I’m an English Muffin fanatic. They’re complete breakfast heaven to me, especially when turned into a breakfast egg sandwich. I vaguely remember baking my first batch eight or nine years ago and as far as I remember, they turned out pretty good. So, now that I have time and space to do some baking again, Homemade English Muffins were on the top of my list.
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Recipe Inspiration and Adjustments
After looking at a good 20+ recipes, I decided to work off of this one on allrecipes.com. After reading a bunch of reviews, I made a few changes.
It seems that there are two keys to getting an English Muffin with the classic “nooks and crannies” they are famous for. First, make sure the dough stays soft and loose. This means not adding too much flour during the kneading process and kneading for a shorter length of time (about 5 minutes). Second, letting the dough rise only once (as opposed to the usual two for most breads) allows giant gas bubbles, rather than small uniform bubbles, to form. The muffins turned out nice and light with a decent amount of nooks and crannies. There weren’t enormous pockets like the store bought muffins but I’m willing to trade some of that for a muffin that only costs seven cents (and is pretty fun to make).
Serving Suggestions
English muffins are great for more than just eating toasted with butter and jam…although they would taste amazing with homemade Pumpkin Butter! I also love to make mini-pizzas with them, or my make-ahead breakfast sandwiches. I also love to smear them with a little hummus and add a fried egg for a different sort of savory breakfast sandwich.
How to Store English Muffins
After baking your English Muffins, make sure to let them cool completely. Once they are cooled, you can either freeze or refrigerate them. When refrigerated they’ll keep for about a week. If frozen, they’ll keep for months. When freezing, make sure to use a heavy duty freezer bag to keep air out and prevent the muffins from drying out. They should thaw quickly at room temperature, or if pre-sliced, can go straight from the freezer to the toaster.
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Homemade English Muffins Recipe
Servings 12Ingredients
- 1 tsp active dry yeast ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp sugar, divided ($0.05)
- 1/2 cup warm water ($0.00)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.27)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided ($0.36)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/4 cup cornmeal ($0.06)
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast and half of the sugar into 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, and let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until it has developed a thick foam on top.
- While waiting for the yeast, combine the milk, butter, and the rest of the sugar in a measuring cup or microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, then stir until the butter is dissolved. Add an additional 10 seconds if needed. You want the milk warm enough to melt the butter, but not scalding.
- Once the yeast is foamy, pour the milk and butter mixture into the bowl, along with 1 cup of the flour, and the salt. Stir until the mixture is mostly smooth. Add the second cup of flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, stirring to combine each time. Finally, begin to add the third cup of flour, 1/3 cup at a time, until you can no longer stir it with a spoon. At that point, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, dusting with small amounts of flour as you go. Once finished kneading, you should have used 2.5-3 cups flour total.
- Let the dough rest for 15 minutes, then roll it out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter or sharp edged drinking glass to cut several discs out of the rolled dough. Cut them as close to each other as possible to leave few scraps. When you can cut no more circles, ball the scrap dough up, flatten it once again, and cut a few more. Place the cut muffins on a baking sheet coated with a liberal layer of cornmeal.
- Let the muffins rise in a warm moist area for about 1.5 hours, or until they are slightly more than double the size. (I placed a casserole dish full of steaming water on the bottom rack of my oven and placed the baking sheet on the top rack to keep the muffins moist as they rose.)
- When the muffins are large and fluffy, it’s time to cook them in a skillet. Heat a cast-iron or non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Once the skillet is preheated, carefully use a spatula to lift 3-4 muffins from the baking sheet and slide them into the skillet, along with some cornmeal. Let the muffins cook 3-4 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on the bottom. Carefully flip the muffins and cook for 3-4 minutes on the second side. The muffins will puff further as they cook in the skillet. Once the muffins are golden on both sides and sound hollow when tapped, transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
- Once completely cool, split the muffins with a fork and toast in a toaster or the oven. Or, transfer the cooled muffins to an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to one week, or the freezer for up to three months.
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Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
- Wire Cooling Racks
- Mixing Bowls
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Homemade English Muffins – Step By Step Photos
Begin by combining 1/2 cup warm water with 1 tsp yeast and 1/2 Tbsp sugar. Stir to dissolve, then let them sit until a thick layer of foam develops on top.
While waiting for the yeast to foam, combine 1/2 cup milk, 2 Tbsp butter, and the second 1/2 Tbsp sugar in a measuring cup or microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir until the butter melts. You can do an additional 10 seconds in the microwave, if needed, but try to get the milk just warm enough to melt the butter, not scalding.
Once the yeast is foamy, pour in the milk mixture, 1 cup flour, and 3/4 tsp salt. Stir until the mixture is mostly smooth.
Stir in a second cup of flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, stirring until incorporated before adding more.
Finally, begin to add a third cup of flour, again a small amount at a time, until you can no longer stir it with a spoon. At that point, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding small amounts of flour as you go. Only add enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, as adding too much can cause the dough to get stiff.
After kneading, you should have used somewhere between 2.5 to 3 cups flour. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness, then use a cookie cutter or sharp-edged glass to cut as many circles into the dough as possible. Cut the circles close to each other to leave as little scrap dough as possible. Gather up the scraps, form them into a ball, press the dough out once more, then cut a few more circles.
Cover a baking sheet liberally with cornmeal (this is 1/4 cup of cornmeal spread out on a large baking sheet). Arrange the muffins on the cornmeal, pressing one side into the corn meal, then flipping them over and pressing again, making sure there is plenty of cornmeal under each one to prevent it from sticking as they rise.
For reference, here is a side view so you can see how thin they are. Let the muffins rise in a warm, moist area for about 1.5 hours or until they’re slightly larger than double their size. I put a casserole dish with steaming water on the bottom shelf of my oven and placed the baking sheet with the muffins on the top rack (oven turned off) to create a nice warm environment for them to rise.
The Muffins should be very large, fluffy, and delicate after rising. Make sure they’re not touching each other because pulling them apart could cause them to deflate.
Once risen, it’s time to cook them in a skillet. Heat a cast iron or non-stick skillet over medium-low. Once preheated, use a spatula to carefully lift a few of the muffins off the baking sheet and onto the skillet, along with some of the cornmeal. Cook on each side until golden brown (3-4 minutes per side). The cornmeal will keep the muffins from sticking (the cornmeal in the skillet in the photo above is after 3-4 batches, each batch adding more to the skillet). The muffins will puff even further in the hot skillet.
Transfer the cooked English Muffins to a wire rack to cool.
Once cool, either split with a fork and toast, or transfer to an air-tight container (like a gallon-sized freezer bag) to store in the refrigerator or freezer.
These Homemade English muffins are absolutely to-die-for with butter and jam! Light and fluffy, with very crispy edges and crunchy cornmeal bottoms!
I’ve never tried making anything like this before and right now they are ‘baking’ in my skillet! They look fantastic and I can’t wait to break them open! Thank you for your website Beth!
Hi Beth, it’s lovely to read your recipes! I don’t know if this tip will be of any use to you but it has always worked for me. Paul Hollywood (I don’t know if you have heard of him, try his crumpet recipe!) he suggests using olive oil instead of flour when kneading your dough. It keeps the dough really light. I’m going to try it using your recipe but it’s a great little tip if you’re worried about using too much flour as you stated at the beginning. I’ll let you know if it works! Happy baking!
Interesting! I’ll have to give that a shot, thanks! :D
Thanks for posting this recipe! I love Thomas whole wheat English muffins with an egg and cheese, but I am 76 miles from the nearest town that carries them. I made these today and followed your instructions exactly. I did use a 50-50 mix of whole wheat and AP flour, which resulted in my not adding all of the remaining flour the recipe called for, only about 1/4 cup + 2 T. I think it’s because the wheat flour is heavier. Therefore I only got 7 muffins total, but they look fantastic, just like the real deal and I can’t wait to try them.
The first time I made these I think my oven was too warm for the final proofing, but they made delicious chibatta-style rolls then, haha! I made these a second time and was more careful with the third proofing and they came out perfect! These will be a staple in my house now :)
The butter in the the dough WILL affect the rise. I have a roll recipe I make often, and when I had to stash it in the garage (I live in WI) overnight before Christmas eve, those stinkin’ rolls took EXTRA long.
A few suggestions to those of you in cold climates (and can’t bear to turn the thermostat past 68!)
Set a pan of hot (nearly boiling) water in your oven. Turn your oven on just for a bit – just until it gets to 100. Turn it off IMMEDIATELY.
Turn the oven light on. Cover all of your dough rises with a damp rag or flour sack towel that has been soaked and wrung out with hot water (the dough will not only pull any needed water from the towel, but the heat will help as well).
Stash in oven. Duct tape shut if you’re like me and have two curious little preschoolers who are enamored with yeast activity. Repeat each rise. :)
Hmm, I wonder if being in the fridge dried the dough out… all of that cold circulating air may have done a number on them, especially since they’ve already had quite a bit of rise time. That’s the only thing I can think of :( Now that I’m an older and wiser baker than when I wrote this post, I wonder if one rise before cutting would be enough. I’ll have to try it again!
Help, My english muffins did not rise. My yeast and milk did froth like in the picture. My first rise took 1 1/2 hours. I did it in a warn oven, my house is not very warm. Took it out and they looked just like your picture. My second rise took also the same amount of time, but it never doubled in size. Maybe 2/3 the size. Also in the oven. At that time i rooled them out and cut them so the could rise over night in the fridge. In the morning the looked the same as the night before. I put them back in a warm oven to see if i can get them to rise a bit more. I am just waiting….
Yummy! Just made with soy milk. Forgot to cover during the 3rd rise and they still turned out great! Thanks for sharing. My husband will be excited to have the English muffins for breakfast sandwiches this week!
Made these last night for the family. Substituted dairy milk with rice milk and butter for began butter and they came out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!
I cut parchment paper into squares, dusted them with cornmeal and let each muffin rise on its own square. Its easier to get under it and turn it into the pan that way. I’m saving the squares to use a few more times.
I have made these before in a skillet and they are really quit tasty. Especially spread with home made Strawberry Rhubarb Preserves!!!!! :)
Just finished making these. I did have a little trouble getting them onto the skillet without them deflating. They turned out delicious. Reminds me of the Thomas’ biscuits that I fell in love with and can no longer find. Thanks for the recipe!
A tip I might offer for helping dough rise: I boil water on my stovetop while I’m mixing the dough. If you live in a dry climate or if it’s winter time and low humidity, it helps the yeast grow and it warms up the kitchen. I start the humidity before I try to get them to rise as a time saver. Usually this takes half the time to get your double-size dough. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I’m making them for the first time now!
Thank you!!! The temp in the house is about 68…not sure if that is cool or not! haha! I think I messed up by not letting my yeast sit long enough in the beginning! But, regardless they turned out good. I am doing another batch today, hoping that they have a few more nooks and crannies(;
Faith – WOW, yeah, that’s a super long time. Did your yeast mixture get nice and frothy in the beginning? I’m wondering if the yeast had time to really wake up and get going. Also, what is the temperature like in your house? If it’s fairly cool it will take much longer. Placing them in your oven (with it turned off) along with a dish full of hot water. The water should warm the air in the oven and it will stay nice and warm because it’s insulated.