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split open easy homemade english muffin with butter and jam on white plate

Easy Homemade English Muffins

Yield: 14 Muffins
Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups warm milk or buttermilk (see note), see note
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¾ cups (249 g) whole wheat flour (see note)
  • ½ cup (85 g) cornmeal

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, mix together the buttermilk, butter, salt, sugar, and yeast.
  • Stir in the flour and mix until well-combined and no dry streaks remain. The batter will be very soft - you can kind of lift it up in a doughy ribbon with a spatula.
  • Cover and let the batter rise in a warm place until puffy and doubled, 1-2 hours.
  • Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper and liberally sprinkle cornmeal over the parchment paper. This will prevent the English muffin dough from sticking.
  • Using a large cookie scoop or two greased spoons, scoop out about 6 tablespoons/2.5 ounces of batter and place in mounds on the prepared baking sheets. *You can make the English muffins larger or smaller depending on preference.* They'll look a little messy at this point; that's ok.
  • Lightly grease your hands and take each mound of batter and flip it over in your hands so it is cornmeal-side up. Gently shape the dough into a mostly smooth round disc and set it back on the baking sheet (sprinkle more cornmeal on the parchment paper, if needed). Space the muffins several inches apart to leave room for rising.
  • Cover the baking sheets and let the muffins rise until noticeably puffy, about an hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degres F.
  • Preheat a griddle to about 325-350 degrees (can also us a skillet on the stove over medium-low or medium heat). Gently pick up the puffy English muffins so they don't totally deflate, and place them on the hot griddle.
  • Cook for about 4-5 minutes per side. Adjust the heat if the English muffins are burning or overly browning. They'll finish cooking all the way through in the oven.
  • Transfer the English muffins to a clean (no cornmeal) parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes until no longer doughy in the center.
  • Let cool completely (if you can!) before splitting, toasting, and eating.

Notes

Buttermilk: using buttermilk gives the English muffins a slight tanginess (similar to store bought English muffins); it's not overpowering. I also think it lends a lighter texture to the muffins. Regular milk can be used instead (I recommend using 1% or higher). The buttermilk milk or milk should be warm but not hot (about 90-100 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).
Yeast: I've only ever used instant yeast in this recipe, but you can try subbing in active dry yeast. Decrease the buttermilk/milk to 1 1/2 cups, proof 1 tablespoon active dry yeast in 1/4 cup warm water until bubbly and foaming and add to the recipe in step 1.
Flour: if you don't have whole wheat flour, 100% all-purpose flour (and probably even bread flour) will work. If using whole wheat flour, I highly recommend using a white wheat variety (soft or hard) or kamut or einkhorn. I have the best results with any of those when using them in breads and baked goods.
Cooking: I like to "prebake" the English muffins on the griddle and then finish baking in the oven - if they cook too long on the griddle, they can dry out. However, you definitely can cook them start to finish on the griddle. Keep the heat low and dry cook them until they are no longer doughy in the center.