I’ve had a weakness for English muffins all my life. The pity is, I’ve bought almost all of them from the grocery store. To think, all the while I could have been making a far superior — and far cheaper — English muffins myself! They’re not the slightest bit difficult to make…about like pancakes. The only specialized equipment you need are muffin rings, which are both inexpensive and easy to find. The recipe goes like this:
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) shortening
10.75 ounces (1 1/3 cups) hot milk
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
10 ounces (2 cups) all-purpose flour
English muffin batter is a fairly straightforward affair, the only odd feature is that it requires that a small amount of fat be melted into the liquid. Other than that it works pretty much like a wet bread dough. Begin by combining the shortening, milk, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir until all the solids are dissolved. Let the mixture cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and flour with a whisk. Add the cooled milk mixture and stir everything together gently:
Allow your batter to sit for an hour or so until it at least doubles in size, at which point it’s ready to use. Just scoop up a spoonful of your batter…
…and plop it right into your mold:
Hey! How did I suddenly manage to switch spoons? Oh, I remember, the batter is very gooey and hard to pick up, so I switched from wood to metal. You’ll want roughly 1/3 cup of batter in each ring.
Let them cook on a 300-degree griddle for about five minutes, then get out your spatula…
…and flip those puppies over.
Cook for another five minutes until golden. That’s it! A more flavorful and softer muffin you shall not find at the grocery store (in fact the word “muffin” comes from the Old French word moufflet which means “soft”, did I mention that?). Can you use a skillet instead of a griddle if you want? Yes. However low heat is the trick to a well-made muffin. Being as thick as they are, they need time to “bake” all the way through before the outsides get too well done (remember you’re going to toast these things later). As long as you keep the flame low, you’ll do just fine.
As a final note, recipe writers (including Mr. Brown) love to advise that in place of buying rings for various culinary applications, you can simply “cut the bottoms off empty tuna cans”. That trick hasn’t worked since the 80′s, since modern tuna cans have lipless, rounded bottoms. These make the cans easy to stack on store shelves, but render them impossible to cut with a conventional opener. So don’t risk opening up an artery messing with jagged metal. If you don’t want to bother with ordering rings, just plop the batter right on the griddle. The muffins won’t be quite as round or tall, but they’ll be every bit as good.
Hey Joe, These look fantastic! I was wondering if it is possible to use a different type of fat, for example butter.
Yes, you can use butter, no problem.
I just made these and they are FANTASTIC. I will never buy them from the store again.
Glad to hear it! English muffins are one of those things that once you make them, you never go back! Tanks for the email.
- Joe
I made these a couple of days ago and they turned out great, the best ones I have ever made
Thank you for the recipe.
Great news, Bev! Thanks you for letting me know!
- Joe
These were delicious! The best english muffin recipe I’ve tried so far. I made them this morning for Sunday brunch and we made homemade egg mcmuffins, using the rings for the eggs on the griddle, nice bacon, and tillamook cheddar. I got an unsolicited hug from my 10 year old son, who ate 2! ; )
Have you ever tried an overnight proof in the fridge for the batter? Curious as it would be nice to have a jump start for breakfast the next morning.
Also, any advice for whole wheat version? I’ve tried before and they were so so, and the KAF recipe calls for corn fiber stuff, which doesn’t appeal to me.
Really enjoyed browsing through and reading your recipes. I will try many more. Found you from the Smitten Kitchen link. I truly appreciate anyone who uses weight measurements in their recipes. Love love love that!
Hey Lee!
You certainly can do an overnight rise if you like. Just let the batter ferment for half the time, then chill it. It should be all ready for you in the morning.
For a whole wheat version, I’d think you’d have no trouble swapping out half the white flour for whole wheat. Much beyond that and the bran will start undermining the gluten development.
But I’m so glad you’re finding things here that appeal to you. Please let me know if you have any more questions! Cheers and thanks!
- Joe
An interesting variation that was always popular in my house growing up was to bake the batter in a greased and cornmealed loaf pan instead of making individual muffins. Depending on the humidity levels at the time, we would use about 2 to 2 1/2 times more flour than you call for and would get 2 standard loaves.
It has the same texture as the muffins but in slice form and makes the most incredible toast.
Nice! Thanks Jen!
Joe,
If I were do do the overnight rise, would it be necessary to allow the batter to come to room temp before cooking? Or would I just haul it out of the fridge and start plopping?
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie!
Yes, you have to let that sucker warm up to room temperature first, so it ferments a little more. Let me know how they go!
- Joe
They went OK – definitely a work in progress. I put too much batter in, which caused an issue or two. You’d think that it might have dawned on me that a yeast dough might rise a bit, but, alas, it didn’t.
Also, I think in the future I will bake them the night before and allow them to cool completely before slicing and toasting.
And, should I have greased the rings first?
You generally don’t need to grease the rings if there isn’t too much batter in there. But a very light coating of oil might help regardless.
Keep me informed of the progress!
- Jim
I plan on trying them again tonight or tomorrow.
But now I’m confused. Are you Joe or Jim…?
Ehem…Joe’s the name officially!
Hi Joe
Thanks for all the Super greAt recipes. LOVED them.
I made rings outta aluminum foil.English Muffin s turned out great
Best regards
EM
Nice, Em! Well done!
- Joe
Hi Joe,
I’m making English Muffins again, Dbl batch!
Love love love them!
Thank u
best,
Em
Oh how I do love a home made English muffin! Did I mention they freeze well to?
Thanks Em!
- Joe
These English muffins are glorious. I made them just according to your instructions, except I left them rise for 30 minutes on the cold griddle before I turned it on. Actually, I was distracted and forgot to turn on the heat.
Also, I made my own “tuna rings” out of folded strips of aluminum foil, which worked just great.
Although I made these for my husband, they may be gone before he returns this evening. They are so easy, I can just make them again.
Thank you so much for all your information and recipes.
Great news, Mary Lou!
Thanks so much for dropping me a line. Home made English muffins are so good and so easy, I don’t understand why people don’t make them more often!
I need to make some this weekend!
- Joe