Before Tuesday, if you’d told me I could make English muffins that are puffy, inviting and full of flavor, I might have said, ah, nahhhhh. I’ve made them in the past using a couple of different recipes to ok results. But not results good enough to make them on the regular. With the English Muffins in Andris Lagsdin’s new book Baking With Steel, that has all changed.
It may not have been the intuitive place to start since pizza so often is the star of the Baking Steel show, but I pulled the steel out of the oven, set it over my gas burners and then waited for the dough to finish proofing. The day I made them, it must have been extra chilly in the house, because the English muffins needed a little time in an on, then off oven to fully proof. You’ll know if you’re in that boat, when you make one on the Steel and it comes out undercooked. How do you know if it’s undercooked? Cut the muffin open and squish the dough between your fingers. Does it mush together or spring back? If it mushes, it’s undercooked.
The last thing I’ll say is, it’s worth it to make or get some clarified butter. Trader Joe’s sells it, if you don’t want to clarify your own (I didn’t). It’ll give you that nice even brown on the bottoms of each muffin. Obviously, I ate mine with jam and butter, but these English muffins are sturdy enough to stand up to a New Year’s Day Benedict, or even a burger.
Baking With Steel is available now on Amazon | iBooks or at a bookstore near you.
RECIPE: Legendary English Muffins
