“Awesome English muffins. The oat flour really makes a difference and I switched from raisins to cranberries. Everyone that has tried them say they are the best ever. Thanks for posting your recipe.” ~Timothy
Making your own cinnamon raisin English muffins makes so much sense!
I glanced at the price the other day while I was picking up our weekly 2 packages of English muffins. Big mistake. When I did the math, we might as well be going out for fancy coffees every day. HUGE motivation to make these cinnamon raisin English muffins myself. With a few cups of flour, a tablespoon of cinnamon, and some raisins, I’ll be saving a lot, and getting bigger, better muffins.
If you’ve made my original English Muffins you’ll know the drill.
It’s a fairly sticky dough that gets mixed up in a stand mixer, and then rises a bit, then gets shaped into rounds, rests briefly, and then cooks right on the stove top. The process is easy, like my Focaccia, and that’s probably why I like them both so much. Less challenge, more eating.
It’s such fun to watch these muffins cook right on the stove.
It’s fun to watch the transformation from nondescript blobs of dough into the familiar English muffin…it happens as you flip the muffins on the griddle and see the flat browned surface dusted with corn meal, and the characteristic soft spot around the middle for fork splitting.
Size matters!
One of the best things about making them myself is that I can make them bigger and puffier than the store bought ones, stuff in as many raisins as I want, and I can make them heartier and healthier by adding some oat flour.
Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups lukewarm buttermilk, or milk (about 110F)
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten (room temperature)
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 cup raisins
- semolina or farina, for sprinkling on the griddle or pan (you can also use cornmeal)
Instructions
- Put everything except the semolina and the raisins into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (not the bread hook) Alternatively, if you have a bread machine you can set it to the dough cycle.
- Mix the dough on medium speed for about 5 minutes, The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl and be smooth and quite elastic. I had to scrape the sides of my bowl a couple of times.
- While the mixer is going, add in the raisins and let them get incorporated. If the dough seems excessively wet, add in a little bit more flour.
- Scrape the dough down into a rough ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours until risen and puffy.
- After the rise, gently deflate the dough. This dough will be softer and wetter than traditional bread doughs. Turn it out onto a surface that has been dusted with the semolina, or corn meal, and form it into 12 pieces. (First cut the dough in half, then cut each half into three pieces, and cut each of those pieces in half)
- Form the pieces into rounds, and then flatten them into disks about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Make sure they are dusted on both sides with the semolina. Cover loosely with plastic and let rest for about 20 minutes. They will puff gently.
- Spray your griddle or large cast iron pan with a little cooking spray, and sprinkle with a little semolina or corn meal. Cook the muffins on a low to medium low low heat for about 15 minutes on each side, until they are golden browned and done. You can test for doneness with an instant read thermometer inserted into the side of one of the muffins…the inside should register 180 to 200 degrees F.
- Be sure to use a fork to split the muffins to bring out that famous English muffin texture.
Notes
- If you have an electric griddle, set it to 300F. Otherwise, use low to moderate heat on the stove. A heavy bottomed pan, like cast iron, works well to modulate the heat. The muffins will need time to cook through, so you don’t want them to get too brown too quickly.
These muffins freeze beautifully, just wrap them well.
Nutrition
Thanks for pinning!
Hi! I am making this recipe right now. I let the dough go for about 7 minutes in the stand mixer and it was still a little sticky and not completely pulling away from the sides of the bowl. I added about a TBS of flour, but it didn’t really make a difference. I was afraid of overmixing, so I went ahead and stopped mixing and am currently letting it rise. It is VERY humid here today, so I suspect that may be a factor. Just a question – if this should happen again, do you think I should let it keep mixing until it pulls away, no matter how long? Keep adding more flour? It didn’t seem overly wet to me. Hopefully the muffins will still turn out, but just asking for next time. Thank you!
I think it will be fine if you mixed if for the specified amount of time and it didn’t seem excessively wet to you. Good luck!
Greetings! Is there a toggle for metric weights instead of volume measurements for baking recipes? I don’t see one; I grew up baking and measured by volume my whole life but not any more. Thanks!
I make this recipe at least once a week. They are a favorite with those I share them with. I have found that cutting the milk by 1/4 cup and adding 2 Tbsp non-fat dry milk they have a wonderful texture, rise well and are easier to handle. They are not as wet. I’ve been making this recipe for well over a year. I put it in the dough cycle of my bread machine then work the raisins into the dough after taking it from the machine just before I form them into their muffin shape. My friends LOVE cinnamon so I use 2 Tbsp of cinnamon instead of the one. Love, love love this recipe.
Hello, I used this recipe… the dough is currently rising but was tough as shoe leather. I hope it works out in the end. Will let you know.
Hi Sue,
What is the purpose of the oat flour? How does it enhance the muffins? Will it make a huge difference if I don’t have any? Thanks!
No, you can leave it out and sub more regular flour Kelly. I love oat flour for flavor and texture, but it will be fine without.
Is it possible to make these without a stand mixer or a bead machine? I have neither, but is love to try this recipe.
Yes, absolutely, just knead the dough by hand for the full 5 minutes.
I love these! I’m wondering if you can save the dough and bake them fresh the next morning. My dough is always done in the afternoon but I do so love them fresh off the griddle. Have you tried keeping the dough in fridge over night?
I haven’t but dough generally just gets more flavorful overnight, so I think it should be fine.
I don’t have a big flat griddle that will fit all of these at once like you have pictured. Can these be made in batches in one large cast iron skillet? Or will the ones waiting their turn get too puffy? The alternative is pulling out every skillet I have turning on all the burners at once…I’ve done that before but it becomes pretty unwieldy.
No, feel free to make them in batches, Beth, they don’t take that long.
Do you have to activate the yeast? Your recipe doesn’t mention or call for this?
Not in this recipe Rebecca.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Pinned.