Fluffy Sourdough english muffins are the perfect breakfast side. They’re thick and perfectly light in texture. Toast them up and spread with preserves and butter. Or use them to sandwich your favorite breakfast meats.
I love english muffins. They were a common breakfast staple in my home growing up. My mom would serve them with a side of eggs or toast them and use them in tuna melts at lunch. They’re so simple, yet so delicious and versatile.
Within the past year, I’ve learned that sourdough can be used to make things outside the realm of pancakes and artisan bread. Basically anything that requires rising with a yeast pack that I made before, I’m now trying to convert to sourdough for the healthy benefits. I mean, if I’m going to be buying this stuff at the store anyways, why not just make it?
And so this recipe fluffy sourdough english muffins recipe was born. A breakfast essential made healthy.
What tools are needed to make fluffy sourdough English muffins?
You actually don’t need very many tools. These are the staples
Stand Mixer – This is optional, but I always think it’s a great tool to have a permanent place in the kitchen for someone who does a lot of baking.
Large Mixing Bowl – for proofing the dough overnight in
3″ Biscuit Cutter – These are just good to have on hand in general. They’re also perfect for cutting out homemade sourdough biscuits as well
Baking Sheets – For laying out the muffins during a second rise
Cast Iron Skillet – We will be baking this on a skillet, not the oven. Cast iron is always does the best skillet cooking. A griddle would work for this as well. I specifically chose a skillet for the ability to use a lid with it.
How to Make Sourdough English Muffins
To make these fluffy sourdough english muffins, start by combining your wet ingredients. These are you starter, milk, and honey. You want to mix them together completely until the starter and the honey fully dissolve into the milk.
In a separate bowl, whisk together your salt and flour.
In one cup increments, add your flour to the wet starter mixture.
Now, either in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook or by hand, you are going to give this dough a good knead for 5 minutes. Once you have kneaded the dough, add it to a well oiled bowl to rest and rise overnight for 8 hours.
Cutting Out & Baking
In the morning, assuming you mixed your dough the night before, you’re going to punch the dough down in the center and remove it from the bowl it fermented in overnight. And using either a rolling pin or your hands, flatten the dough out into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.
Using your 3 inch round biscuit cutter, cut as many of the English muffins out as possible. You will most likely have to knead your dough and roll it out again to utilize all of it. This is fine. Just make sure to always roll it out 1/2 inch in thickness so your muffins turn out thick.
Once you have all of your muffins cut out, place them on baking sheets, dust with cornmeal, and cover with a tea towel to rest for 4 hours. If your house is warm, they will rise quicker. Give them a check after 2 hours.
To cook the English muffins, heat a cast iron skillet or you griddle to a medium heat and let it get nice and hot. After it has warmed up, reduce the heat to a medium low.
You want it to be hot enough to cook the muffin thoroughly without burning the outside. Place a lid over your skillet and let one side cook for roughly 4-6 minutes until you have a nice little golden circle. The lid helps entrap the heat so the muffin cooks throughout.
Flip the English muffins after the first side is done and repeat with the second side. Let cool on a cooling rack when finished baking.
How to Store Sourdough English Muffins
The English muffins will stay fresh in an air tight bag for a few days. My favorite way to save them is to freeze them in a reusable freezer bag. This way when it’s time to eat them again, you simply heat them on 200 in your oven until defrosted. They come out tasting just as fresh as the day you made them. No lie!
What to Eat with Sourdough English Muffins
Like I said, these things are so versatile pairing nicely with breakfast and lunch. And…even dessert for the people like myself who drench them in homemade marmalade or strawberry jam and just really enjoy bread in all of it’s different forms. Here are some ideas for how and what you can eat with your freshly made muffins.
I always slice my muffins in half and toast them until slightly crunchy.
- Top with butter and preserves or jam
- BLTs
- Homemade egg mcmuffins
- Mini pizzas
- Peanut butter and honey
- Freshly chopped fruits with honey
Other Sourdough Breakfast Recipes on the Blog
Sourdough English Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 1/4 Cups of Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup of Fed Sourdough Starter
- 1 1/2 Cups of Whole Milk
- 2 Tablespoons of Honey
- 1 1/2 Tsp of Salt
- Cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- Mix together starter, milk, and honey
- Addd in the salt and flour until dough comes together
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook or with your hands, knead the dough for roughly five minutes
- Place the dough in a well oiled bowl and let rest overnight for 8 hours
- In the morning, roll the dough out into 1/2 inch thick sheet
- Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut the muffins out and spinkle the tops with cornmeal
- Lay muffins out on baking sheet and place tea towel over them
- Let rise for additional 4 hours
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat until hot
- Once heated, turn the heat down to a medium low and place the muffins in the skillet, covering with a lid
- Let the muffins cook for 4-6 minutes and then flip to the other side. Cook for another 4-6 mintutes or until done.
Notes
Cornmeal is optional
Make sure to use a lid to entrap the heat. This allows the muffin to cook thoroughly
When placing the muffins on the skillet, make sure to leave plenty of space for them to rise.
