I have always had a lingering fear of working with yeast. I can’t recall a specific failure that could have caused this reaction, it’s more of a preemptive thing. And so I rarely bother to attempt any baking that calls for kneading or letting things rise. But last weekend, I had a serious craving for English muffins and a few spare hours to kill so I convinced myself to face my phobia.
I got words of encouragement via Facebook from my blogging buddy Liz who told me once I tasted homemade English muffins, I would never go back to buying them again. And so with my lofty dreams and high hopes defeating my fear of disaster, I gave it a shot. I found a few recipes I wanted to try but settled on this one from Brown-Eyed Baker, which is taken from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. The only adaption I made was switching out some whole wheat flour for part of the regular flour.
It was an easy task from start to finish, but it was a long process — mainly because you have to let the dough rise twice which took about three hours in total. But it was the perfect project for a lazy Saturday evening, as I spent the “rising” time watching Twin Peaks on Netflix. I don’t know how I’ve missed seeing the cult hit until now, but I’m happily making up for lost time — it’s seriously addictive and super bizarre.
Actually speaking of Twin Peaks, I have an embarrassing confession for you: I have seen drinks called “The Laura Palmer” on bar menus for years and always assumed it had something to do with Arnold Palmer (as in, his wife perhaps?). Yeah. So that was eye-opening.
Anyways, on to the muffins!
Here’s my dough ball – ready for its first rise. The main problem I had was that it’s so cold in my kitchen I was worried that the yeast wouldn’t work. So I turned on the oven for a bit and after it was just barely warm, I turned it off and popped the dough in.
After it was about doubled in size, I formed six relatively equal-sized balls and sprinkled them with plenty of cornmeal. Then they went back into the oven, covered loosely with a towel, for another 90 minutes.
After they rise, you can either use a cast-iron pan or just a griddle to brown them. Since I was nervous about messing them up, I used my electric frying pan so I could monitor the temperature. They need to cook for about 7-8 minutes on each side.
While they may look like they are getting too dark, don’t worry. They need to be a deep dark brown in order not to fall flat when you flip them. They are not burnt – I promise!
After they have cooked on both sides, put them on a sheet pan and bake at 350 for about 5-8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for at least 30 minutes (this is the hardest part!).
Then split with a fork, toast and slather in butter:
And realize that everything you heard about making your own English muffins was true. You cannot go back to store bought. It is incomprehensible.
Very nice … so much better than store-bought!
So true! I’m a little addicted now — making batch #3 tomorrow.
I’m so glad you conquered your fear of yeast! Baking bread is one of the best things ever, in my opinion. And the muffins look amazing! I have the book “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” and have been meaning to make these for quite some time, but just haven’t gotten around to it. I may need to move it up my priority list!
I would love to just be able to whip up a loaf of bread — not quite over that fear yet, but baby steps rights? =) These were a great project for a lazy day at home — you should give them a try!
I definitely will! That is one of the best bread books out there – all the recipes are very straightforward and there is nothing that comes close to fresh bread for comfort food!
Thanks for the shout-out! I have a sourdough recipe for you–see http://foodcommunicationservices.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/sourdough-english-muffins/
Your English muffins look amazing–great step-by-step photos. Congrats on busting through your baking barrier. Yeehaw:-)
Thanks! I still am a little apprehensive but I feel better knowing that I’ve succeeded so far. =) Also, my starter wasn’t ready last weekend, but it’s finally looking good so I’m going to give your recipe a go soon!
Those look delicious. I am putting them on my list of recipes. Hopefully, I will be able to make them this morning!
I’m sure they’ll be (or were?) delicious! I wish I had known how easy they were years ago — so much time wasted eating store bought!
Sigh, these look fantastic!! Can’t wait for your sourdough version!! 🙂
I’m excited! Haven’t done it yet — my starter wasn’t quite feeling it. But it’s raring to go now so hopefully I’ll have a sourdough update soon!
Woohoo! 😀
You should slap an egg and some sausage between one of those.
Oh done and done. Trust me. Anytime I can slap a sausage somewhere, I will.
Yipee! I am so happy you made these! Aren’t they the best??
Seriously!! The best. I loved them. Every morning when I ate one I was soooo happy!
I just tried Alton Brown’s recipe but I did it free form since I don’t have rings. They totally look like pancakes. LOL I guess you need the rings!
Oh! Good to know! I was actually thinking of trying them for the heck of it (sans rings) so I’m happy I didn’t do it. That would have been sad.
Those look great! I think you made the Wolferman’s variety. We made them a couple of times, but more of the Bays (thin) type.
Hmm, I’ll have to do some more recipe digging. I loved these, but I’m excited to try out different versions to see which ones I like best. Practice will get me to perfection!
This is actually the recipe that I use to make english muffins too! I first tried the Alton Brown version (and even bought those metal english muffin rings that he calls for), but this recipe turns out SO much better than that one. Yours look like they came out perfectly…there’s nothing like a toasted english muffin. I eat them almost every morning…with PB and honey, or butter and jam 🙂
I almost made the Alton Brown one but I didn’t have the rings! Glad I did this one instead. I am gearing up for batch #3 this weekend — I am hooked! I’ve been loving coconut oil and jam, or egg muffin-style. So good!
These look incredible! I miss English muffins so much, and am definitely going to give these a go…
You really should! They are so easy and so satisfying!
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