Sourdough English Muffins
Wish I was an English muffin
‘Bout to make the most out of a toaster
– Simon and Garfunkel, “Punky’s Dilemma”
If you want to make the most out of your toaster, lose the Thomas’ and grace it with these instead.
Inspired by several talented bakers at The Fresh Loaf who have produced various takes on the English muffin in recent months, I finally could stand it no longer, and had to try them for myself. I see why they have been so popular. The bang for the buck is tremendous; they could not be easier, yet the result is outstanding.
The recipe uses just the amount of starter I’m “discarding” from my evening feeding, so I don’t even have to have planned ahead to make them (always a bonus in my world). Ferment the sponge overnight, and it’s a simple affair in the morning to mix and cook them.
Sourdough English Muffins
Yield: 8 – 10 muffins
Time:
- Mix and ferment sponge: 8 hours
- Mix and shape final dough: 15 minutes
- Proof: 45 minutes
- Cook: 15 minutes
Sponge Ingredients:
- 110 g ripe 100% hydration sourdough starter
- 160 g flour
- 100 g whole wheat flour
- 276 g milk (I used lowfat 1%)
Final Dough Ingredients:
- 75 g flour
- 3/4 t. salt
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1.5 t. agave nectar (or honey)
- all of the sponge
Method:
- In a medium bowl, mix the sponge ingredients until just combined. Cover and let rest for 8 hours or overnight.
- Add the final dough ingredients and mix to roughly combine. Turn the dough out onto the counter and hand mix for about 7 or 8 minutes, or until the surface becomes quite smooth. The dough will be very soft, and sticky at first. Resist the urge to add more flour; it will become less sticky with mixing.
- Flour the counter and your hands well, and roll or pat the dough out to a thickness of about one-half inch. Cut the dough into 3-inch circles and place them on semolina-dusted parchment paper.
- Cover and let proof for 45 – 60 minutes.
- Lightly oil a griddle and heat it over medium-low heat. Cook the muffins for a total of about 7 or 8 minutes on each side, until browned and the sides are firm. I find I get a better shape to the muffins if I flip them every couple of minutes for the first few minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack. To get the best nooks and crannies for toasting, split the muffins with a fork rather than a knife.
browndog September 11 2007 at 07:51 am 1
Excellent, Susan. I appreciate your ferreting out the grams, too. I’ve made these three times and added different amounts of flour each time. Is that roughly the whole 2 3/4 cups called for in the original recipe? When I made them with just enough flour to do what could be called ‘kneading’, the texture suffered some. But when I made them with only 2 cups, they spread and were more like thick pancakes. But I didn’t want to over-mix just to ‘dry’ them out, presuming that gluten development was not a goal here. The middle ground worked best for me, just call me Goldilocks…so I’ve been wondering what other people’s experience was.
Bart September 11 2007 at 01:09 pm 2
Nice! I made them this weekend and they were delicious! I love English muffins and I will make them again and again,…
Marta September 12 2007 at 01:39 am 3
They look wonderfull! I’ll try to make them.
Regards
ejm September 12 2007 at 03:39 am 4
When you say that you are using the amount that you are “discarding” from your evening feeding, are you talking about ‘evening feeding on a buildup’ or ‘evening feeding of the starter just to make sure it stays viable’? (I hope that made sense!)
-Elizabeth
Susan September 12 2007 at 04:25 am 5
Browndog: I think it’s about 2.5 cups of flour, but of course that depends on how you measure the cups. (That’s why I always weigh flour, and I’m VERY opinionated about this!) If you wanted a wetter dough/batter, you could use English muffin rings (or tuna cans with both ends removed). I’ve not done that so can’t vouch for it but I’ve seen the rings around.
Bart: The muffins on your site look wonderful.
Marta: Thanks. I think you’ll find them to be very easy and tasty.
Elizabeth: The second one. I try to find something to do with my “waste,” like saving it for pancakes, or now, these muffins.
browndog September 12 2007 at 07:34 am 6
Katie’s recipe at tfl had a range of 2-2 3/4 cups of flour, yes, whatever that means. 2 1/2 sounds like what worked best for me. I much prefer to use scales than ‘random’ measuring, though, so I’m happy you posted the gram amounts. Making a batch today.
Mimi September 12 2007 at 09:42 am 7
Great looking muffins! I see some tips to take back to my next attempt at english muffins. I can’t wait!
ejm September 13 2007 at 03:15 am 8
Thanks for the clarification. And that’s most useful to know. I was under the impression that the “waste” was somehow inviable and it’s nice to know that I don’t HAVE to throw it out.
Although I vaguely remember seeing something about times after feeding in Nancy Silverton’s Bread from La Brea Bakery - ah here it is: (or am I misreading this?)
and a little earlier in the book:
-Elizabeth
P.S. My regular starter feedings are in the morning, but perhaps I should switch to evening feedings so I don’t have to discard the extra…
Susan September 13 2007 at 06:42 am 9
Browndog, I hope yesterday’s batch was as fantastic. The ones you posted on TFL really lit a fire under me to try them.
Mimi, the muffins on your blog look really terrific already!
Elizabeth, to further clarify: I feed my starter twice a day, so the starter I’m putting in the muffins is just ripe, not over-ripe. When I referred to saving it, that would be for pancakes or as an extra flavor boost in something that does not derive all its leavening from that starter. I am going to post soon on how I maintain my starter.
ejm September 13 2007 at 08:33 am 10
And again, thank you for the further clarification, Susan. That makes much more sense.
Wow! You feed your starter twice a day to maintain? (I’ve been feeding mine once every three days.)
I like to use the extra that is created midday on a buildup day when I feed the starter 3 times. I have added it to naan, biscuit or pizza dough.
But now I really want to try making English muffins!
-Elizabeth
bluezebra September 13 2007 at 07:04 pm 11
Beautiful muffins Susan! I just adore this recipe. I end up adding all the flour and they work great for me!
Susan September 14 2007 at 06:55 am 12
Hi BZ, yours were inspirational to me also!
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