Sourdough English Muffins
You won’t be able to go back to store bought English muffins once you try these. Sourdough flavor, light and airy on the inside and golden-brown on the outside, they’re delicious as the base of a breakfast sandwich or with a bit of honey and peanut butter.
Prep Time: 12 hours (accounting for all steps including starter activation, closer to 6 hours if you already have active starter)
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 7-12 hours (depending on if activating starter or using one that’s already active)
Yield: 9 English muffins
Ingredients
2/3 cup (150 grams) active sourdough starter
1 1/2 tablespoons (25 grams) of honey
1 1/2 tablespoons (25 grams) of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/8 cups (285 grams) whole milk
4 1/2 cups (450 grams) bread flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons (12 grams) fine sea salt
¼ cup cornmeal (for dusting)
2 tablespoons of butter, for frying
Instructions
5 hours before you plan to start your muffins, feed your starter if it’s not already active. To feed your starter add about a 1/2 cup of AP flour and 3-5 tablespoons of water and stir until the consistency is like thick pancake batter. Let the mixture sit at room temperature in a loosely covered jar for 4-5 hours until it expands by 2 – 3x and is bubbly. If you already have active starter, proceed to step 2.
In a large mixing bowl add starter, milk, honey and olive oil and whisk with a fork until combined and frothy.
Add flour and salt. With a spatula or a bread whisk, mix all ingredients together until a shaggy dough starts to form.
Cover bowl with a dish towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
Start a series of 3-4 stretch and folds, spaced 20-30 minutes apart. You’ll do this by grabbing each side of the dough ball and stretching gently upwards before folding the dough back in on itself, rotating the bowl until you’ve done this on four sides. After one stretch and fold pass, re-cover the bowl and rest for 20- minutes then repeat the process for a total of 3-4 times. This process essentially replicates the kneading step in bread making and helps build gluten.
Once your stretch and folds are completely, cover the bowl with saran wrap and let rise in a warm part of the house (mine is usually at 70-72 °F) for about 2-3 hours, or about 65-70% risen.
Prep a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper and dusting with a light layer of corn meal then divide the partially fermented dough into 9 even dough balls. I like to roll them in small circles on the counter in a cupped hand to create a small, even dough ball and create surface tension to help with shaping.
Place the dough balls on the baking sheet evenly spaced. Lightly dust the tops with the remaining corn meal then loosely cover with saran wrap and a towel then rest on the counter for another 1.5 - 2 hours to proof.
Pre-heat your oven to 375 °F and pre-heat a large pan on the stove over medium heat. I like to use stainless steel- if you use stainless steel as well you’ll know the pan is ready when you drop a bit of water on the surface and the water beads up and doesn’t evaporate. If you’re using a different type of pan, heat for 5 minutes. Once the pan is pre-heated, turn down to medium-low and let the pan cool down for a few minutes so the butter doesn’t burn, then add the butter and let it fully melt and coat the bottom. Add 3 - 4 muffins at a time and sear on each side for about 2 minutes until golden brown then place back on the baking sheet. Repeat until all muffins are seared, then bake them in the oven for 18-20 minutes at 375 °F. This will finish cooking the insides and give the muffins a nice fluffy rise.
Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting open and enjoying with a bit of peanut butter, honey, or your favorite toppings!
Tips & Tricks
I recommend using a food scale and measuring in grams with this recipe- that will allow for more precision and the right ratios.
I like to make a batch of these and use them to prep breakfast sandwiches. Once the muffins have completely cooled, cut them all in half and top with your favorite ingredients: bacon egg and cheese, veggies eggs and Swiss are some of my favorites. Wrap them in parchment paper and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, I like to wrap the sandwich in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds. the paper towel helps keep the English muffin moist.
You’ll want to make sure your skillet has properly pre-heated before starting to cook or you won’t get that golden crust and your muffins may stick to the pay. Heat the pan for at least 5 minutes before adding the muffins. Then to keep the butter and muffins from burning, make sure you turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pan cool a bit before adding the muffins to sear.
Nutrition Facts (per 1 muffin serving)
Estimates. Will vary based on ingredients and serving size
Calories: ~280 kcal
Protein: ~9.3 g
Total Fat: ~6.8 g
Carbohydrates: ~45 g