English Muffins

A few years ago, Pete (my hubby) started to dabble in bread-making. He began with basic white bread, then moved to sourdough, had a few weekends of rye and even a hearty breakfast loaf with raisins and oats (my favorite). I will admit, the first few loaves were a bit stout, but as time goes on, the bread gets better and better!

A typical breakfast and lunch for us definitely has bread on the menu. For breakfast, a couple pieces of toast, a muffin, bagel or egg sandwich and for lunch, a cheese or veggie sandwich.

We were out of the country for seven months in 2007. On the go all the time, bread was a quick and easy solution for every meal. A quick piece of toast for breakfast or a cheese sandwich thrown in a cooler for a picnic lunch was pretty much what we ate on a daily basis. After the first month, as you can imagine, we started to get tired of the same ol' same ol' and I began to look up recipes for English muffins.

A bit of background on our local: we were in Barbados, which use to be a British colony but gained it's independence on November 30, 1966. Life in Barbados definitely has British influence. We rented the downstairs apartment from Barbara whose home overlooks the Caribbean Sea. Barbara, who has called Barbados home for quite some time, is from Whales and is very familiar with muffins, or crumpets as she calls them. One afternoon, I decided to give the recipe a go.

When Pete first started to make bread he kneaded by hand since we didn't have a stand mixer. I noticed that this was a grueling task for him, messy and could get quite hot in the summer. Of course, we did not have a stand mixer in Barbados so my first attempt at muffins was by hand. We did not have AC in the apartment - which really is not needed - but when kneading bread, I am sure a few drops of extra salt made it into the dough ;)

I followed the recipe, waited for the dough to rise and finally, cooked them. What a WONDERFUL treat! I immediately brought one to Barbara who gave them her stamp of approval. What a delightful addition to any cook's cookbook.

Here is the link to the recipe from cdkitchen - this is the first recipe I used for muffins. They are better than Thomas's! FYI - I did not use the natural improver.

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/505/Ultimate_English_Muffin48306.shtml

This last time, I used the recipe below from the Joy of Cooking - Rombauer, Becker and Becker, 2006. I found this recipe produces fluffier, more milky and biscuit- like muffins when toasted. I personally like the fist recipe better but of course, these are still yummy!

Stir together in small bowl and let stand 3-5 minutes:
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
Combine in large bowl:
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup room temp milk
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
Stir in dissolved yeast and gradually beat (or stir) in:
- 2 cups sifted flour (I just poured in the four gradually)
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let sponge rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours or until it collapses back into the bowl.
Beat in:
- 3 tbs softened butter
Beat or knead in: and this is where it gets messy :) if you don't use a stand mixer
- 2 (or more depending on consistency) of all-purpose flour (sifted if you want)

You want your dough to be a bit sticky but not so sticky it cannot be handled. Place your dough on a lightly floured (or cornmeal) area of your counter and hand-roll your dough out like a snake. You want the dough to be about 1/2 in thick and then cut into rounds about 3 inches (or larger/smaller) in diameter. I pat each side with cornmeal. Place them on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled in size.
Cooking your dough: generously grease a griddle/frying pan and heat until hot. Work muffins in batches cooking each side until they are nicely browned. I usually cook them on a med-high to high temp for about 2 - 3 minutes per side. Let cool on rack. I usually don't let mine cool - they are so good hot right off the griddle!

I have attached a few photos: top photo is of the bread and muffins we baked yesterday. The photo on the bottom left are the muffins after their second rise. The bottom right is the finished batch.
Have a great week & enjoy!
~ Lara Schuhmann

Joy of Cooking Recipe