Whole Wheat English Muffins

I love English muffins by themselves; coated with butter, or jam, or (personal favorite!) apple butter!  I love the little crevices that the toppings can nest inside, the light and chewy texture, and how versatile English Muffins are!

I made these English muffins with the express purpose of making breakfast sandwiches.  McDonald's egg mcmuffins are a weakness of mine, and I often find myself wanting to stop on the way to work.  In order to resist the temptation I made English muffins.

I wanted to see if I could make English muffins; it was an interesting challenge because even though English muffins are not difficult to make, they do have a few steps.  And I'd never made them before!

I think the trickiest part of making the English muffins was making sure the bottoms didn't burn.  I might have blackened a few of them instead of browning--oops.  I watched the next batch more closely and no burned bottoms!

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Author: Happy Food Happy Home

makes 8-10 muffins

1 cup milk, heated to 100 degrees

1 ½ teaspoons yeast

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

½ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

vegetable oil

cornmeal

1. Whisk together the warm milk and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Let sit and bloom for 5 minutes.
2. Whisk together the flours, sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. 
3. Cube the butter into small cubes and add to the stand mixer bowl. 
4. Gently beat egg and add to the stand mixer bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients in two batches and mix until just combined. 
6. Switch to the dough hook and mix for approximately 5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is smooth and shiny.
1. Alternatively, use a wooden spoon to stir the milk and yeast, egg, butter, and dry ingredients until just combined.  Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and shiny.
7. Oil a medium mixing bowl.  Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 1 hour until the dough doubles in size.
8. Divide the dough into 8 pieces for large muffins, or 10 pieces for medium sized.  Oil your hands and shape each piece into a ball.  Flatten the balls until they are about ½ an inch thick. 
9. Place the rounds on a cornmeal dusted cookie sheet.  Dust the tops with more cornmeal.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes. 
10. Heat a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place the cornmeal lined baking sheet in the oven.. 
11. Cook each dough ball for about 5 minutes per side.  The sides will brown quickly; let them sit for about 5 minutes, but watch that they don't burn.  If you turn them over too soon they can fall flat.
12. Once both sides of the muffins are browned transfer them to the baking sheet in the oven.  Let bake for about 5 minutes until the middles are cooked.  They will read 200 degrees on an instant read thermometer. 
1. Note:  If you have more muffins than will fit in your cast iron skillet you can cook them in batches.  Just be sure to transfer the muffins to the oven immediately  after browning-don't wait!
13. Remove the muffins to a cooling rack and let cool.  Use a fork to split the muffins, coat spread with in butter, and devour! 

English muffins are so yummy!  They were really fun to make; I totally enjoyed my kitchen adventure making English muffins.  And they were delicious to eat! 

Check out the finished breakfast sandwiches!