Homemade English Muffins
Do you know the muffin man,
– Nursery Rhyme.
The muffin man, the muffin man?
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?
So, are “English muffins” really English?
Yes and no. It’s complicated. More complicated than a number of misinformed websites would have you believe.For starters, an ancestor, if you will, of the English muffin has been around in England and the U.K. for centuries. And still is, though it just goes by the name of “muffin”, thank you very much, no place of origin required. Take the Welsh bara, for instance, small round yeast cakes that were cooked on bakestones in ancient times. Or Ms. Hannah Glasse’s 1747 recipe for “Muffings and Oat-Cakes” which I must say, sound an awful lot like today’s English muffin: they’re made with yeast and cooked on both sides (unlike a crumpet) on a griddle, and possess the white ‘waist’ and interior holes English muffins are famous for. What’s more, Ms. Glasse is adamant about not using a knife, but instead hand-opening your “muffings” to get to the “Honey-comb”-like inside … um, “nooks and crannies” anyone?
Not too long after Ms. Glasse in the early 1800s, we have our very own Thomas Jefferson writing home from Washington, asking for help in making his beloved muffins, which were yeast-raised and baked on the griddle – essentially an English muffin.
The Muffin Men
Chewier and moister than a crumpet, and made from dough and not batter, it is this type of flatbread muffin that is undoubtedly the kind referred to in the nursery song “Do You Know the Muffin Man?” In 19th century London, muffins were baked by the local baker (e.g. one who “lives in Drury Lane”), as household ovens were not yet commonplace. The muffins were then sold door-to-door by the muffin men, who would roam the streets in the early morning, carrying a tray of hot muffins on their heads, and ringing a bell to let people know they were in the neighborhood. (Why they carried the muffins on their heads is still a mystery.)
S.B. Thomas
Enter British-ex-pat-cum-New Yorker Samuel Bath Thomas. Arriving in New York in 1874 with his mother’s recipe for one of these style of yeast-leavened, flat muffins – and a supposedly secret process for griddle-baking them – Thomas didn’t get a chance to sell his “toaster crumpets” until he opened his own bakery in Manhattan in 1880. His muffins quickly became popular with fancier restaurants and hotels, being perceived as a more elegant option than plain ol’ toast, and by the early 1900s they were prevalent and being called “English muffins.” (Apparently “toaster crumpet” didn’t stick.)
My final take? Thomas was as much savvy entrepreneur as talented baker, and seemed to know how to tap into a new market, as well as promote his own baked goods. But the idea that he “invented” the yeast-leavened, griddle-baked muffin seems a pretty big stretch. Genius, however, to offer the individual-sized muffins for sale when no other bakeries were offering such a product.
One more interesting tidbit: the Thomas recipe for those perfect ‘nooks and crannies’ is so top-secret that as recently as eight years ago there was a dustup involving an ex-employee absconding with it that reads like something from John le Carré.
Ah, but who needs Thomas’ super-secret English muffin recipe when you can make your own version? This recipe from The Kitchn makes truly scrumptious English muffins and they’re not that hard to make. Try them with some butter, homemade raspberry jam, or as the base for eggs Benedict.
Tips
- Use a fork to split these open, not a knife, just as Ms. Hannah Glasse (see above) admonished.
- Keep your bench scraper handy because wow, is this dough sticky. Seriously, it looks and feels like (used) chewing gum. Fun but extremely messy.
Reality Bakes
Having no muffin rings, I had to improvise and used jam jar lid rings, which only went so far as to shaping the muffins. (And the dough stuck to them like crazy.) My starter came out great and it was quite simple to put these together, though I recommend finishing them in the oven after browning them on the griddle/in the skillet.
English Muffins
Ingredients
For the dough starter:
- 3/4 cup bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup water, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
For the English muffin dough:
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 to 3 1/4 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, leveled off
- Semolina or cornmeal, for dusting
- Butter for the skillet
Instructions
- Make the dough starter by mixing the flour, water, and yeast in a small bowl. Whisk until the batter is smooth and glossy, about 100 strokes. Cover and set aside for 1 to 12 hours. The longer you let it ferment, the better the flavor.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, combine the milk and the yeast for the dough. Add the starter and use a whisk to break it up and dissolve it into the milk. Mix well until quite frothy.
- Add the sugar, butter, and salt to the bowl. Whisk to combine. Add 3 cups of the flour and mix with a sturdy spatula until you form a shaggy dough.
- With a dough hook on a stand mixer, knead the dough until it comes together in a ball, 5 to 8 minutes on medium speed. You can also knead by hand if you don't have a mixer. Only add flour a little bit at a time if the dough is extra sticky. The dough is ready when it forms into a ball and springs back when poked; it will feel tacky to the touch, but shouldn't stick to your hands.
- Transfer the dough to a large, lightly-oiled bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to 3 days.
- Turn the risen dough out onto work surface that's lightly floured. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls.
- Sprinkle semolina or cornmeal over a baking sheet and arrange the balls on top. Allow a little bit of room between each ball of dough. If you have muffin rings, place them around the balls. Sprinkle the tops of the balls with more semolina or cornmeal. Let the dough rise until puffy, 1 to 2 hours.
- Warm a skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium low heat. Place another rimmed baking sheet in the center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Coat the bottom of the skillet lightly with a small pat of butter to prevent sticking. Working in small batches to avoid crowding, and keeping remaining dough covered, cook the muffins 6 to 8 minutes per side until deep golden brown. Transfer muffins using a spatula to preheated baking sheet in oven and bake the muffins until cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes, then split with a fork, add your favorite spread or topping, and enjoy! The muffins will keep for several days in an airtight container, or they can be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to 3 months.
