpose flour and knead to form a smooth dough. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise for 1-2 hours until noticeably puffy. Gently deflate the dough, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes to relax the gluten. Divide the dough in half. Roll each 1/2" thick and cut in 3" rounds until all of dough is used. Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
Place the rounds, on baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal, 12 per sheet. Sprinkle rounds with additional cornmeal. Cover and let rise 1 hour until light and puffy. Transfer rounds to a preheated griddle (low heat). Cook the muffins for 5 minutes, and then place the bottom of a large cookie sheet on top to help flatten the muffins. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Turn muffins and cook for another 5 minutes, being careful not to burn the sides. Remove the muffins from the griddle and cool on a wire rack.
*If muffins aren't cooked through to the middle, place muffins on a baking sheet in a 325 degree oven and bake for 5-10 minutes. Store in zip bags for 3-4 days or freeze for longer storage. Makes 20-24 muffins.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe.