English Muffins

Whisk together water and honey in a medium-small bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top, then whisk in. Set aside to activate for 5–10 minutes.

Add yeast mixture along with bread flour, butter, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Briefly mix with a wooden spoon to make a shaggy dough. Place the bowl onto the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead on low speed for 8 minutes. Resist the urge to add too much flour. The dough will be stretchy, but won’t completely clean the sides of the bowl.

Generously butter a large bowl. Scrape the dough out of the stand mixer bowl with a buttered spatula. Form into a ball and place into the buttered bowl. Cover and set aside in a warm spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled.

Cut out 12 four-inch squares of parchment paper. Place on a large cookie sheet without overlapping (you may need to use 2 cookie sheets) and sprinkle generously with cornmeal.

Butter a work surface and turn the risen dough out onto it. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces using a buttered bench scraper. Form each piece of dough into a ball by pinching the edges together, and then rolling the dough over an ungreased portion of the work surface, seam side down, creating tension.

Place each ball in the center of one of the prepared pieces of parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel and set aside in a warm spot to rise a second time, 1 to 2 hours. The dough should be quite puffy.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Preheat a griddle or large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Working in 2 batches, gently transfer the dough balls onto the preheated griddle. This can be done by inverting the pieces of parchment paper, or carefully sliding the dough off of the parchment. Cook for 5–8 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

Transfer to a baking pan and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. If you don’t wish to use the oven, simply griddle the muffins on low for 10 minutes per side.

Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Toast and spread with butter.