Homemade English Muffins

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the first five ingredients together in one bowl; stir until the sugar is fully dissolved and let it cool down to lukewarm. (Mixture #1)
2. Mix the remaining ingredients, except the last two (2g salt and baking soda), in another bowl and let it rest until the yeast has dissolved. (Mixture #2)
3. Add Mixture #2 to the bowl containing Mixture #1 and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
4. Set a nonstick pancake griddle over medium-low heat; coat it lightly with vegetable oil spray.
5. Add the other 2 grams of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda (see notes below) to the batter and mix thoroughly.
6. Place English muffin rings on the griddle and coat the insides with vegetable oil spray.
7. Fill each muffin ring about ¾ full; cover with a cookie sheet (see notes below) and cook for 5-6 minutes
8. Remove the cookie sheet and flip the muffins over with a pair of tongs. Cover with a cookie sheet and cook for another 5-6 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Remove the muffins from the griddle, rings and all.
10. Carefully remove the rings and let the muffins cool completely before splitting them.

Notes I have made two batches (28 batches as of 8-17-10) using Brown’s recipe. For the first batch, I followed his procedure exactly and got very good results. However, for the second batch (shown here), I decided to experiment with adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda to create the bubbling effect in the dough (per some other good recipes that I had tried) just before it went on the griddle. This method yields even more pronounced nooks and crannies. In fact, from now on, I think I will add baking soda to my dough every time. Brown suggests that you use an electric griddle and set the temperature at 300° F. But I used my pancake griddle and set it on medium-low heat — I would say a couple of notches above your lowest setting. Be sure to grease the bottom of the cookie sheet which is to be placed on top of the filled muffin rings. You want to keep the dough inside the muffin rings, not underneath the cookie sheet after it has been removed. Let the muffins cool completely before splitting them.