English Muffins

1. Combine the water, yeast, and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Combine 2 cups of the flour and the salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in egg, milk, butter, and yeast mixture. Mix until creamy, about 2 minutes.

Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring in each time, until you have a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Return the dough to a clean, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

4. Sprinkle a work surface with cornmeal. Pour the dough out of the bowl and onto the surface. Sprinkle the top of the dough with cornmeal and then roll the dough into a rectangle about 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) thick. Use a large round cookie cutter or an upside down drinking glass (2.5-3 inches/7-8 cm) to cut the muffins out of the dough.

5. Heat a large frying pan/skillet over medium heat. Place the muffins onto the skillet and let them cook for 5 minutes on each side.

6. Cool on a rack.

Remarks:

If using instant yeast, you can just mix the yeast in with the flour and omit this first step and the sugar.

The muffins should be golden brown on each side.

Once the muffins are cooked through, they should sound hollow when tapped.

Serving suggestions:

Eat halved, toasted or not, with butter, jam, curd, cream cheese, cottage cheese, etc…

You can make sandwiches or hamburgers with them too.