English Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Make the dough
Dissolve the yeast in ⅓ cup of cold water.
Add the dissolved yeast and salt to the warm water.
Gradually stir the mixture into the flour and beat the dough thoroughly.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place until spongy, preferably overnight for breakfast.
Shape and bake
Sprinkle flour on a breadboard and shape the dough into balls about twice the size of an egg.
Drop the balls onto a greased pan and place it on the back part of the stove where it is not too hot.
Once the cakes have risen a little, bake for about 20 minutes.
Tear them apart, butter them, and serve.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Flour
- Forms the dough's gluten structure that traps gas and gives the muffins their body.
- Yeast
- Produces carbon dioxide as it ferments, which makes the dough rise and become spongy.
- Warm water
- Hydrates the flour and activates the yeast so the dough can develop and rise.
- Salt
- Controls yeast activity and adds flavor to the dough.
The step that matters
Keeping the gentle heat on the back of the stove. If the pan is too hot, the outside sets and browns before the inside has risen and cooked through. Gentle heat lets the cakes rise first and then bake evenly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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