Since everyone starting quarantining at home, I'm not surprised that people have started baking more. But I am surprised that so many people are making English muffins (and I guess technically they don't count as baking, since you cook them in a pan or on a griddle on the stove). For some reason I kept seeing homemade English muffins all over my social media feeds, and finally I thought it was time for me to jump on the bandwagon. I decided to use a recipe that literally has been staring me in the face for years; the English muffins from The Model Bakery are showcased in a photo on the cover of my copy of The Model Bakery Cookbook.
I started a day in advance, making a biga by mixing bread flour, water, and instant yeast. I put the biga in the fridge overnight, and then combined it with water, yeast, olive oil, salt, and all-purpose flour. I mixed everything in my Kitchenaid, fitted with the paddle. I let the mixture stand, covered, for 30 minutes, before adding in enough additional flour to form a soft dough, and switching out the paddle for a dough hook to knead it until smooth and elastic. I let the dough rise in an oiled bowl until doubled, and then divided it into 12 equal pieces.
The dough was very soft and sticky and it was challenging to shape each piece of dough into a neat ball that I placed on a sheet tray generously sprinkled with cornmeal. I put the sheet tray in a warm place until the dough had increased in volume and held an impression when poked.
You fry the muffins in a cast-iron skillet in clarified butter, and you can cook them free form, without the need to use metal rings. I was going to use just one skillet, but when I realized that I could fit only four muffins in the skillet and that it was going to take me a while to cook all twelve, I got out a second skillet so I could cook eight muffins at once. I placed the fried muffins on a paper towel-lined pan and let them stand for twenty minutes to finish cooking from carry-over heat. I fork-split the muffins instead of slicing them open with a knife, and to be honest, I was expecting to see more nooks and crannies inside.
Eating a freshly-made, homemade English muffin was a revelation. The tops and bottoms of the muffins were browned to a crisp and deeply flavorful -- something definitely lacking in a store-bought English muffin. My muffins were also much thicker that what I'm used to from the grocery store. I loved them lightly toasted, with salted European butter. They were hearty and satisfying.
My husband was a huge fan and has requested that I start making English muffins regularly. I'm happy to keep making homemade English muffins, but since I'm not an early riser, I know that I will never have them freshly made in time for breakfast! Thankfully, they taste just as good after being frozen, thawed, and re-toasted.
Recipe: "The Model Bakery's English Muffins" from The Model Bakery Cookbook by Karen Mitchell and Sarah Mitchell Hansen, available here at Serious Eats.
I started a day in advance, making a biga by mixing bread flour, water, and instant yeast. I put the biga in the fridge overnight, and then combined it with water, yeast, olive oil, salt, and all-purpose flour. I mixed everything in my Kitchenaid, fitted with the paddle. I let the mixture stand, covered, for 30 minutes, before adding in enough additional flour to form a soft dough, and switching out the paddle for a dough hook to knead it until smooth and elastic. I let the dough rise in an oiled bowl until doubled, and then divided it into 12 equal pieces.
The dough was very soft and sticky and it was challenging to shape each piece of dough into a neat ball that I placed on a sheet tray generously sprinkled with cornmeal. I put the sheet tray in a warm place until the dough had increased in volume and held an impression when poked.
Eating a freshly-made, homemade English muffin was a revelation. The tops and bottoms of the muffins were browned to a crisp and deeply flavorful -- something definitely lacking in a store-bought English muffin. My muffins were also much thicker that what I'm used to from the grocery store. I loved them lightly toasted, with salted European butter. They were hearty and satisfying.
My husband was a huge fan and has requested that I start making English muffins regularly. I'm happy to keep making homemade English muffins, but since I'm not an early riser, I know that I will never have them freshly made in time for breakfast! Thankfully, they taste just as good after being frozen, thawed, and re-toasted.
Recipe: "The Model Bakery's English Muffins" from The Model Bakery Cookbook by Karen Mitchell and Sarah Mitchell Hansen, available here at Serious Eats.
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