Last week we were given a brief respite in the weather. In fact we had a positive heat wave with temperatures reaching the heady heights of 9degC, which of course meant all the white stuff melted. But just as we began to think that Spring might be around the corner, it blinking well came back. And when the weather is less than inspiring, and suitable only for hibernation – what better than a little comfort food from home?
So without further ado, I give you the humble English Muffin… Perfect with just about anything, and totally unavailable over here… unless of course you make your own! You can find this recipe in The Great British Book of Baking, which was one of my Christmas presents last year. Any book that promotes British baking automatically gets awarded pride of place on my vastly over stuffed (and therefore slightly precarious) recipe book shelves. If you are from the British Isles, but no longer “at home” – you need this book in your life. Trust me. A slightly adapted version of the recipe below…
We ate them with strawberry jam, cheese and Marmite (accompanied with boiled eggs). One of us might have insisted on all three toppings at once, and claimed it tasted good – although this might have been because his mother wouldn’t let him have another one until it had gone…
350g Strong White Bread Flour (type 1050), 100g Plain White Flour (type 405),
1 teaspoon fine grain salt, 7g dried yeast (hefe),
225ml lukewarm water, 150ml lukewarm milk
A couple of tablespoons of cornmeal…
- Mix flours in a bowl with the salt and yeast. Make a well, add liquids and mix until you get a soft dough. Knead until no longer sticky (around 10 minutes);
- Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for an hour in a warm place until doubled in size;
- Knead again on a floured surface for five minutes;
- Cover the bowl and return it to its warm resting place for a further 30 minutes;
- Divide into eight balls of dough, space well apart onto a tray dusted with half the cornmeal, and sprinkle the rest over them. Lightly oil another tray and place on top (which gives them that flat appearance we all know and love!). Return to warm place for yet another 30 minutes;
- Next for the fun part – heat an ungreased frying pan until considerably hot, but not scalding… Place as many muffins as your pan will allow (I managed two in ours) making sure that the side that was touching the top tray is touching the pan’s bottom (!!). Cook for around 10 minutes either side. They are ready when the sides spring back (depending on the size of the muffins, this may be a little more or less so keep an eye on them)…
- Wait for them to cool down a little, split, add butter and close your eyes and think of England… Good toasted too (with jam, cheese or Marmite!)
Helen The good life mum says
i loved these the first time i saw you do them and i still think they are really great must give these a go Thanks for your linky link link Mrs Bake it at The Good Life mum xx
bavaria says
No problem! :) xx
farfromhomemama says
Ooo, this could be one for Paul to try when he’s off next week (I’m a terrible baker). I miss muffins and crumpets. Both nonexistant over here either. Yum!
bavaria says
Print the recipe off and keep leaving it around the kitchen!! :D
Emily (@amummytoo) says
These look fabulous. I can almost smell them fresh our of the oven. Pinned and Stumbled. Thanks for linking up to #recipeoftheweek. New linky up tomorrow :)
bavaria says
Thanks very much Emily! I will pop over! :)
Brinabird and Son says
That first picture with the melted butter…yum! I love a great recipe book recommendation! It’s been great finding your blog and I’m now a new follower!
bavaria says
Thank you so much Brinabird… And welcome!:)
Funky Wellies says
They look yummy… I am not a Marmite fan, but anything else would do nicely! xx
bavaria says
Jam and cheese is not actually a bad combination! :D xx
A Patchwork Life says
They really do look so good – fabulous picture of the rising dough, and love, love, LOVE your egg cups! :)
bavaria says
Thank you! The egg-cups are from Denmark, but don’t tell The Small People, they think they came from Father Christmas! :D
Mary says
Ooh brilliant. And perfect as it has just turned very wintry here. Shall be trying these out today. Sadly we’re out of Marmite, but we’re heading to the UK next week so shall be stocking up then!
bavaria says
Hope you have success with them, they are well worth the effort, and fun to cook! My Mum arrives tomorrow, she had better remember the tea-bags!! :D
Helen says
♡YumYum♡ my favourite are at the weekend wheree we eat our with bacon and fried egg lish!
bavaria says
They are the best aren’t they? Jealous of your English bacon, we have to make our own here! :D Thank you xx
Jazzygal says
They look gorgeous…..warm and buttery. Yum :-)
xx Jazzy
bavaria says
Probably had far too much butter on these though! :D Thanks Jazzy! xx
helloitsgemma says
*want* that is all.
bavaria says
Thanks Gemma… :D
sharon says
I was quite excited when I saw this as we love muffins, but after visiting two local stores I have realised that yeast is not so easily found. I will have to add it to my “to buy” list for when I go home to Australia in April.
bavaria says
Stock up Sharon, I think it has a long expiry date! :D Thank you!
Midlife Singlemum says
Now you see your muffins are what I call muffins – more like a crumpet or a scone. Here the Americans call English muffins what I would call a giant cupcake (or a fairy cake if it’s small enough).
bavaria says
and because we obviously made them first, we are right and they can be wrong! :D
Grace says
Excellent pics darling – mmmmm look good enough to eat! x
bavaria says
Thanks Mum… Some in the freezer for next week! xx
The View From the Table says
Wow, these look fantastic. I’ve never made them but they are calling to me! My love of real bread has been reignited after a (work) visit to a bakery that’s been named the best in the UK yesterday. These fit the bill perfectly. What a great taste of home too…
bavaria says
Love the sound of your bakery visit, did you get to try lots? These are fun to cook, and definitely worth all that waiting around for! If you don’t have the book, I would recommend it too, lots of unusual recipes as well as the staples! Thanks for commenting! :)