In my ongoing quest to make as much of my food from scratch as possible, I periodically re-evaluate to check myself — what am I buying and eating from the store that I never thought to attempt to make myself? This is how I figured out how to make my own cheez-its and my own granola bars, among other things.
I bake quite a bit, especially breakfast foods at this point. I tried this delicious cinnamon bread last week. But another breakfast favorite — the English muffin — is one I’d never tried to make, and haven’t actually eaten in quite a while, for this reason. This weekend, I had a big craving, though, so I gave them a shot.
I used this recipe, which I decided was credible because it came from the Brits themselves, but I converted the measurements for you all, helpfully, below:
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cups milk
- 1 package active dry yeast (1-1/2 teaspoons)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 4 cups all-purpose flour [I used whole wheat flour, so I made sure to sift it a little extra air]
- 1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
- cornmeal for dusting
Process:
- Combine the butter and sugar in a small sauce pan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the milk, stir it and remove it from the heat. Stir in the yeast and the egg.
- Combine the flour and salt in mixing bowl. Add the milk mixture and stir till it’s all well combined. Cover and set aside for 1-1/2 hours, or refrigerate overnight (removing it from the fridge an hour before cooking).
- Heat a griddle or a skillet over medium heat. If you’re using rings, butter them. Stir the dissolved baking powder into the batter. Dust the griddle or skillet with corn meal. Scoop-pour about 1/4-cup portions onto the griddle, free form or in rings. Cook for about seven minutes. Flip them and continue cooking till done, 7 to 10 more minutes. [Mine were free-form.]
- Serve with butter, jam, peanut butter, bacon, eggs, etc!
MARISSA LANDRIGAN 