Homemade English Muffins made with sourdough. These delicious English muffins are made with both active dry yeast and sourdough starter. The sourdough adds a delicious tang to the muffins and the yeast allows this recipe to be made quicker than with just sourdough alone. This recipe is a great way to use up extra sourdough starter.
I've started making sourdough bread. My sourdough starter is pretty active and I keep feeding it everyday. When I get too much starter and I'm not ready to bake another batch of bread, I make a batch of these sourdough English muffins.
This recipe doesn't take as long as most sourdough recipes because it gets a boost from active dry yeast. The sourdough starter is added for additional flavor. For this recipe you do not need to make a sponge before starting.
From time to time I also make English muffins. Since I have active sourdough starter I've been making these sourdough ones lately.
To make these English muffins, you need to first start by making a sourdough starter. If you already have a starter on hand, use that. A starter can often take anywhere from 3 to 10 days before it's ready to use.
To make English Muffins
- Make bread dough
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover until doubled in size - 1 ½ - 2 hours
- Deflate dough and divide into 24 pieces
- Roll each piece into a round and press to flatten.
- Place shaped dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly sprinkled with cornmeal.
- Allow dough to rise for 30 - 60 minutes
- Cook English muffins in small batches on a preheated case iron griddle or skillet
- Flip muffins every 3 minutes or when they begin to turn too dark. You don't want your muffins to burn. Continue flipping every 3 minutes. The entire cook time for each muffin is 12-15 minutes.
- After each flip, lightly press down on the English muffin with a cooking spatula. This helps keep the shape of your muffin. Otherwise you will have a very round muffin.
- Place cooked muffins on a baking rack and allow to fully cool before eating.
Fork Split your muffins
Split your muffins in half and pop in the toaster for a nicely toasted treat. To split your muffins, use a fork. Just poke the tines of the fork through the middle of the muffins. Continue all the way around the muffin and then pry open with fork.
Why Fork Split English Muffins?
- Fork splitting leaves a craggy surface on the interior of the muffin
- The nooks and crannies created by fork split are perfect for butter or jam
- The uneven surfaces toast up with brown bits, adding extra flavor
You can always split your muffins with a knife too, but you don't get that uneven surface. In the photo below, the knife cut muffin is in front
This recipe makes 24 English Muffins. These only stay fresh tasting for a few days so I usually freeze at least half the batch.
To Freeze English Muffins
- Allow muffins to fully cool
- Fork split or leave whole
- Place in a single layer in a freezer safe container or bag
- To use, remove from freezer and let thaw
Tips for making English Muffins
- Use a cast iron skillet
- Adjust heat as needed - I have a gas stove with a dial temperature adjuster with numbers 1-10 (1 being the lowest setting) I keep my burner set between 2 and 3. I often adjust throughout the cooking process.
- If your burner is too hot, the muffins will cook too quickly on the outside and will not cook on the inside
- If your burner is too cool, the cooking process will take too long and you will get a very hard crust
- Flip muffins every 2-3 minutes. Continue flipping until a total cooking time of 12-15 minutes
- Lightly flatten the muffins with a spatula after every flip
- Allow muffins to fully cool before splitting and eating
These muffins are perfect for making Breakfast Sandwiches with a scrambled egg and breakfast sausage. They are also perfect with a bit of homemade strawberry jam, blackberry jam or honey butter!
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If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my bread recipes.
Sourdough English Muffins
Ingredients
English Muffins
- 2 cups milk (warmed)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ cup sourdough starter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 - 6 ½ cups flour
Forming Muffins
- ¼ corn meal
Instructions
Make Dough
- Combine milk, yeast and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.2 cups milk, 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 2 tablespoons sugar
- Add sourdough starter, butter, eggs, salt and 2 cups of flour. Mix and then continue adding flour ½ cup at a time until dough comes together and forms a ball. You may not use all the flour.½ cup sourdough starter, ¼ cup butter, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, 6 - 6 ½ cups flour
- Knead for 10 minutes
- Put dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside until doubled in size, approximately 1 -2 hours. Rise time varies depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- When dough has doubled, gently punch down and form into another ball. Divide dough into 24 pieces. To do this, divide dough into quarters and then each quarter into 6 equal pieces.
- Form each piece into a ball. Gently flatten dough so it forms a 4 inch disc. Place dough on a surface covered with corn meal to help avoid sticking to surface. Allow dough to rise for 30 - 45 minutes.¼ corn meal
Cooking Muffins
- Just before cooking, flatten again so muffin has a flat surface.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet or other skillet over medium low heat. Place 3-4 muffins on hot surface so muffins are not touching.
- Cook for 3 minutes per side and flip. Cook again for 3 minutes and flip again. Repeat one more time. Total cooking time is approximately 12-15 minutes per muffin. Press muffin down lightly with spatula with each flip. This helps maintain a flat muffin shape and not a rounded shape.
- Adjust temperature of stove as needed. If muffins burn before 3 minutes, lower heat.
- Cool muffins on a baking rack until fully cooled.
- Repeat with remaining muffins until all muffins are cooked
Notes
Tips for making English Muffins
- Use a cast iron skillet
- Adjust heat as needed - I have a gas stove with a dial temperature adjuster with numbers 1-10 (1 being the lowest setting) I keep my burner set between 2 and 3. I often adjust throughout the cooking process.
- If your burner is too hot, the muffins will cook too quickly on the outside and will not cook on the inside
- If your burner is too cool, the cooking process will take too long and you will get a very hard crust
- Flip muffins every 2-3 minutes. Continue flipping until a total cooking time of 12-15 minutes
- Lightly flatten the muffins with a spatula after every flip
- Allow muffins to fully cool before splitting and eating
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in February of 2019. The directions have been updated and several pictures have been added.
Carol Dean says
Loved this recipe. They turned out really good.
Kathy says
Thank you!!! 🙂
Nathan McBride says
Fantastic recipe and easy to follow, makes such soft delicious muffins I struggle not to eat them as they come off the griddle! I always use 720g flour and it's perfect.
Kathy says
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed them.
Kathy 🙂
AB says
This turned out great. I followed the recipe though I used a fresh starter so mine will not be sour. They would work perfect without yeast and do a long slow rise to get a “sour” taste. Easy to follow. Be patient when cooking them. Thanks for sharing!
Kathy says
Thank you!
E* says
I just made these and they taste amazing! I thought I hated English muffins, but figured I would make some for my family to enjoy. It turns out that English muffins are *delicious* when homemade, and this recipe was easy to follow. To give you an idea of my baking level, this is the first time I've ever made anything with yeast. Tip: I heated the milk to 110 degrees F using a digital thermometer, and that seemed to work well (this will be obvious to most people reading this I guess, but again, first time). Thank you for a great recipe! Now I'm excited to try your others.
Kathy says
Hooray!!! Good for you for giving it a try and for being successful! I find homemade is so much better than store bought. Thanks for the tip about the milk - I'm sure others can use it too! 🙂
Linda Rickard says
I followed this recipe TO.A.TEE and they didn't taste anything like sourdough.
Kathy says
Hi Linda,
I'm sorry these didn't meet your expectations. Every sourdough starter is different and has a different taste, so a lot will depend on your individual sourdough starter. This recipe only uses 1/2 cup of starter, which isn't a lot, but in most instances it is enough for the sourdough flavor to come through.
Kathy