“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” ~ Julia Child
{This is not a paid endorsement}
One thing that can always cause a little thrill of joy to run through me is opening the mailbox and finding my Fine Cooking magazine has arrived. It weird because I never go looking for it; it just shows up like a rainbow on a cloudy day.
It was the arrival of this magazine that made me decide to mark off one of the items on my culinary bucket list, English muffins. Did you know in England they’re just called muffins? Go figure. In fact it is these muffins that are referred to in the nursery rhyme, “Do you know the muffin man?”
I usually buy bread at a local bakery. They sell almost every kind of bread imaginable, but they don’t sell English muffins. I either had to learn to make them myself or be content with the ones you buy in the supermarket, which I love, but I’ve turned to a less processed way of life.
Fine Cooking promised that they were easy to make which I very much doubted or else why didn’t anyone ever make them. Well, they were correct. These were so easy to make. It was a joy to see them rising up on the griddle! They have a fresh nutty flavor from the whole wheat flour and a light chewy texture. They are definitely best the day after cooking them because they need a little drying out time.
Do you have a culinary bucket list? I’d love to hear what’s on it. I have a few more items like marshmallows, paella and ravioli. Let’s take Julia’s advice and have a what-the-hell attitude and just get cooking!
*Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking magazine
Ingredients (Makes 8)
1 ¼ cups milk
½ cup whole wheat flour
¾ tsp instant yeast
1 ½ tbsp butter, melted
1 ½ tbsp honey
¾ tsp salt
1 ½ cups bread flour
2 tbsp fine cornmeal, more as needed
Instructions
Pour milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105°F, about 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl stir together the whole wheat flour and yeast. Stir in the cooled milk and mix until thoroughly combined. Set mixture aside for 30 minutes.
Stir the butter, honey, and salt into the milk mixture. Add the bread flour and stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes until totally combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 8 hours.
Dust a work surface with 1 tablespoon of the cornmeal and a little flour. Deflate the dough, transfer it to the work surface, and shape it into a rectangle. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a 10×8-inch rectangle.
Dust the top of the dough with 2 teaspoons of the cornmeal.
Using a 3-1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 5 to 6 muffins. Reroll the dough scraps 3/8 inch thick; cut out 1 to 2 more muffins in the same way, dust with the remaining teaspoon of cornmeal.
Reroll the last bit of dough to cut out 1 or 2 more muffins. (Dough should make at least 8 muffins) Cover the rounds with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
Position a rack in the center of the oven, and put a large rimmed baking sheet on it. Heat the oven to 400°F.
Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium-LOW heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Place four of the rounds on the griddle, and cook, flipping once with a spatula, until the tops and bottoms of the muffins are browned and firm but the edges remain soft, about 4 minutes per side. Be sure to check the bottoms. You will probably be toasting these later and you don’t want them too dark.
Transfer the muffins to the baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Brown the next batch of muffins and place on the baking pan in the oven.
After the first batch has cooked for 5 minutes, remove from the oven allowing the second batch to keep on baking until their 5 minutes is reached.
Remove muffins to a rack and let each batch cool for 1 to 2 minutes.
To eat, perforate the muffins with a fork and toast.
¡Que aproveche!
English Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ tsp instant yeast
- 1 ½ tbsp butter melted
- 1 ½ tbsp honey
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups bread flour
- 2 tbsp fine cornmeal more as needed
Instructions
- Pour milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105°F, about 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl stir together the whole wheat flour and yeast. Stir in the cooled milk and mix until thoroughly combined. Set mixture aside for 30 minutes.
- Stir the butter, honey, and salt into the milk mixture. Add the bread flour and stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes until totally combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for at least 8 hours.
- Dust a work surface with 1 tablespoon of the cornmeal and a little flour. Deflate the dough, transfer it to the work surface, and shape it into a rectangle. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough into a 10x8-inch rectangle.
- Dust the top of the dough with 2 teaspoons of the cornmeal.
- Using a 3-1/2-inch round cutter, cut out 5 to 6 muffins. Reroll the dough scraps 3/8 inch thick; cut out 1 to 2 more muffins in the same way, dust with the remaining teaspoon of cornmeal.
- Reroll the last bit of dough to cut out 1 or 2 more muffins. Cover the rounds with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven, and put a large rimmed baking sheet on it. Heat the oven to 400°F.
- Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium-LOW heat until hot, about 5 minutes. Place four of the rounds on the griddle, and cook, flipping once with a spatula, until the tops and bottoms of the muffins are browned and firm but the edges remain soft, about 4 minutes per side. Be sure to check the bottoms. You will probably be toasting these later and you don't want them too dark.
- Transfer the muffins to the baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Brown the next batch of muffins and place on the baking pan in the oven.
- After the first batch has cooked for 5 minutes, remove from the oven allowing the second batch to keep on baking until their 5 minutes is reached.
- Remove muffins to a rack and let each batch cool for 1 to 2 minutes.
Cheyanne says
Tammy, your english muffins (or simply just muffins) look great! Nooks and crannies galore 😉 Like you I adore Julia and Fine Cooking. But then again, not really shocking since we both run food blogs. lol As far as my culinary bucket list…. I made so many dishes in culinary school I would have NEVER attempted on my own, I would love to make a few again (without an instructor near by) like croquembouche. I do have a long culinary bucket list of things I would like to eat one day, like Fugu (because I am crazy and fearless like that). Now you have me thinking about this…. I shall think while I try your version of english muffins 🙂
TammyRenea says
ok, I admit I had to look up croquembouche, but wow that would be impressive! Fugu! You are fearless! I can’t wait for you to blog about those two things. 😀
Marialuisa says
Thanks for your comment in my Istanbul post Tammy. The city was a huge surprise for me too, I never thought it was going to be so awesome….buildings like Haia Sophia and Blue Mosque were breathtaking….I never thought a mosque could make me feel so overwhelmed but it´s so beautiful you just never want to leave. Thanks and love from San Sebastián. I plan to cook Turkey food soon…