sprinklefingers

lately i’m taking great comfort in the wise words of julia child. says she:

learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all have fun!

normally i can take a kitchen screw-up in stride. i never think, “oh man. i  just wasted a pound of butter.” or, “crap. i just used an entire vanilla bean and for what?!” if things don’t turn out, i usually chalk it up to experience (or fun!) and move on.

but my ongoing experiments with homemade (at least partially whole wheat) english muffins were giving me heaps of trouble…and it was starting to get annoying. so annoying that, i’ll admit, i was brought to tears. crying over english muffins. that seems insane. doesn’t it? don’t answer that. please.

moving on from the tears: finally, finally this weekend i made the final adjustments needed to come up with a tasty, puffy, chewy english muffin. thank goodness.

english muffins
makes 8 thick muffins

you need:

8 english muffin rings, well-buttered, set on a well-buttered sheet tray

• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 t sugar
• 1 t kosher salt
• 2 1/4 t active dry yeast
• 1 cup 100 degree water
• 1/2 cup whole milk, heated until a skin forms on top and it bubbles at the edges
• 3 T unsalted butter, softened

to make the muffins:

1. mix together one cup of AP flour and one cup of whole wheat flour, set aside.
2. put the remaining 2 cups AP flour in a separate bowl - you will not add this to the dough until one of the very last steps, so be sure to set it aside and don’t forget to add it later (step 8.)
3. put the yeast in your mixer bowl and add just enough warm water to cover. let it sit for 3-5 minutes, or until at least a little foamy.
4. add the sugar, salt, warm water and milk to the mixer bowl and mix until completely combined using the beater attachment.
5. gradually beat the mixture of one cup AP flour and one cup whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture. mix completely.
6. remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with a clean towel. set the covered bowl in a spot that’s around 85 degrees. let it stay there for 1.5 hours.
7. after the hour & a half has elapsed, put the bowl back on the mixer, this time fitted with the dough hook. on medium speed, beat in the butter in 3-4 additions.
8. mix in the remaining 2 cups of AP flour and knead on medium-low speed until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl. this will take at least 6 minutes.
9. once the dough has been well-kneaded, dump it out of the bowl and put it on a scale. divide the total weight of the dough by 8. this number will be the amount of dough (by weight) you should fit into each muffin ring.
10. divide the dough into 8 equal portions and knead each portion into a smooth, flat disc that will fit perfectly down inside the muffin rings.
11. once all the rings are filled, set the sheet tray in a warm spot for 20 or so minutes, or until the dough has risen enough to completely fill the rings. now would be a good time to preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
12. bake the muffins for 15 minutes and then check on them. you want them to be light golden brown, not dark golden brown. if they need a few more minutes, let them go. if not, remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before removing the rings.

these muffins freeze beautifully - simply wrap the baked muffins in foil and freeze. thaw them on the counter before using, or by sticking them in a warm oven until soft.

oh my god, i’m so glad this experiment is over. phew.

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here’s a photo essay on my journey to edible english muffins. enjoy!