How to Make Easy English Muffins

I was positively giddy watching these take shape. I’ve said it before, but there is something so satisfying about making your own version of something that you’ve bought for years and always just assumed came out of a package.

Darby has a lot more experience with bread making than I do, and I picked up s few good tips from her as we made our muffins. For instance, since we live in a dry climate, I should have covered my rising dough with plastic rather than a dish towel. Even the thinnest skin that forms on the surface of the dough can prevent it from rising evenly as it cooks.

English muffins are a perfect project for beginning bakers

The theme of my early bread experiments is ease. I know that if I’m going to incorporate bread making into my cooking routine it’s going to have to be pretty straightforward and easy. I like this English Muffin recipe because everything gets dumped all at once in to the bowl of the stand mixer and the dough comes together in 5 minutes. You don’t even have to fiddle with proofing the yeast, or anything else, for that matter. After the dough rises it gets shaped into round flat disks, rests for about 20 minutes, and then cooked on the griddle.

I added some buckwheat and oat flour for a little flavor and interest, but you can use all white for a traditional English muffin. I adapted my recipe from King Arthur Flour.

Check out my Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins too!

Reader Rave ~

“Wanted to let you know I made these the weekend of the big Boston snow storm. They were FABULOUS. Can’t wait to make them again. Thank you for sharing!”  ~  A Plum by Any Other Name

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3.05 from 47 votes

How to Make Easy English Muffins

How to Make Easy English Muffins ~ this simple recipe yields tall, fluffy, flavorful homemade English muffins ~ this easy bread recipe cooks right on the stove top!

Course bread

Cuisine American

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Yield 12 muffins

Author Sue Moran

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups lukewarm milk about 110 degrees
• 3 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg lightly beaten (room temperature)
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• semolina or farina for sprinkling on the griddle or pan (you can also use cornmeal)

Instructions

• Put everything except the semolina 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.
• 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 than traditional bread doughs, so just handle it carefully. 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 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...the inside should register 180 to 200 degrees F. If they are very brown before getting thoroughly done on the inside, transfer them to a 350F oven to finish cooking.
• Be sure to use a fork to split the muffins to bring out that famous English muffin texture.

Cook's 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 have to cook through, so you don't want them to get too brown too quickly.

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is provided as a courtesy and although theviewfromgreatisland.com tries to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.