Thick English Muffins

Submitted by Halcyon Eve

"This recipe, from King Arthur Flour, makes nice, thick English muffins that are great for sandwiches or just split and toasted. They are plain (not sourdough), made with mashed potato flakes, and use English muffin rings, which are available through several websites and don't cost that much--or make your own using small, well-scrubbed cans (like tuna cans). Times are estimated and include rising times and cooking times for 4 batches (including test muffin)."

 

• Ready In: 4hrs
• Ingredients: 9
• Yields: 12 muffins
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 1 3⁄4 cups lukewarm milk
• 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1⁄3 cup instant potato flakes
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• semolina (can use cornmeal, but burns more easily than semolina, you also can use farina a.k.a. cream of wheat)

directions

1. Combine all ingredients except semolina in a large bowl. Mix well to combine, then beat on high (with flat paddle, if using stand mixer) for 5 minutes. Dough should be sticky and glossy. Scrape down bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 90 minutes, or until about doubled in volume.
2. Heat an ungreased griddle over very low heat (300* F for electric griddle). Grease English muffin rings.
3. First, make a test muffin as follows: Place one greased ring on griddle and sprinkle a bit of semolina on griddle inside of ring. Wet fingers and a 1/2 cup measure with a little water, and scoop out a scant 1/2 cup of dough. Shape dough into a circle approximately the size of the ring, place inside of ring, and sprinkle top with a little more semolina.
4. Cook for 7 minutes, then carefully lift and check bottom, which should be a nice, medium golden-brown. If not, turn up heat a little; if too dark, turn heat down. Cook an additional 10 minutes.
5. With a pair of tongs, grab the ring and lift it off, then flip the muffin over (if ring doesn't release, flip it over, ring and all, and gently wiggle until it comes off). Cook second side for 12-18 minutes or until a deep golden brown.
6. Remove and split muffin; should be cooked through. If so, cook remaining muffins in the same way; if not cooked through, then turn heat down a little and proceed to cook remaining muffins for a little longer time than test muffin.
7. Cool muffins completely before storing in a plastic bag.

Reviews

[Umm Anas Ameenah]

These came out looking just like the photo on the King Arthur Flour website. They were big, soft and flavourful. I substituted a cup and a quarter of wholewheat flour instead of all white flour and used 21/4 tablespoons of olive oil instead of butter. Although they tasted great I felt they lacked that chewy texture that are so characteristic of English muffins-they were actually very light, a bit too light for me. They're well worth a try though but I'm not sure if I'll use this recipe again. In saying that, I would definitely choose them over any shop bought English muffins.