Easy English Muffins
Light, fluffy and full of nooks and crannies

We never bought English muffins much from the store, partially because they were expensive but mostly because they were always dry and tasteless. I love a good crunch butty English muffin, especially as a part of a breakfast sandwich, and decided I was going to try my hand at them. I tried several different recipes before I found the one that needed the fewest tweaks to suit my personal needs.
No one thought you could actually make english muffins at home without fancy ingredients or equipment, but I proved them wrong. My boyfriend and his family want them all the time now; my family requests them every time we all get together for the holidays. With a few simple, staple ingredients and a little time, you too can enjoy bakery-fresh englsih muffins in your own kitchen!
English Muffin Ingredients
- – Flour: All-purpose flour is all you need for this recipe, so keep the bread flour for another bake.
- – Yeast: Instant or rapid rise east is the best option to use here as it doesn’t need to be bloomed first and can just be mixed right in.
- – Milk: Whole milk provides a good flavor and keeps the muffins moist, but you can easily go low-fat or dairy-free if necessary.
- – Sugar: Even yeast needs to eat, and sugar helps give them a nice little boost
- – Egg: The egg helps to just enrich the dough and make the muffins a little more richer in flavor.
- – Butter: The perfect flavor boost and butter helps create those nooks and crannies english muffins are known for.
- -Salt: Salt adds flavor, simple as that.
English Muffin Recipe Tips
- – Don’t add too much flour: This dough is meant to be soft and slightly sticky. Don’t add any additional flour unless absolutely necessary, as this will cause the muffins to become dense
- – Make the dough ahead of time: This dough can be made the night before and stored in the fridge to slowly rise overnight. The overnight rise also allows the yeast to ferment and provides a deeper yeasty flavor.
- – Be gentle: Because this is such a soft dough, when cooking the muffins in the skillet, be gentle when flipping them to avoid knocking too much air out of them. Muffins that are over-proofed can also fall flat while cooking.
- – Use parchment paper to help muffins keep their shape: Because of the soft, sticky dough, it’s really easy for these muffins to misshapen, stretch, or even tear getting them from the baking sheet to the skillet. Parchment paper has been a huge help in preventing this.
Easy English Muffins
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 12 Muffins
Equipment
Hand or Stand Mixer
Parchment Paper
Silicone Mat (optional)
Bench Scraper or Sharp Knife
Spatula
Bowl Scraper (optional)
Large Skillet or Electric Griddle
Ingredients
3 cups (350g) All-Purpose Flour
2 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Yeast, Instant or Fast Acting
1 teaspoon (6g) Salt
2 tablespoons (24g) White Sugar
3/4 cup (165 mL) Whole Milk
1/2 cup (110mL) Warm Water
3 tablespoons (36g) Butter, melted
1 Large Egg, Room Temperature
Directions
1. Cut and prep parchment paper to make 12 4 inch by 4 inch squares and set aside.
2. Combine the milk, water, and sugar in a bowl or glass measuring cup, then stir together and warm in the microwave to 110F. Add the yeast and stir once more. Set aside for 5-7 minutes or until a foamy head develops.
3. While the yeast wakes up, combine the flour and salt in the bowl of your mixer and mix together with a paddle attachment.
4. Mix the egg and melted butter into the milk mixture, then slowly pour the liquid into your flour mixture while mixing on low. Increase the speed to medium high and mix for about 7 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth. The dough should be soft and a little sticky.
5. Transfer dough to either a floured counter or silicone mat
6. Using either a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 chunks.
7. Using either wet fingers or spray-oiled fingers, lightly shape the dough into balls and place onto the parchment squares.
8. Flatten each ball sightly, as they will puff and round out during their rest.
9. Cover light with greased plastic wrap or a baking sheet and allow to rest and rise for 45 minutes to an hour or until doubled in size.
10. Place a large skillet or electric griddle over low heat. Once you can feel the heat when placing your hand a few inches over the surface, carefully place 3-4 muffins with the parchment paper underneath on the pan.
11. Cover and cook for 2 minutes before carefully removing the parchment paper and cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Then carefully flip and cook for another 4 minutes.
12. Remove the muffins from the pan and repeat with the remaining muffins.
13. Enjoy warm from the skillet, or they can be cooled and placed in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days!