Sourdough English Muffins

It takes more time to make Sourdough English Muffins than regular English Muffins, but if you like the heartier texture and flavor of sourdough it is so worth it! 

To make Sourdough English Muffins, you will need a sourdough starter. If you don't already have one going, just follow my easy method at How to Make Your Own Sourdough Starter. Or if you prefer a non-sourdough muffin, try my regular English Muffin recipe instead. 

But we love sourdough everything, so naturally I would develop a Sourdough English Muffin recipe. And these are true wild yeast sourdough, no added commercial yeast. (Didn't want you to throw in an envelope of yeast, thinking I had accidentally left it out of the recipe.) 

Of course, if you bake with sourdough you know that I can't tell you how long to allow for the second rise. Unlike commercial yeast, sourdough starters are all different and never as fast as yeast. That second rise might take 3 hours or it might take 9. Mine took 6 hours. Since I've had my starter going for several months, I can expect these muffins to take about that long to rise any time I make them and plan accordingly. 

Does that mean you have to check the dough constantly during the second rise? No. Just check it after 2 or 3 hours, then again every hour. 

And what about the temperature? These are cooked on a griddle, not in the oven, so the temperature takes a bit of tinkering the first time. They need to be cooked at a temperature low enough that they can cook for 10 minutes on each side (so they'll be cooked through) without burning. I use a heavy square griddle on the "big burner" (16,200 BTU) of my gas stove and set it on "2." A little trial and error will help you sort it out for your particular pan and stove. 

I cook the 12 muffins in two batches mainly because I only have 8 crumpet/muffin rings. I think I'll just go ahead and order another box of 4 rings and do them all at once on two griddles and pop half into the freezer.

Sourdough English Muffins 

(Makes 12, in 2 batches) 

1 cup fed 100% hydration sourdough starter (Follow Steps 1 and 2)
1 cup (8 fluid ounces/236 ml) milk 

3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled 

1 tablespoon sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 dip-and-sweep cups (15 ounces/425 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon (0.5 ounce/14 grams) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, for greasing rings and griddle
1/4 cup cornmeal for dusting

1 Two days before cooking muffins: Feed up your starter to 1 cup: Take 2 tablespoons starter out of refrigerated storage container. Put it in a 2-cup glass measure. Stir in 1/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Stir vigorously, cover loosely and let stand at room temperature for 8 or 12 hours. 

2 Stir down starter and add 1/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Proceed as in previous step. 

3 Day before cooking muffins: Stir down fed starter and measure 1 cup of it into 2-quart glass measure. (Should be exactly 1 cup; if over, just add any leftover starter to your starter storage jar.) With a dough whisk or large spoon, stir in milk, melted butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup flour. When all the flour is incorporated, stir in remaining 1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup at a time. Stir until dough just comes together into a soft, slightly sticky dough. 

4 Using the final 1/2 cup of flour, sprinkle dough very lightly with flour and knead gently, right in the bowl, for a minute, adding only as much extra (over the 1/2 cup) flour as needed to handle the dough. Divide dough in two (I use my digital scale to be precise). Cover and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate overnight. 

5 On baking day: Bring a batch of dough out of refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. 

6 Brush griddle very lightly with melted butter. Brush six 3.5-inch / 9-cm crumpet rings with butter and place on the griddle. 

7 With greased hands, shape dough into an even log and divide into 6 equal portions* (about 2.75 ounces or 78 grams). Shape into smooth balls and pat into 3.5-inch rounds. Dip in cornmeal to coat both sides evenly. 

* If you like to be quite precise, as I usually do, weigh the finished dough and divide by 6. 

8 Place cornmeal-coated rounds inside rings and press dough to fit rings. Spray a rimless baking sheet with cooking spray, and place over rings. Let rise until puffed and risen to top of rings, anywhere from 3 to 9 hours.

* You can make these without the rings, but the muffins will have a more irregular appearance. 

9 Uncover the muffins. Set the muffin-filled griddle over very low heat and cook the muffins slowly for about 10 minutes until browned. With tongs, remove the rings (or remove the tongs a few minutes after turning, which is what I've taken to doing lately). Turn the muffins carefully and cook slowly for about 10 minutes until second side is browned and muffins are cooked through. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the muffin horizontally should register 200 degrees. 

10 Cool on wire rack. Then split with a fork, toast and serve. Splitting with a fork, rather than cutting with a knife, will preserve the nooks and crannies, the unique texture of the English muffin.


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