English Muffins, brings memories of winter mornings or afternoon High Tea, what a wonderful thing! The problem as we have discovered here is that either by the Pandemic or just not knowing any better, but the brands of English Muffins available to us is either Canada Brand or Ezekiel, none of which we like so, if you know me, I do something about it and since we wanted Eggs Benedict, well....
Rene will finish the dish with ham, eggs and Hollandaise Sauce and we will be assured another wonderful meal! YAY!
Here is an amazingly easy recipe for English Muffins that anyone can make, you don't even need any equipment and they're done quickly. I got 14 muffins from the recipe, I shall freeze the rest and will try out how well they defrost and come back to life....
INGREDIENTS.-
1 tbl or 9 g Active Dry Yeast
1/2 cup plus 2 tbl or 139 g water
1/2 cup plus 2 tbl or 139 g whole milk
4 cups or 480 g Bread Flour (but I used AP or All Purpose Flour)
1 tbl or 13 g sugar
1 tsp or 6 g fine salt
2 tbl or 28 g melted butter, make sure it's warm not hot (you can use a mild oil too)
1- First, in a microwave safe glass place the water and milk together and warm it up to a temperature of 95 to 100 F or 35 to 37 C, so you can bloom the yeast. Don't over heat or you'll kill the yeast. Once you've got your milk water warmed up you will add 1 tbl or 9 g of Active Dry Yeast and mix it in well and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
2- While you're waiting for the yeast to bloom (it will get foamy), get the rest of your ingredients ready so you have them close by. In a large bowl, place the 4 cups or 480 g of flour, 1 tsp or 6 g of salt and 1 tbl or 13 g of sugar together, now whisk them all together so they mix well. Time to add your yeast milk, add the 2 tbl or 28 g of the melted butter.
3- Now is the time to get your hands dirty and mix everything well so it will come together and form a scraggly dough which you will then put on your work table which you previously put some flour down to prevent sticking. Start working and kneading the dough for about 5 to 10 minutes and the dough becomes smooth.
4- Take a medium sized bowl, oil it up so the dough doesn't stick and place your smooth dough inside, cover and allow to rest and rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.
5- After the hour you will see the dough grow at least twice its size, punch it down and now you will put it back on your lightly floured work table, take a rolling pin and roll out to a 1/2 inch thickness.
6- Now find a cookie cutter or a glass (this is what I used, a high ball glass) that is about 3 or 4 inches across and start cutting your muffins out. Try and cut down without twisting the cutter too much to allow the dough to rise while cooking. Cut your dough and place the muffins in a parchment lined hotel pan or any tray your have available. Traditionally these are done with a light dusting of cornmeal but I couldn't find any so I improvised. Once they're all there, use another tray or kitchen towel to cover them and allow them to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour and they are plump.
7- Muffins are not baked in the oven but grilled on a pan, a cast iron pan preferably with a little oil over low or medium heat and place some muffins once the pan has warmed up. They will take between 5 and 7 minutes to get golden brown, don't overcrowd the pan and leave at least 1/2 inch between them. Check your grill and heat setting to make sure they cook by 5 minutes at least. Once browned on one side, turn them over for an additional 5 minutes. Move them to a cooling rack or a plate so they will rest.
8- You're ready to eat! You can split these with a fork and then toast them if you like (that's how we like to have them)... You can freeze them in a zip lock bag for use later.
I hope you will try to make your own English Muffins and enjoy the simple procedure and great results! Enjoy!!
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