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Nov 16, 2017

No Knead English Muffins

These English muffins are soft and airy on the inside and crisp and crusty on the outside. When split with a fork, they are loaded with "nooks and crannies."

No Knead English Muffins

These English muffins are "baked" on a griddle rather than in the oven, and the dough is one-third whole wheat flour, which gives them a slightly sweet hearty flavor.

I've made English muffins using a variety of methods and dough types, including thick dough and batter-like dough. This dough is somewhere in between. It can't really be shaped, but it doesn't need to be contained by English muffin rings. The first word that comes to mind to describe it is "blobby."

No Knead English Muffins

These English muffins require and overnight rise on baking sheets before baking. This helps develop flavor as well a light, airy interior. Don't worry too much about getting these English muffins perfectly round when you shape them. I actually used an ice cream scoop to portion the dough and plop them onto the baking sheets.

You will also need a generous amount of cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking. The cornmeal also adds a fabulous crunch to the muffins. You could also use course semolina.

These were a huge hit in our house. They're very tasty toasted for breakfast topped with eggs or preserves, and are also wonderful for open faced sandwiches with melted cheese on top.

No Knead English Muffins

This month the Bread Baking Babes are making English muffins, a recipe chosen by Elle of Feeding My Enthusiasms. This recipe was adapted from Serious Eats. It's hard to believe that, after almost ten years of baking together, the Babes had not yet made English muffins!


Yield: 10 to 12 muffins

No-Knead English Muffins

ingredients:


  • 285 grams (2 cups) bread flour
  • 140 grams (1 cup) whole wheat flour
  • 11 grams (2 3/4 teaspoons) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, or 11 grams (1 1/4 teaspoons) table salt
  • 4 grams (1 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
  • 340 grams (1 1/2 cups) cold milk, any fat percentage
  • 100 grams (1/4 cup) honey
  • 1 large egg white, cold
  • Corn meal or semolina for dusting
  • 2 tablespoons of fat or oil for griddling. I used bacon fat. 

instructions:


  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and yeast. Add the milk, honey, and egg white, and stir with a dough whisk or large spoon until you have a smooth dough, about five minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside to rise for about 4 to 5 hours, until more than doubled. 
  2. When ready to shape the dough, very generously sprinkle a rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal/semolina. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, drop twelve portions of dough, about 75 grams each. You can weigh one dollop and then eyeball the rest. You can use your fingers to nudge the blobs into rough circles if necessary. They don't have to be perfect. 
  3. Generously sprinkle the tops of the dough pieces with cornmeal/semolina, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 42 hours. 
  4. Preheat an electric griddle to 325 degrees F, or heat a heavy skillet over medium low heat. Add half of the fat to the griddle, let it melt, and then place half of the muffins on the hot griddle. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes on one side, until golden brown. Flip the muffins over with a spatula, and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack. Repeat with the second half of the muffins. 
  5. Split the muffins with a fork and toast them before serving. I individually wrapped leftovers and stored them in the freezer. 
The Bread Baking Babes get together each month to make a bread chosen by one of us. The Babes who baked along are:

No Knead English Muffins

Would you like to comment?

  1. Oh I love them all lined up in the tin!

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    1. Thank you!! I thought they looked kind of cute that way =)

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  2. Blobby can't be shaped is spot on! Don't you think it odd how very long these take start to finish and how little time you had hands on? Something about that timing made these a lot of fun. I couldn't believe the fork split opened to all those nooks and crannies. Love how the corn meal really shows in your photos of the baked muffins!

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    1. I totally agree with you. So easy and fun, yet it still felt like baking bread.

      P.S. I used polenta/grits instead of cornmeal. Super crunchy, and I didn't have to use very much.

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  3. Definitely want to make these... I made two or three different recipes, always fun, but let's say I have not hit the jackpot yet... these might do it!

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  4. Your muffins are perfect! And how brilliant to serve them in a bread tin!

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  5. Crunchy cornmeal... melted cheese. Add a bowl of homemade soup and it's a perfect lunch for these cold days!

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  6. These look magnificent! Your pictures are fantastic, each and every one of them!

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  7. Karen your English muffins look perfect. Love the photos! I could just reach out and grab one.

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  8. Open faced sandwiches, what a great idea! Of course, Panos is already insisting on trying these with poached eggs, cured turkey slices and Hollandaise:) And we probably will, as we both love the combo:) Thank you for the amazing recipe dear!
    xoxo

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    1. My husband absolutely loves eggs Benedict, which sounds a lot like Panos' eggs and cured turkey. =)

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