Homemade English Muffins. Nothing can beat them straight off the griddle or gently toasted. They are soft, slightly chewy & perfect for breakfast or snacks. No oven is required & they are so much nicer than store-bought!
Picture for one minute, one of these homemade English Muffins, straight off the griddle, spread thickly with my Easy Vegan Butter and topped with a dollop of vegan lemon curd ......
I have been eating these English Muffins like they are going out of fashion recently and even I stopped in my tracks at the thought. They are quite simply, irresistible.
They really aren't all that difficult to make either. They do however take a bit of time but almost all of that is hands off time and it is so, SO, worth the wait. See my video below for a step by step guide.
You can also make the dough for these English Muffins in a bread machine if you have one. Directions are given below.
No oven is required. They get cooked on a griddle or in a skillet. That's what gives them their beautifully golden tops and bottoms. And those beautifully golden tops and bottoms give them their distinctive chewiness. Watching them grow on the griddle is so fun too. They really are like little puffy clouds!
They are just perfect while very fresh, eaten just as they are. Nothing can beat them right off the griddle! However, they really come into their English Muffin-ness properly when split and toasted. Their little nooks and crannies get all crispy and golden and they are the perfect vehicle for all sorts of toppings.
Serving Suggestions
Vegan butter and jam is my favourite topping for these muffins, but they also work incredibly well with all sorts of other accompaniments. Try them:
- Topped with your favourite tofu scramble
- Used as a base for a vegan eggs benny (there is a recipe in my cookbook)
- Turned into mini pizzas for the kiddos
- Used instead of bread for sandwiches or as an alternative to burger buns
- Toast and top with your favourite toast toppings (avocado, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms etc).
Fork splitting
What the heck is fork splitting? Well, if you want maximum nooks and crannies for superior butter catching, use a fork to split your muffins rather than using a knife. I really should have shown you how in my video but I didn't think about it until afterwards. I might make a quick add-on next time I make them but until then, here is a pretty rudimentary video that shows how.
More English style recipes
If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!
Recipe
Homemade English Muffins
Author:Ingredients
- 3 cups (375 grams) all purpose flour , (strong in the UK). Plus a little more for rolling.
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast , sometimes called quick or fast action yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons (30 mls) liquid oil , such as vegetable, canola, sunflower, or light olive oil.
- Approx 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (270 mls) warm water
- ⅓ cup (53 grams) cornmeal , or use more flour
INSTRUCTIONS
- If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, add all ingredients (except the cornmeal) to the bowl and mix for around 7 - 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Once it starts coming together give it a little poke and add a drop or two more water if it feels dry, giving it a chance to mix in between additions. You are looking for it to become a very slightly tacky-to-touch smooth, elastic, and pliable dough.
- If you don't have a stand mixer, add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl. Mix then pour in the water and oil. Stir briefly adding more water drop by drop as required to form into a shaggy dough. Then tip out onto a clean surface rubbed with some oil (not flour). Rub some oil onto your hands and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pliable. When kneaded properly, if you put your hands on either side of the ball of dough and squeeze inwards, it should bounce back slowly when you let go.
- Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a wet tea towel. Leave in a draft-free area until it has doubled in size (this usually takes about 1 hour in my kitchen). You will get the best flavor by not rushing it so I advise just leaving it on the kitchen counter and not moving it somewhere really warm to speed it up.
- While you're waiting line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle it generously with cornmeal.
- Once doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin until it's1 inch thick. Make sure it is even all over. If it keeps springing back and is hard to roll, leave it to rest and relax for 5 minutes then try again.
- Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut rounds and place them gently on the prepared baking sheet. If you don't have a cookie cutter use the top of a glass or mug. Be sure to cut carefully and get as many as you can out of the first batch of rolled dough because the muffins are always slightly better than those made with the remaining dough.
- When you have cut as many as you can, ball up the remaining dough as gently as you can and re-roll it then cut out the remaining muffins.
- Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with more cornmeal (or flour) then cover with the damp tea towel and leave again until almost doubled in size. It won't take as long this time. Usually about 30 minutes.
- Heat a griddle, large cast iron pan, or large skillet/frying pan over medium-low heat. Leave it to preheat for a good 5 minutes. Don't use any oil.
- Place as many muffins as will fit comfortably (with sufficient room to turn them easily), VERY gently on the griddle. It’s important to be as gentle as possible because you don’t want to knock any of the air out of them.
- Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until beautifully golden on the bottom. They will puff up like little balls as they are cooking. Then VERY gently turn them over and cook for another 5 - 7 minutes on the other side. Keep checking and when they are a deep golden brown transfer to a wire rack.
- Repeat with the remaining muffins.
Sally says
OMG. Just made these and they are fantastic! So puffy and light. They put shop ones to shame. Thank you.
Jess says
can you use gluten free all-purpose?
Melanie McDonald says
I've never tried making them with gluten-free flour so I don't know how well they would turn out.
Jessica Gibbon says
these look amazing!! quick question, should i oil the griddle or the skillet? or cook it dry? thanks for the recipe! :)
Melanie McDonald says
I never do. They should be fine without. Enjoy!
Ace Ayala says
Hi, I just wanted to ask about the type of cornmeal I should use for this recipe should use. Should I use finely grinded cornmeal or should I use medium grind cornmeal?
Melanie McDonald says
It doesn't matter. Whichever you would prefer the texture of. I use whichever one I have at the time.
Jess the Baker says
Ok, so should we be using bread flour or all-purpose? Those flours have different gluten contents and will make a difference. You say all-purpose/strong flour (if in the UK) but again, all-purpose is NOT the same as strong flour.
In the UK vs. the US:
“Plain Flour” = All-Purpose
“Strong Flour” = Bread Flour
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm very familiar with the flour types as I'm English and live in Canada and spend a lot of time in the U.S.
As per the recipe you need to use strong flour if you are in the UK or all-purpose flour if you're not (i.e in the US or Canada).
Plain flour in the UK is not the same as American and Canadian all-purpose flour and there is no flour labelled as all-purpose there.
Plain flour has a very different protein content and isn't good for making bread. All-purpose flour in Canada and the US really is all-purpose. You can use it to make bread, cakes and pastry etc.
Strong flour in the UK has a very similar protein content to all-purpose flour in Canada and the US. About 12 %.Plain flour is about 9%.
If you are in the US or Canada you could actually use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour but I prefer how the muffins turn out with all-purpose flour, hence the reason it's called for in the recipe.
Zach says
Can I let the dough sit overnight to rise? If so, would I need to change anything in the recipe?
A Virtual Vegan says
That depends. You could put it in the fridge overnight to proof for the first time, but how much it will slow it down will depend on the temperature of your fridge. The first time you do it will be a bit of an experiment.
Linda says
Fabulous recipe. They turned out perfect. So soft and fluffy. I really appreciate how well tested your recipes are and you giving weights. Cups never turn out right for me when baking.
Sophie says
Seems like others are also having the issue of the dough being too dry. I followed your recipe exactly and the dough was so dry that it would not even come together into a ball. I more than doubled the amounts of liquid (water and oil), and it was still too dry. Maybe worth re-testing this recipe, since I think this dough should be fairly wet. Comparing with other recipes (vegan and non-vegan), this one has much less liquid.
A Virtual Vegan says
Sorry you had problems, but the flour to liquid ratio is perfect in this recipe. All of my recipes are tested thoroughly by myself and a team of recipe testers before they are published. The number one reason the dough would be dry is that cups were used to measure the flour. They are a highly inaccurate way to measure. Literally every time you fill a cup it will hold a different weight. For example, if you scoop flour up in a cup it will hold over a third more than when you spoon the flour into a cup. If you accidentally shake it down a bit in the cup you will end up with even more. When making bread it is imperative that you measure accurately to get a good result especially with a low hydration dough like this one. I hope that helps!
jeannette says
can I just use reg flour
A Virtual Vegan says
That depends what you mean by regular flour. I would say all-purpose flour is regular flour.
Claire says
Perfection!
Julie says
I'd never tried English muffins before but as you're English and a great chef I knew I should try your recipe the first time I did. We loved them and they will be a regular weekend treat from now on!