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Sourdough English Muffins
The Night Before:
(Recipe from: Bake Your Own Bread & Be Healthier-Stan & Floss Dworkin)
1 C starter
2 tablespoons honey
2 C reconstituted powdered skimmed milk (or whole milk)
4 C unbleached white flour
Mix starter, honey and milk in mixing bowl until smooth. Add 4 C flour, 2 C at a
time, and mix in. There's no need for gluten development now, so do not
whip-just get all the flour thoroughly wet. Cover with clean towel and leave at
room temperature in a draft free place.
The Next Morning:
1 scant teaspoon baking soda
1-2 C unbleached white flour
cornmeal for sprinkling.
Stir down mixture (it will have risen considerably). If it has risen too high
and fallen, no problem, just stir down the rest of the way. Sprinkle a scant
teaspoon baking soda and 2 teaspoons sea salt over the surface of the dough and
work in.
Flour your board with 1 C flour or more (up to 2 C), until dough is medium
stiff - enough to roll out. Once you have enough flour in (I go by feel-never
too dry and always moist) and the dough longer sticks to your hands, give it a 5
minute kneading.
Get 2 baking sheets or jelly roll pans and line with waxed paper-sprinkle
corn meal over both.
Flour board again and lightly roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Take a 3
inch round cutter ( a bit larger diameter, different shapes, OK) and cut as many
rounds as you can-rolling the left over and cutting more until the dough is all
used up. Try to keep them very uniform in thickness and diameter.
As you cut each round, place on corn mealed wax paper-don't allow raw muffins
to touch--they will stick. When all rounds are cut, sprinkle corn meal over tops
of muffins.
Allow to rise in warm place, covered, for about an hour or until risen again.
Preheat a griddle (I used a non stick T-Fal 12 inch griddle pan) with a TINY
bit of butter, until butter sizzles. Use a low flame or heat setting so inside
pan bakes and outside does not burn. Pan bake one side for about 4 minutes and
turn. Squish down a bit with spatula and pan bake other side for about 4
minutes. Turn only once so be sure the one side is cooked before turning. They
look like store bought, and taste supreme!
Comments... while the muffins taste great, they don't have the texture I
usually associate with English Muffins - no big holes. I figure, maybe it's me,
so I'm still working on it.
Sourdough English Muffins
1 c. starter 3 T. sugar
2 c. milk 1 t. salt
1 c. cornmeal 1 t. soda
3.5 c. flour 1 large egg
Combine the starter, milk, cornmeal, and 1.5 cups of the flour. Stir
to blend ingredients, cover the bowl, and let the mixture stand
overnight. When ready, stir mixture down and add the rest of the
flour and all the other ingredients. Mix well, then turn out onto a
floured surface and knead thoroughly. Roll the dough to a thickness
of no more than 0.5 inch and cut with a large biscuit cutter*. Cover
the muffins. Let them rise at room temperature for 45 minutes. Bake
on a lightly buttered griddle at 300 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes on
each side. Turn only once. They are equally good served hot from
the griddle or split and toasted.
If you are refrigerating the muffins (up to 24 hours), place them on
cookie sheets, covered with plastic wrap. When you take them out of
the refrigerator let them come to room temperature, and then rise for
45 minutes before baking.
*You could use a large aluminum can (from tomato puree, etc.) with both ends
removed.
Sourdough English Muffins
2 C flour 1 t soda
2 C milk 2 T oil
1/2 C starter 1 pkg. dry yeast
2 T. sugar 3-4 C flour
2 t salt cornmeal
Beat 2 C flour, milk, starter, sugar, salt and soda in
large bowl (not metal) until smooth. Cover with wax paper and
let stand in warm place 18 hours. Add oil and yeast, stir
until blended. Mix in flour to make medium stiff dough.
Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and
satiny, 8-10 min. Sprinkle board with cornmeal and roll
3/8" thick. Cut with floured cutter. Cover, let rise at
room temp. until doubled (45 min.) Bake slowly on lightly
greased preheated 275 deg. F. griddle or skillet 10-15 min.
on each side, turning once. To serve, split and toast.
Makes 18 3" muffins.
For better taste, omit the yeast and increase the rising
time to 2-3 hours.
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