Wonderful English Muffins Recipes

Steps:

• Scald milk in a saucepan; add butter, sugar and salt. Stir until butter melts; cool to lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; add to milk mixture. Stir in all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour until smooth. Add sesame seeds, poppy seeds and enough remaining whole wheat flour to make a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Roll to 1/3-in. thickness on a cornmeal-covered surface. Cut into circles with a 3-1/2-in. or 4-in. cutter; cover with a towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes., Place muffins, cornmeal side down, in a greased skillet; cook over medium-low heat for 12-14 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Turn and cook about 12-14 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire racks; split and toast to serve.

Steps:

• Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
• Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
• Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast. Great with orange butter, or cream cheese and jam.

Steps:

• Place flour into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on one side of the flour and salt on the other side. Add milk, sugar, butter, and egg; mix to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, smooth, and stretchy, about 10 minutes.
• Place dough into a large oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double the size, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and divide into 16 pieces. Press each into English muffin rings. Sprinkle both sides with semolina and let rest another 30 minutes.
• Preheat a griddle to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), or a heavy-based frying pan over low heat. Cook the muffins on the preheated griddle or pan until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a muffin reaches 200 F (93 degrees C), 7 to 10 minutes per side.

Steps:

• Place 1/4 cup flour, yeast, and 1/2 cup water in a mixing bowl. Whisk together and set aside for about 10 minutes to see if thin layer of foam develops to ensure yeast is active. Drizzle in vegetable oil; add salt, egg white, remaining 1 3/4 cup flour, and remaining 1/4 cup warm water. Mix together until dough is very wet and sticky. Cover. Set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Pull dough gently from sides of bowl, stirring slightly, and turn out onto a well-floured rolling surface. Work in just enough flour until dough is easily handled and can be cut into 6 pieces, about 1 minute. Cut dough into 6 equal portions. Form a seamless ball of dough, adding a pinch of flour to keep it from sticking. Flatten to make thick disks. Transfer dough onto a lined baking sheet sprinkled generously with cornmeal. Let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Add clarified butter to skillet over medium heat. Carefully transfer muffin disks to skillet. Cook in batches to avoid overcrowding. Brown on one side, 5 or 6 minutes. Turn, and brown the other side, 5 or 6 minutes. Continue turning to get muffins evenly browned and cooked through, 7 or 8 minutes total per side. Transfer to a cooking rack and cool completely (this is key as you can't split the muffins unless they are cooled).
• Split cooled muffins with a fork, inserting tines all the way around edges so the 2 sides can be pulled apart. Toast and serve with jam.