English Muffins

I found this awesome magazine at Costco the other day. It is called Homemade Bread. It has some amazing sounded breads to make from scratch. I'm going to try many of them, and then you can have the recipe and my review of it. This week I made English Muffins from this magazine's recipe. It was different than my other English Muffin recipe so I was intrigued to try it out. I however, needed to make a triple batch as the original recipe said it only made 18 English Muffins. I am prepping for a week long trip to California with my in-laws, and we are bringing our food for the trip. I know it's a lot of work, but it will save us a TON of money on food that way. So, feeding 7 people for 7 days (making sure they have enough choices and food) is the hard part. My family LOVES English Muffins with cream cheese. So instead of purchasing TONS of English Muffins, I decided to save money and make them. They are easy to make and way healthier for you. No preservatives which is really nice. My kids keep snitching these, which is a good sign. Meaning, make extra, your gonna want them. They also freeze well.  I will post the original batch, and then my tripled batch amounts. (my triple batch made 70 english muffins). The directions are the same no matter if you make the single or triple batches.

English Muffins
Ingredients (single batch-makes 18 english muffins)
1 2/3 cup milk, scalded (180 degrees F)
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp honey
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 packet (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
Cornmeal for dusting

Ingredients (Triple batch-makes 70 English muffins)
4 2/3 cup milk, scalded (180 degrees F)
12 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp honey
3 large eggs, lightly beaten (I used powdered eggs, as I was all out of eggs)
2 pkg yeast (4 1/2 tsp) yeast
12 cups all-purpose flour (I used Lehi rollermills unbleached flour, can use bread flour)
3 cups whole wheat flour
Cornmeal for dusting

Directions:
Pour scalded milk into a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter, salt and honey, and mix until the butter is melted. Let cool to 105 degree F. Stir in the egg and yeast. Stir in both flours, and mix to form a rough ball.

Turn dough out onto a floured board, and knead for five to eight minutes until smooth. Place dough into a large bowl, and cover with a clean cloth. Let the dough rise for one hour in a warm, draft-free area or until doubled in bulk.

Turn out the dough onto a floured board, and roll out to 1/2 inch thick. Use a 3-inch-round cookie cutter to cut dough into circles. place the circles on a baking sheet, and sprinkle lightly with corn meal on one side. Let the circles rest for 20 minutes.

Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over low heat. Gently place muffins in the skillet or griddle, cornmeal side down. Cook the muffins for six to eight minutes, then turn them over and cook for another six to eight minutes. Monitor them carefully to make sure they're browning and not burning. (turn heat down if starting to brown)

Slice the muffins lengthwise, and toast them. Serve with butter and jam or make a breakfast sandwich with eggs and bacon. My family likes cream cheese. Leftover muffins can be sliced and frozen. Place frozen muffin halves in the toaster to thaw.

**For a sweet change of pace, add 1 cup of raisins or dried fruit to the dough before kneading.