This is another great discard sourdough starter recipe. I am not a big fan of English muffins in general, but if you put a basket full of these sourdough English muffins in front of me, I will finish them all. They are addictive! The flavor is rich. I like the slight sweetness and a tiny bit of tang from the sourdough starter. I also love the browning and the toasty flavor they get from cooking in butter on a frying pan or a griddle. These English muffins are a must-try!
To make these muffins thick and puffy, I let them proof a little longer, about an hour or even a bit longer. This makes them extra airy and soft. Just make sure to handle them carefully to not deflate them.
This recipe is truly the best of both worlds. It uses both sourdough starter and commercial yeast. The sourdough starter adds the flavor, while the yeast makes the muffins puff up quickly and become light and airy. You don’t need to wait a day or night for the sourdough starter to do the leavening. If you want your English muffins quick and you want them to have a rich sourdough flavor, this recipe is for you.
The only tricky part here is getting the pan temperature right. You want it hot enough that the muffins get toasty and brown right by the time the inside is cooked through. I shoot for about six minutes per side, which is ideal. I get that when the pan is about 300F.
This recipe makes a firmer dough than some other English muffin recipes. It’s still soft, with slight stickiness but firmer than some other recipes that you will find. It’s actually a good thing – it makes the dough much easier to work with.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 cup sourdough starter mature
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp of cooking oil for cooking
- Cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- Heat milk to 115F. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the butter and stir until melted. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in the sourdough starter. Sprinkle instant yeast and stir.
- Add one cup of flour and the salt, and mix thoroughly.
- Add another cup of flour and mix by hand. The dough should be slightly sticky.
- Turn the dough in a lightly floured work surface. Roll out 1/2" thick and cut into 3" circles. Collect the cut-offs, re-roll and cut.
- Transfer to a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Turn each miffing in cornmeal.
- Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until the muffins double in size.
- Preheat a skillet or a griddle to medium-low heat with a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of cooking oil. Cook for about about 8 minutes per side or until the muffins are cooked through. I find they cook better if you cover the pan with a lid after you flip them.
- Remove, split and toast. Leftover muffins can be frozen for later. Just thaw them and toast before consuming.
Elaine
Has anyone tried baking these instead of pan frying? I prefer an English Muffin that is baked…I know it gets a “crown” and that is okay with me. I haven’t found a really good sourdough recipe that allows me to bake them. I’d like to put them in the metal rings to rise and bake in them. Let me know if I can follow directions in this recipe and be successful or tweak along the way. I love using the sourdough starter in my bread recipes.
Jody
Oh my goodness does my kitchen smell wonderful!. I think covering them after the first flip was the answer to the softness and baking all the way through. I started on my Sourdough journey last June at the peak of the craziness of Covid-19. Having baked many yeast breads before, but never Sourdough thought why not. Naming my starter Roberta after my beloved mom I have achieved some success and quite a few failures. Your English Muffins are just divine!! I followed the recipe to the T. Your Cinnamon Rolls are next.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Happy to hear that, Jody. It took me a while to respond, my apologies for that. If you’ve made the cinnamon rolls, let me know how they turned out. Share some pics if you have any.
Tom
Wow. I covered with lid after first turn. The results yielded a Rolls Royce version of bacon cheese egg Mcmuffins at our breakfast table!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Tom, happy to hear it. Enjoy! And try my other recipes.
Camille
Great recipe! These are very easy to make and a good use for discarded starter. My husband said they are the only English muffins he will eat. They come out light and fluffy with a perfect crispy on the outside.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Wow, what a compliment. Thank you. If your husband has a sweet tooth, you must make him these sourdough cinnamon rolls. They are quite delicious. If he likes savory quick breads, I’d try these sourdough biscuits. It’s a variation of my favorite biscuit recipe.
Keith
This is an excellent recipe. I have never used sourdough to make English muffins before, and am so pleased with the result. The muffins taste delicious – very buttery, and a wonderful slightly chewy texture. I only made one tweak to the list of ingredients: I substituted oat milk as my wife is lactose intolerant. I did not substitute the butter though! I also worked in grams as opposed to cups – sourdough 210g, flour 300g. Highly recommended!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
Hi Keith,
I am glad you liked my recipe. It’s been a huge hit in our home, my girls keep asking me to make more. If they had it their way, they’d bee eating these every morning. And thanks for the detailed feedback and the kind words.
Lisa
I just made my first sourdough English muffins and they were a success! Like you I am not a fan of English muffins but these taste really good and my husband and I finished them all. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan
You are very welcome, Lisa. Thanks for your feedback.