Hearty English Muffins recipe (Breakfast)

Instructions

Combine the milk, butter, and honey in a medium-size saucepan. Warm the mixture over medium-low heat until the butter starts to melt, then whisk it briefly. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the liquid to cool until lukewarm.

While the milk cools, pour the water into a medium-size mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Stir the liquid gently with a fork. Then set the bowl aside for 5 to 10 minutes, until all of the yeast has dissolved.

Line 2 baking sheets with waxed paper and sprinkle on a generous amount of cornmeal.

Pour the cooled milk into the dissolved yeast and gently stir the mixture until well blended. Add 3 cups of flour and the salt to the liquid and beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon until smooth (about 100 strokes). Beat in enough of the remaining flour, about 1/3 cup at a time, so that the dough is firm enough to knead and no longer sticky.

Scrape the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Flour your hands, as well, and knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes. Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes.

Roll the dough with a rolling pin, starting in the middle and pushing the pin from the center out, until the dough is half inch thick.

Cut the dough into circles with a 3 ½-inch biscuit cutter. Gather and re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles (you should end up with 18).

Transfer the muffins to the prepared baking sheets, spacing them well apart. Sprinkle cornmeal on the tops. Cover the muffins with a dry, lightweight towel and let them rise until they are almost double in height—about 35 to 45 minutes.

When the muffins have risen, heat a large, heavy, uncreased skillet over medium heat. (If you have 2 skillets, you may want to prepare both so you can cook more muffins at once.) Or you can use an electric griddle heated to 300°. Carefully lift the muffins from the waxed paper and place them in the heated pan or griddle, spacing them an inch or so apart. You should be able to fit 4 to 5 muffins in a pan.

Cook the muffins for about 10 minutes on each side, using a spatula to flip them. You may have to adjust the heat if the muffins are browning to quickly or slowly. Transfer each batch of cooked muffins to a wire rack to cool before splitting and toasting them.

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