It’s been a a few months since I first shared a tutorial on how to make your own sourdough starter. Have you tried it yet? If not, I highly recommend you go get a batch started… Right now!
Everyone thinks of chewy San Francisco sourdough bread when they think of sourdough starter… And it’s great stuff. But, sourdough starter can be used for so much more! It adds great layers of flavor to your homemade breads and other baked goods… In addition to breads, I’ve also used my starter in cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, and even naan.
You can probably tell that I really love experimenting with my sourdough starter, and I’m always looking for new recipes to try. So, when I came across these homemade Sourdough English Muffins on the Red Star Yeast site, I knew that I had to give them a try.
I was really pleased with how the English muffins turned out. They were really easy to make, too. Even if you’re not real comfortable with yeast breads, I’d recommend giving these a try. I’ve included step-by-step photos to walk you through the whole process… And, using a stand mixer makes it simple and easy (with not a lot of mess in the kitchen!).
While it has been years since I bought a package of English muffins at the store, my husband and I rediscovered our love of English muffins after I made a batch of these. They were fabulous toasted and slathered with just a bit of butter and jam. But, I think we liked them best as the base for homemade breakfast sandwiches made with sausage, egg, and cheese. Regardless of how you choose to enjoy them, I really think you’ll love these homemade English muffins, nooks, crannies, and all.
Sourdough English Muffins
Makes 14-16 muffins
(Recipe from Red Star Yeast; Used with permission)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup sourdough starter, at room temperature
- 3 cups bread flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 1/4 (1 packet) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Cornmeal for sprinkling
Combine the water and oil in a microwaveable bowl (or liquid measuring cup) and heat for about 30 seconds, until the temperature reaches120-130ºF.
In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 cup of the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the sourdough starter and warmed liquid ingredients. Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachments for about 4 minutes. Switch to the dough hook, and gradually add the remaining flour, kneading on the slowest speed for 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease the top. Cover and let rise until the dough has just about doubled in size and the imprint of two fingers remains in the dough.
Punch down the dough, and turn it out onto a surface sprinkled generously with cornmeal. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Turn the dough to coat the top side with cornmeal. Use a round cookie cutter (3 to 4 inches in diameter) to cut out the individual muffins. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a silicon liner.
Cover the muffins, and let them rise until an indentation remains after touching.
Preheat an electric griddle or a skillet to 325ºF (or about medium-low on your stove top) and grease well. Bake the muffins for 10 minutes on each side, until the sides are deep golden brown. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.
To serve the muffins, split with a fork and toast.
My Kitchen Addiction Disclosure – This post was sponsored by Red Star Yeast. Though I have been compensated to write this post, all opinions expressed are my own.
Jen, are you doing mail order yet? Because I would place an order for these in a hot second.
What Wendi said! I opened the page and wanted to dive through the computer for the butter slathered ones in the first photo. Oh my.
Jen, those look great! I’ve been making my own English Muffins for breakfast sandwiches for the kids and freezing them. We just pull out when were looking for a quick breakfast in the morning. They are so easy to make with a little bit of time and effort. Thanks for sharting the sourdough starter recipe, I’ll be giving that a try.
Oh, how I’ve been wanting to try homemade English Muffins. These look gorgeous! Thanks for the recipe!
You nailed this one! They look fabulous!
The egg sandwiches look delicious. Love the step by step photos!
I’m dying over here staring at the photo of the muffins slathered in jam. I had to throw out my starter a few days ago because I discovered it had attracted the wrong kind of bacteria, ugh…now I need to make a new batch because I NEED to make these muffins!!
I’m so psyched that you posted these Jen! I’ve been using my sourdough starter to make so many things other than bread, but hadn’t seen this recipe for english muffins. Definitely a must try!
Perfect looking english muffins Jen and your breakfast muffins look scrumptious. Yes, I did make your sourdough starter and a few good loaves of bread with it too. Thank you for the post on how to do it.
They look wonderful. I bet these taste delicious eaten straight from the pan!
Funny how at the right moment something as simple as an English muffin can elicit such a craving…for me that moment is now. I have NEVER made them; that needs to change. It’s fruitless to check fat calories for the plain product when I do buy them…filling those little nooks and crannies with butter is part of what makes them so good!
These, my dear, are absolutely gorgeous!
I always wanted to make english muffins. I will have to try this recipe soon :)
i have a question… some of out here do not have standing mixers with whisks and dough hooks…. can the dough be mix together in a bread machine??? and then continue with the process where you let it rise and punch down and roll out???? any help would be helpful… i cna not do it by hand either as i no longer have the strength in the arms and hands to do it the old fashioned way.
Heidi – Great question! Most of the recipes I feature from Red Star Yeast can be made using a bread machine. If you take a look at the recipe on the Red Star site, you will find great instructions for preparing the English Muffins with a bread machine. Hope that helps!
These look better than Bays! Will have to try. :D
Jen – These might be the most beautiful things I’ve laid my eyes upon! Seriously, they are incredibly perfect.
This is too ironic…I was just thinking the other day that it would be nice to make my own English muffins! These look so perfect; and I’m a big breakfast/brunch fan, so I’ll have to give them a try! Thanks!
I so want to make these. I haven’t got a stand mixer. will mixing by hand work?
Melody – Yes, mixing by hand will work… Just be sure to beat the mixture well where it calls for the paddle attachment on the mixer. Then, simply knead by hand as you work in the flour. Hope you enjoy the English muffins!
Jen, this might sound silly, but I’m a little confused. Are these English muffins cooked on the stove top in the preheated griddles/skillets? You use the word “bake”. When the word “bake” is used, I tend to think of using the oven, not stove top. Thanks!
Lori – Yes, they’re cooked on the stovetop or on an electric griddle/skillet. I apologize for the confusion!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I found the dough was so dense and tough it almost burned out my professional stand mixer. Did I do something wrong? I ended up having to take it out and try to kneed by hand and now I am waiting to see if it rises. Any suggestions would be wonderful. Thanks!
Hi, Ashley – I’m sorry you had trouble with the dough! Make sure your sourdough starter is at room temperature (it will be loose and kind of bubbly), and then I’d also be careful measuring the flour. Be sure to spoon it into your measuring cup and then level it off instead of scooping with the measuring cup (which can pack the flour in and give you more than you want). Other than that, I’d say to just be sure to add the flour gradually as you knead with the mixer (and the dough hook… not the beater blade). Depending on the weather, you may not need to add all of the flour that the recipe calls for. Hope that helps!
I did all of those things. It must have just been more flour than it needed. It rose fine so maybe it came out ok. Thank you for the information!!
I love english muffins! I can go through a whole pack in a week all by myself. Thanks for the recipe on how to make them. It never dawned on me to bake them myself. Yum!!
I always love finding another use for my sourdough starter and I’ve been wanting to make English muffins lately. Perfect timing!
Can you bake these instead of baking them on the stove?
Hi, Sarah – I don’t think you would get the right texture if you baked them instead of cooking them on a skillet. However, I’m sure you would have delicious rolls if you did try baking the dough. Let me know if you give it a try!
I am new at baking, Im just wondering if Bread flour is the same as all purpose flour? I also have weat that I grind to make flour, could I use this?? Thanks and sorry if this seems like a silly question
Hi, Destiny… Yes, bread flour is different than all purpose. It has a slightly higher amount of gluten, and there may be some other differences. You can usually substitute all purpose if you are careful to knead well. I imagine you could use our own ground flour, as well, though it may be smarter to measure by weight.
is bread dough different from all purpose flour? Sorry if this is a silly question
I love English Muffins. I culture milk kefir and have made sourdough loaves before, and was wondering, with the starter, could I substitute 3 cups of milk kefir for the yeast? If I do that, when actually making the muffins, should I use yeast packet or is there a way to substitute milk kefir in this step also? In other words I guess what I’m asking is how much milk kefir would be the equivalent of 1 pack of yeast? The kefir starter, by the way calls for 3 cups milk kefir and 3 cups of flour, cover it, and only having to let it rise and get bubbly for 24 hours.
Thanks
Leslie
Hi, Leslie – I don’t really know the equivalents for the kefir. Since I have never worked with it myself, I can’t really give you a good guess. Anyone else have any ideas?
I have a degree in Patisserie and Baking and work with bread doughs regularly and I must say this is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL dough. Will be saving the recipe and using again! Great post. Thanks for sharing this!
Yummy! Yummy! Made these this morning with my sourdough starter (which had a bit of rye flour in it) and they turned out well. Got 12 muffins in total (already shared 2 with my husband) but will freeze some for the days when I can’t be bothered to make some. Great recipe, thanks for sharing.
Can the sourdough muffins be baked on a regular,
that is, non-electric skillet? Would this make good uniform results difficult?
Hi, Mary – Yup, you can absolutely do the English muffins in a regular skillet. I think the results will be fine. I simply opted to do mine in the electric skillet since mine is larger and I could do more at a time. I’ve also made them in a cast iron skillet in the past, and it worked just fine!
I just made these and they turned out wonderfully. I live in Costa Rica and the flour is different here then what I could get in Canada but not a problem with this recipe (and with all sourdough recipes I have tried so far). Thanks.
I just made these, and they are so easy. I have them ready to bake…then I am going to share with family! Thanks you for posting the recipe! I know they will be yummy! I made the sour dough starter, and it is excellent! We love the sour dough bread! Thanks again!
Your photos are gorgeous! I can’t wait to try these. I’ve had my starter for a few months and have made bread (of course), cinnamon rolls and pancakes, but I love English muffins!
I used my rye starter instead of a sourdough starter, so we will see how they turn out! The dough was rising out of the bowl I had it in! The circles are cut and rising now. I’ll let you know what happens! haha