Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Sourdough English Muffins

I really wanted to try something different with my sourdough so I thought I would try to make English Muffins.

In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup fresh starter**, 1-1/4 cups warm non-chlorinated water and 1-1/2 cups flour.  Set in a warm place until bubbly, (several hours).
Combine these next ingredients together in a separate bowl:
1 cup flour (any flour can be used)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Stir the flour mixture into the bubbly sourdough batter.  Stir in enough extra flour to make a tough, plastic like dough, 1/4 to 1/2 cup more.  Knead 3-5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky.  Roll on a lightly floured board to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 3 inch rounds with a wide mouth canning jar ring.  Sprinkle a place with cornmeal.  Moisten both sides of the dough rounds with non-chlorinated water and flop them on the cornmeal.  Place each on waxed paper, leaving enough space so that they do not touch and can rise.  Let rise until double in thickness (about 1 hour).  Very lightly grease a skillet or electric fry pan*, heating to low, 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook them about 10 minutes on each side until browned and puffed up.  Cool. Split with a fork and toast.

*I used an electric fry pan so that I could regulate the temperature easier.

**Fresh Starter - In a bowl with 1/2 cup of sourdough starter add:
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/4 cup warm, non-chlorinated, water
Stir thoroughly, and set in a warm place as before until it is actively bubbling.  (About 6-1/2 hours) When starter is bubbly and light, stir gently, then set aside the 1/2 cup of start and put in the refrigerator until next time.  Now you can proceed with your favorite recipes with the fresh starter.  The sourdough is fresh when you start the recipe so it should be less time to see the active (bubbly) stage again depending on the temperature it is placed in.

Muffins in the electric skillet cooking
Fork Split muffin prior to toasting
Lightly toasted with butter

One note is that I will indeed make these again.  They are super easy and I think the next time I will make them cinnamon raisin.  No more store bought muffins for me!

2 comments:

  1. You say to make starter, an ingredient is starter. Is this a yeast concoction I make or purchase?

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  2. I am sorry for the confusion. I originally bought my starter from GEM Cultures www.gemcultures.com. If you know someone who has and makes sourdough you can have them give you a 1/2 cup when they refresh theirs. You can also make it yourself (it won't have the strong sourdough flavor until it has been around for a couple of years).

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