Homemade English Muffins with Nooks & Crannies

By Peggio

Adapted from recipe by Alton Brown

Ingredients

• Mixture #1:
• 1/2 C (36g) nonfat milk (or buttermilk) powder
• 1 TBS (14g) sugar
• 1 tsp (2g) salt
• 1 TBS (14g) melted shortening or vegetable oil (Use something flavorless.)
• 1 C (8 fl. oz) hot water
• Mixture #2:
• 1 envelope (7g) dry yeast
• 1/8 tsp (A pinch) sugar
• 1/3 C (2.7 fl. oz/78 cc) lukewarm water
• 2 C (250g) all-purpose flour, sifted
• JUST BEFORE cooking muffins, add
• 1 tsp (2g) salt
• 1 tsp (2g) baking soda

Details

Servings 8
Preparation time 45mins
Cooking time 57mins
Adapted from shesimmers.com

Preparation

Step 1

Mix the ingredients listed under Mixture #1 together in one bowl; stir until the sugar is fully dissolved and let it cool down to lukewarm.
Mix together the ingredients listed under Mixture #2 in another bowl and let it rest until the yeast has dissolved.

Add Mixture #2 to the bowl containing Mixture #1 and mix well.

Add the flour to the wet mixture and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Set a nonstick pancake griddle over medium-low heat; coat it lightly with vegetable oil spray OR sprinkle some cornmeal inside the rings once you place them.

Add the other 2 grams of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the batter and mix thoroughly.

Coat English muffin rings insides with vegetable oil spray & place on the griddle.

Fill each muffin ring about 3/4 full; cover with a cookie sheet (see notes below) and cook for 5-6 minutes.

Remove the cookie sheet and flip the muffins (in the rings) over with a pair of tongs. Cover with a cookie sheet and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove the muffins from the griddle, rings and all.

Carefully remove the rings and let the muffins cool completely before splitting them.

My Notes (shesimmers):

I have made two batches using Alton Brown's recipe. For the first batch, I followed his procedure exactly and got very good results. However, for the second batch, I decided to experiment with adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda to create the bubbling effect in the dough (per some other good recipes that I had tried) just before it went on the griddle. This method yields even more pronounced nooks and crannies. In fact, from now on, I think I will add baking soda to my dough every time.

Brown suggests that you use an electric griddle and set the temperature at 300° F. But I used my pancake griddle and set it on medium-low heat -- I would say a couple of notches above your lowest setting.

Be sure to grease the bottom of the cookie sheet which is to be placed on top of the filled muffin rings. You want to keep the dough inside the muffin rings, not underneath the cookie sheet after it has been removed.