English muffins are a fried yeast bread with a rough, bubbly interior. They are often split, toasted, and topped with butter and jam. They are different from crumpets and scones, and can be made at home by following a simple recipe.
English muffins are part of the yeast bread family that are fried on a griddle rather than baked. They don’t look like conventional American muffins, which are made of more cake-like sweet batters. The inside of an English muffin is roughly textured, with large holes caused by gas bubbles that expand during the rapid cooking process. Generally, an English muffin is served split, toasted, and topped with butter and jam.
The identities of the crumpet and the English muffin are sometimes confused. Both are made with yeast doughs that are baked on a griddle. However, the scones have a puffy, pale top, instead of the smooth top and bottom of the English muffin. Scones are not split in half before eating and are strongly associated with British history, unlike the English muffin, which was likely developed in the United States in the late 1800s.
To preserve the bubbly interior of an English muffin, we recommend using a fork to gently separate the two sides of the muffin, rather than a knife, which will even out the interior texture. The texture of an English muffin is chewy, rich, and dense. Many makers drench their English muffins in cornmeal before baking, to add texture to the finished product. The many holes in the porous English muffin are also ideal traps for butter and toppings.
To make English muffins at home, dissolve a packet of yeast in two tablespoons of warm water. Add a cup of scalded milk, along with a tablespoon of sugar. Leave the yeast mixture to proof for about 10 minutes, until frothy. Sift four cups of the flour into a bowl with a teaspoon of salt and poke a hole in the middle for the liquid mixture. Add the liquid and stir the English muffin batter until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding a fraction of the flour or water as needed. Knead the dough until it is elastic and let it rest in a warm place until it has doubled in size, which should take about 45 minutes.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about ½ inch (1.25 centimeters) thick. Cut English muffin rounds with muffin rings or round cookie cutters and transfer onto greased cookie sheets to rise for about 30 minutes, dipping them lightly in the cornmeal if a grainy texture is desired. Cook the English muffins on a heated, greased griddle, turning them halfway through to brown both sides. English muffins can be separated after baking and eaten hot or cooled on a wire rack and stored for up to three days in an airtight container.
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