Recipe: English Muffin Bread

I don't particularly like English  Muffins. But a while back I remembered I do like English Muffin bread. I had only ever had one type: Cholmondley's.

I don't remember how old I was the first time I had this. It's a heavier sort of bread, full of holes that recreate the "nooks and crannies" of Thomas's English Muffins, and it has a unique taste. I last had it a few years ago, probably before the COVID-19 pandemic began. I looked for it again in my local supermarket recently and simply couldn't find it. I tried looking it up online and found it available from a few scattered shops, but the price plus shipping was ridiculously high. So then I decided to look for some recipes online. I found one that looked easy enough and used only a few ingredients. I tried it out - I haven't tried making bread in about 30 years - and the end result was delicious. I've made it every weekend since then, gradually refining my process, and it has never failed to please.

Last week's loaves

The recipe is from Restless Chipotle. She expresses a personal preference for glass loaf pans, but I have found that my nonstick aluminum pans work best for me - the loaves pop right out and cleanup is simple.

The end result of this recipe is more a batter than a dough - she describes it as "goopy." It should be beaten by hand with a wooden spoon to the point that the dough drips off with some initial reluctance. Today I think I beat it a little too long and the dough began to toughen a bit. All the rising takes place in the pans.

English Muffin Bread (from Restless Chipotle)

Makes two loaves

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water at 110 degrees F

2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon honey

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 cups milk at 110 degrees F

butter (for greasing pans)

cornmeal (for dusting pans and sprinkling on top)

loaf pans

instant-read thermometer

small, medium, and large mixing bowls

medium ceramic or glass bowl

wooden spoon

regular teaspoon

cookie sheet

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F

2. Put warm water in small bowl. Sprinkle on active dry yeast. Add honey and mix together.  Set aside bowl in warm location for about 10 minutes while you follow the next steps. (I put it on the stovetop as the oven preheated.)

3. Grease loaf pans with butter. Sprinkle in cornmeal and tilt and tap to spread evenly around bottom and sides of the pans.

4. Scoop flour into medium bowl. Add salt and baking soda. Sift, whisk, or mix to combine evenly. 

5. Heat milk to 110 degrees F. For me, the easiest way is to put it in a medium ceramic bowl and heat in microwave 1:45 - 2:00. Check temperature and heat or allow to cool.

6. By now the yeast mixture from step 2 should be foamy and at least doubled in volume. Pour into large bowl. Add warm milk and mix. Mix in one cup of the flour.

7. Add the remainder of the flour gradually. Mix gently by hand with a wooden spoon. The goal was described by the author as a "goopy" dough. It should really be a lumpy batter that drips reluctantly off the wooden spoon. (Her page includes links to an illustrative video.) If you beat it too much, to the point where the lumps are all gone, the bread will have a finer texture without the "nooks and crannies" you are looking for and may not rise properly.

8. Add the dough/batter evenly to the loaf pans. Set aside in a warm location (I used the stovetop again) and allow the dough to rise for about 30-40 minutes, until it fills or is slightly higher than the top of the loaf pans.

9. Dust the risen loaves with cornmeal and place in 425 degree oven for 15 - 25 minutes. Longer bake times will result in a browner crust. Put cookie sheet on lower rack to catch anything that spills over.

10. Allow to cool before slicing.

I have not yet made a loaf that rose significantly above the top of the loaf pan. My first attempt rose on the edges but collapsed in the center. When I sliced it open it had large pores and some very large voids at the top. In this case I had begun preheating the oven only after the dough had risen in the pans, following the directions in the original recipe. This meant that the dough had extra rise time. It also meant that the kitchen temperature where the dough was rising was only about 70 degrees F - it is currently Winter and quite cold outside. I had also allowed my yeast to "proof" a lot, probably tripling in volume. The second time I started the proofing step later and began the preheat a little earlier. Those loaves had smaller pores but still had voids at the top, suggesting the dough had risen faster at one point than others. (The voids cause slices to fall apart inside the toaster.) This third time I started the proofing early, but only after I had begun pre-heating the oven. This way the proofing and rising would be in a warmer environment. Unfortunately I think I over-mixed the dough, resulting in a smoother, stickier dough. The pores on these loves are smaller than ever, but there were no large voids. The slices hold together well in the toaster, and the end results had crisp toasted crust and soft centers with crisp highlights.

Overall - and I hope my grandmother will forgive me for saying this! -  this is the best bread I've ever had.