Sunday Brunch Awaits! Make The Eggs Benedict; Where is the Hollandaise?
These aren’t Crumpets
English muffins seem to look nothing like muffins. What’s up with that.
I’m not really sure, but I like them well enough to make them and they do taste so good.
Not the same as commercial EM
The standard bearer, in my opinion, for commercial English muffins is Thomas’ English muffins.
They are famous for a good reason.
These are more dense, and as portioned, taller. I see that as a feature, not a bug. I like something with strength enough to hold what it’s carrying, especially as I’m wiping up the last bits of Brunch.
To get those bigger and random holes, a wetter dough is needed. Also, a sour note from the starter from the English muffin bread can add a nice note. See the recipe notes section for details.
Wet dough needs help
English muffin recipes have been challenging. I’ve had some doughs which were almost batters and required some kind of ring to keep the muffin in place. Those can be pretty expensive for something seldom used. A restaurant hack is use empty tuna cans. Remove both top and bottom, file the sharp edges if necessary and, TaDa!, a ring.
This dough needs no such accommodations as it is. If you prefer a wetter dough, as discussed in the recipe notes, then perhaps something to keep the oozing dough in check might be necessary. As written, however, this works well, is easy to do and they taste great.
English Muffins
Eggs Benedict is nothing without them, but I like English muffins toasted with butter and jam and a big plate of eggs and sausage and bacon. That's my idea of a grand breakfast.
Ingredients
English muffin ingredients
- 240 ml Whole milk 1 C
- 32 g Honey
- 4 g Instant yeast
- 1 each Egg yolk
- 1 oz Whole, unsalted butter
- 325 g Bread flour
- 6 g Salt
Instructions
Mix the English muffins
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Heat the milk and butter or lard in a small sauce pan to 115°F. Remove from the heat.
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While the milk and fat are heating, scale the flour, salt, instant yeast and honey into the bowl of a stand mixer.
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Place the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook and turn on to speed 1. Add the egg yolk then the milk slowly, but steadily.
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Mix the dough on speed 1 for 4 minutes then on medium/speed 4 for another 4 minutes.
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The dough should be pretty supple and warm. Place the dough into a buttered metal bowl, turning the dough to coat it completely with butter, cover with plastic and allow to ferment 30 minutes.
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After the first ferment, lift the dough out of the bowl. Hold the dough in mid-air and gently stretch the dough to twice its width and fold both ends back together by bringing the palms of your hands together. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat the stretching and folding process. Do this process 4 times and replace the dough to the bowl and ferment another 30 minutes.
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Scale the dough into 65 gram (2.25 oz) portions. Round each as a roll, placing seam side down on a corn meal dusted baking paper or silicone baking sheet on a baking sheet pan.
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Space the dough a few inches apart and push down to flatten the round and dust with corn meal. Place another baking paper sheet in top and a second sheet pan on the doughs. Press down firmly but not so much that dough squish flat. Leave the pan on the doughs while they proof.
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When about doubled in width, heat the oven to 350°F. On a griddle or cast iron pan, cook the English muffin doughs with extra corn meal if there is a sticky spot. Cook till well browned, turn over and brown the other side.
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Place the English muffins on a sheet pan and finish baking in the oven 16-20 minutes or until the inside temperature reads 180° F. Place pan on a cooling rack.
Allow to cool before eating.
Recipe Notes
As they are, these are nicely dense to hold up to jams or jellies or slabs of bacon with eggs.
To get close to that more familiar English muffin with larger holes, make a wetter dough. This dough has a hydration of about 70%. To make an 85% hydration, use 277 g of milk and keep the rest as is.
A higher hydration dough brings some different challenges which mostly include an amazing stickiness.
For a sourdough taste, use the starter from English muffin bread and keep the ratios the same. The dough will be a bit tacky, but manageable and bring a slight acid note.
They will freeze very nicely. When thawing these, or really any bread, leave the bread in the bag it is in while frozen. Even if you see lots of condensation in the bag, don’t open the bag. That moisture will go back in the bread. If you let it out, the bread will be dry and that’s yuck.
