Homemade English Muffins

First, prepare the dough. Be sure to have a kitchen scale handy to measure the ingredients. Set up a stand mixer with a dough hook and combine the flour, active dry yeast, salt, granulated sugar and butter in its bowl. Turn the mixer onto low and start to mix it. Add in the egg and milk and let it continue to mix for a couple of minutes until you have a soft, well mixed dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it for another 5–6 minutes to really work up the gluten. Lightly grease a bowl with olive oil, then put the dough in it. Cover the bowl and set it aside to rise for an hour.

When the hour is up, turn the dough out onto a clean surface dusted with a mix of flour and polenta. Press it out into a big circle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Then use a 3 1/2 inch round cutter to cut out 6 muffins as close together as possible. Take out a sheet pan and line it with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle it with lots of polenta. Place the cut out muffins on the sheet and sprinkle the tops with more polenta. Set the sheet pan aside for the muffins to rise more for 30 minutes.

When the 30 minutes is up, preheat an electric griddle to 350ºF or a griddle pan over medium high heat. Cook the muffins for 6–8 minutes on each side, until they get a nice deep golden brown and are baked through. Let them cool, then seal them in zip top bags. When you want to use them, split them in half and smear them with jelly or butter, use them in sandwiches, as pizza crusts, you name it!