MMM Monday, English Muffins …

I love Sunday morning breakfast, it is the one day a week I don’t have to make breakfast and Michael usually makes something delicious. Yesterday he made English muffins from scratch. They were so light and airy. After he made the muffins he threw together Eggs Benedict. It was a heavenly breakfast.

Here is the yummy English muffins recipe.

Ingredients

· 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
· 4 cups bread flour
· 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
· 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
· 2 small egg whites
· fine cornmeal

Baking Instructions

In a large bowl pour in lukewarm water about, (110F), add instant yeast, baking soda and 2 cups of bread flour. Mix till smooth. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes uncovered.

In the meantime, add egg whites into a separate bowl and beat with an electric mixer. You want them to become stiff and moist. Once the egg whites have formed stiff peaks; add to dough batter. Using a rubber spatula fold in egg whites until incorporated into the batter. Start to add in the rest of the flour, a 1/4 cup at a time. After the first 1/4 cup of flower mix in the salt. When the mixture becomes too hard to mix in the bowl, pour it out onto a flat surface. Knead for about 5 to 6 minutes until it becomes smooth and silky. Add a little oil to a clean bowl and place the dough into the bowl. Turn dough over till all sides are very lightly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Afterwards, pour the dough out onto a flat surface. Press to release some of the air from the mixture. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough until it is a 1/2 inch thick. Allow it to rest for 3 minutes. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out the circles. Place the cut out pieces onto some cornmeal. Take the left over dough and repeat the process. Sprinkle the tops with more cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 45 minutes. About 5 minutes before you are ready to cook the English muffins turn on your griddle or sauté pan to 350F or medium heat. Spray with a little oil spray and once the griddle is hot, place the muffins on and fry. If you are using a sauté pan you may only be able to fry 3-4 at a time. Fry on one side for about 4 minutes. Then turn over and fry for another 4 minutes. You may need to brown each side for an additional 2 minutes.

Happy Baking!