Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Homemade English Muffins





One of my favorite breakfast foods is Eggs Benedict.  One of the critical ingredients in Eggs Benedict is English Muffins.  Sadly I live in the country and my local grocery store does not carry a very good assortment (okay they don’t usually have any).  

I have been craving Eggs Benedict so I decided to make my own English Muffins.  I am so excited about how they turned out.  They were easy enough to make for a weekday dinner and are delicious.  



In many bread recipes you are instructed to heat or “scald” the milk.  The purpose of this is to denature the proteins that can interfere with yeast development.  By using powdered milk (in this case instant milk) you can eliminate that step. Wahoo!


English Muffins
For a Printable Recipe

recipe adapted from: Allrecipes   


2 Tablespoons instant dry milk powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (or 1 package)
2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup melted shortening, cooled slightly
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Mix the instant dry milk powder and sugar in the warm water,  stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. Add yeast, by sprinkling over the top.  Let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

Add melted shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.

Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.

Heat griddle. Cook muffins on a griddle,  about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat.

Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage.