Thursday, January 27, 2011

English Muffins- Nooks and Crannies Included

 
 English muffins are one of my favorite breakfast treats. The toppings have all of those nooks and crannies to melt into, making every crunchy bite a tasty treat. They're great toasted, with butter and jam or even peanut butter and jelly.  I especially love them with an egg and cheese on top.  (Every once in a while I might even sneak a piece of crispy bacon on them.)

 I used Alton Brown's super easy recipe for these, but replaced half of the all purpose flour with freshly ground whole wheat. They were tender, tasty and full of those nooks and crannies that make English muffins delicious- I promise! Make sure to split them with a fork instead of slicing them with a knife- that makes them even better in my book.


English Muffins
recipe from Alton Brown
Ingredients
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt, divided (I used 3/4 teaspoon)
1 tablespoon shortening (I used Smart Balance)
1 cup hot water
1 envelope dry yeast
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat) sifted after measuring
Non-stick vegetable spray
Equipment needed: electric griddle, 3 inch metal rings -If you don't have the rings especially made for English muffins, tuna cans with both top and bottom cut out work perfectly. (If you buy the tuna specifically for this, make sure that the brand you choose has a top and bottom that you can remove. Some cans have rounded bottoms.) Or you could use metal cookie cutters- how about hearts?)

Directions
  • In a large bowl, combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, shortening and hot water. Stir until shortening is melted and all other ingredients are dissolved. Cool until just warm.
  • In another small bowl, combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon sugar with the warm water. Let this rest until the yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture and stir. 
  • Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
  • Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.
To cook:
  • Preheat the griddle to 300°F.
  • Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. (I added only 1/4 tsp.) 
  • Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with the vegetable oil spray. 
  • Using an ice cream or cookie scoop that holds about 1/4 cup  (I used my largest Pampered Chef cookie scoop) put a scoop of batter into each ring. 
  • Cover the batter filled rings with a cookie sheet that you've sprayed with non-stick spray. Cook for 5-6 minutes. 
  • Carefully remove the lid and flip the rings using tongs. (I also had to use a spatula, as some of my muffins didn't entirely fill the rings.) 
  • Cover again with the cookie sheet lid and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. 
  • Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork, toast and serve.
  • Yields 8 muffins
I'm sending these English muffins to Full Plate Thursday at Miz Helen's Country Cottage.

31 comments:

  1. It's been a long time since I've made English muffins. I used tuna cans for the rings when I did them. I have a lot of orange marmalade left that would tastily fill those nooks and crannies. I'll need to eat a few cans of tuna first.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  2. I love English muffins. I have them every morning for breakfast with Canadian bacon and egg whites! I have never made homemade ones before, but will now! : )

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  3. Sound like a great breakfast idea!

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  4. AB is a genius! Fantastic recipe - I have always wanted to make these...(I say that about a lot of his recipes...) PS - made ur BBQ meatloaf with some pepper jelly I got for Christmas - the recipe was a hit! Thanx!

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  5. Those English muffins are simply BEAUTIFUL!!! Wow, I have to try English muffins! I can't believe I have never made them myself yet as I LOVE to bake too! :-)

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  6. I have never made English muffins , ever !
    U have some v wonderful ones here and so wanna have some too!
    No wonder its ur all time fav!
    Am sooo looking forward to ur B'stilla and will sure be here for jus that!

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  7. They look great! So does your jam:@)

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  8. I've lived in Britain for many years, and have never tried the English muffin lol. There are always those in the stores, but they never look good and don't appeal to me. The homemade version looks so different! Yours look so delicious I LOVE it! And I bet they smell so good. I would love some of that with some good homemade jam for breakfast. Mmmmm yummm.

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  9. Yummy! You should try these with some of the peanut butter hummus I just wrote about for an afternoon snack! English Muffins aren't just for breakfast anymore!

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  10. I would never think of baking these but they look delish. What a great idea. Isn't Alton great. I always know his recipes will work. I just made some great jam. I think I'll have to make these. B:)

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  11. Delicious! Homemade english muffins are hard to beat :). Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

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  12. I don't usually love english muffins, but these look WAY better than the store bought kind!

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  13. These English Muffins are just wonderful! I can't wait to try them. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful Muffins with us here at Full Plate Thursday. You have a great week end and please come back!

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  14. I like how you used whole wheat flour as well! Great substitution!

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  15. I do love toasted English Muffins for breakfast and yours look perfect! Thanks for this recipe - I can't wait to try them.

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  16. Yum-these looks awesome!! I've never thought to make english muffins homemade-thanks for the inspiration!:)

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  17. wow Those muffins look scrumptious! Perfect with some homemade jam.

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  18. I love a warm, buttery English muffin, but for some reason I've never thought to bake them at home. These are so beautiful, Betty, and absolutely inspiring! Thank you for sharing. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  19. Well done! What a nice thing to wake up to

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  20. Such lucky ladies to get those muffins. Love the whole wheat twist. I'm sure that even with a fork I would make a mess splitting these. You did such a beautiful job!

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  21. I've never made these before but you did such a perfect job with them that I'm inspired to! :)

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  22. Oh, I need to try Alton Brown's recipe, too. I love Peter Reinhardt's from Bread Baker's Apprentice so much that I haven't branched out, but these look wonderful. Also want to try David Chang's Momofuko's recipe as everyone is raving about those as well. Yours look so wonderful and the setting is so inviting!

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  23. Awesome! Although I've made English Muffin Bread, I've never actually made English Muffins! I want to, though and this sounds like a great recipe. They look wonderfuL :D

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  24. Wow! I would love to make homemade English muffins! Interesting how they are prepared. Yours came out perfect:)

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  25. These look great. I want to try to make some. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I'm your newest follower.

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  26. English muffins are probably my favorite bread product. (And I only say probably because it's so hard to pick the best carb!) Yours look fantastic!

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  27. Wow your English muffins look perfect :)

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  28. You are inspiring me to try these. It doesn't look like the dough has to be kneaded so don't even need a bread machine. Bet they are so much better than store-bought.

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  29. oh yum! I love english muffins but have never tried making them

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  30. I have always wanted to try making my own English muffins. These look so perfect!!

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Thanks for stopping by scrambled hen fruit! I appreciate all of your comments and look forward to reading them.

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