Nothing says brunch like the nooks and crannies of a freshly baked English muffin. Part pancakes, part bread and a sweetened with a touch of honey, these pockets of deliciousness are easy to make ahead, freeze and re-warm in the oven. This dough is rather loose; you can add as much flour as you are comfortable with, but the wetter the dough, the more custardy the nooks are in the finished product. We love the stone-milled Spelt flour from Grist & Toll (which you can buy from us or online) and the beautiful Straus Family Creamery butter to melt into each little nook…
Ingredients
3cupswater at room temperature720 g
1tbspYeast (a little less than two packets)12 g
2tbspsHoney
4cupAll purpose or Bread flour480g
2 1/2cupWhole grain Spelt flour or 2-3/4 cups more AP or bread flour325g
2tspsSalt
1/3cupCornmeal
1/4cupClarified butter or vegetable oil
Instructions
Whisk together the water, yeast and honey and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Stir in the flours and salt and knead, either with your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or on your counter, for 3-4 minutes (you can walk away). Cover and let the dough rest for 2 hours at room temperature (OR leave overnight in the fridge).
Chill the dough for 2-4 hours in the fridge (or grab the dough straight from the fridge after it has sat there overnight).
Dust your counter with 1/2 of the cornmeal. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle a bit more of the cornmeal on top. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat it down into a 1" thick dough. Grab a round cookie cutter (about 2-1/2" to 3" around) and cut them out, placing them onto the parchment.
Proof these cut out muffins for about one hour at room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 300F. Once proofed (they will increase in size by about 30%), warm up a griddle or a cast iron and add the clarified butter or oil over medium heat.
Cook the muffins about 3 minutes on each side (you'll see them rise before your eyes)! Place them on a cookie sheet once they have cooked on both sides on the griddle and bake for 8-10 minutes.