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4.94 from 63 votes

Homemade English Muffin Recipe (step by step)

A toasted English muffin slathered in butter and jam is one of life's little pleasures. You'll be happy to know that perfect homemade English muffins are easy to make with good instructions and no special equipment.
Prep Time1 hour 40 minutes
Cook Time14 minutes
If cooking in 2 batches, add:14 minutes
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine: American
Servings (change as needed): 10 English Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups warm water it will feel warm on your wrist
  • 1 tablespoon sugar (12.5 g)
  • 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast (2.83 g), Note 1 e.g. Rapid-rise yeast
  • 2 tablespoon oil (canola, vegetable or neutral olive oil) melted butter is fine too
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour or bread flour plus up to 1/4 cup extra
  • 1 teaspoon salt (add extra pinch if using kosher salt)
  • cornmeal for dusting (about 2-3 tbsp)

Instructions

  • MAKE YEAST MIXTURE: In medium-large bowl, add warm water. Sprinkle sugar over surface. Then sprinkle yeast over surface. Set aside for 10 minutes. It will foam and cloud up.
  • MAKE DOUGH: Add oil, salt and flour to the same bowl with the yeast mixture. Mix with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Transfer to a floured surface (I use piece of parchment dusted with flour for easy clean up). Dough will be soft and sticky. Knead dough for 5 minutes, adding just enough flour, a bit at a time, until you no longer have sticky dough. I typically end up adding about 3-4 tbsp.
  • LET DOUGH RISE: Spray inside of a medium-large bowl with oil. Transfer dough into bowl. Cover loosely and let it rise for about 1 hour until it doubles in size. Tip: To speed up the rise, I turn my oven to warm, open the oven door a few inches and place the bowl at the edge of the stove top to get warmth from oven. Dough will double in 30-50 minutes.
  • FORM DOUGH INTO MUFFINS: Once risen, transfer dough to a floured surface. Knead a couple of times. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. I 'strangle' the dough between my thumb and first finger to 'cut' it. Roll pieces lightly between your hands to make balls. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon cornmeal onto sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Place dough balls on top of cornmeal and flatten into discs with the ball of one hand to 3/4 inch thick. Lightly spray top of discs and sprinkle on cornmeal to top of discs. Loosely cover with a kitchen towel to let puff up for 20 minutes.
  • DRY FRY MUFFINS: Heat large frying pan, griddle or cast iron skillet to Medium-Low heat (4 out of 10 on my stove) and spray it with oil. Transfer as many muffins that will fit in pan leaving 1/2 inch between them. You may have to do two batches or use a second pan. Cover pan and cook muffins for 9 minutes until light golden brown and toasted. Note 2. Flip to second side, then cover and cook for another 5 minutes until golden and toasted.
    Check for doneness: If muffins are not browning enough, increase the heat to medium the last couple of minutes. If browning too quickly, lower heat or finish cooking in 350F/177C oven for 5-10 minutes. An instant thermometer slid into the side of a muffin will read 200F/93C.
    Repeat with remaining muffins if you are cooking them in two batches. Cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack before eating.

Video

Notes

  1. If you don't have instant yeast: you can use 1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast instead. 
  2. For less puffy muffins: The muffins will puff up when cooked and deflate only slightly on cooling. If you like flatter denser muffins, you can press them down a little with a spatula while cooking. I also found that if you leave them uncovered while cooking, they will take about 5 extra minutes to cook. 
  3. Make Ahead:
    • Store the English muffins, once fully cooled, at room temperature for several days in a sealed bag or air-tight container. Or freeze them for up to 3 months.
    • Tip: Once cooled, I split the muffins into halves with a fork before freezing them. Then I pop the frozen halves into the toaster as needed straight from the freezer (no need to defrost). 
Nutrition values are estimates for one plain English muffin. 
Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 235mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 2mg