Homemade English Muffins, by Kira

Oh Yes! You can make these at home and after you do, you will not want to buy another English muffin again. I'm going to share the recipe that I started out with, having tweaked it to my liking. We enjoy these with peanut butter, fresh jam, cheese and sprouts, or topped for mini pizzas. Of course, our own fresh eggs are a natural for these tempting breads.

Ingredients


POOLISH

Water 55 F   3/4 cup
Whole wheat  flour 1 1/3 cups
Yeast  1/4 tsp


FINAL DOUGH

Poolish
Water 95 F  1 1/2 cups
Butter  2 Tbsp
Spelt Flour 2 cups
Hard Unbleached Bread Flour 2 cups
Whole Wheat Flour 1/4 cup
Yeast  1 Tbsp
Salt  1 Tbsp
Sugar  2 Tsp


1. Prepare the poolish the day before you plan on making your English muffins. In a bowl mix together the flour and yeast then add in the water. Mix until blended. Cover the poolish and refrigerate for a couple of hours. Then take out and set at room tempurature for 12 to 14 hours. It will have risen and fermented with visible bubbles.

2. Now to make the dough, put the poolish, water and sugar into the bowl of your mixer and mix until poolish is blended into the water; about a minute. Then, add the yeast. While waiting for the yeast, in a separate bowl, rub the butter into the unbleached flour until it looks sandy. Add this to the bowl of your mixer along with the whole wheat flour and the salt. Mix for about 4 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl if need be. Now slowly work in the rest of your flour. You may need a little more or a little less flour depending on the kinds of flour you choose to use. Mix for another couple of minutes and then place in a greased bowl for about an hour or until double in bulk.

 3. Preheat oven to 475 F.


4. Place the dough on a floured surface and lightly roll out to 1/2 inch thick. I roll mine out into a rectangle and cut out my shapes with a knife but you could also use a glass to get a more uniform look. Be careful not to roll too much or you will pop a lot of the air bubbles; which means they could just end up a little more dense. 

5. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place a few dough pieces at a time on. Make sure not to overcrowd them. Cook until lightly browned.

6. Transfer your muffins to the oven and bake for about six to eight minutes, depending how big you have made your muffins. 


7. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

SO TASTY!