With their crunchy exterior and soft interior, these tangy, easy to make homemade English muffins made with sourdough starter discard will bring a smile to your face and your breakfast table!
[February, 2022: I've reworked the recipe and updated this post with all new pictures. Enjoy!]
Why this recipe works
- An easy to make dough that uses sourdough starter discard for extra flavor
- Cooks on the stove, so you don't need to turn the oven on
- Has a crunchy exterior, a soft interior, and toasts beautifully
What happens when you’re maintaining a sourdough starter each week, but don’t want to bake anything with the sourdough discard because it’s too hot and you don’t want to turn on the oven?
How about making Sourdough Discard English Muffins, those gloriously versatile breakfast treats? They can go from a vehicle to transport melted butter and jam to your mouth with crunchy, tangy ease to a wonderful base for Eggs Benedict (complete with Hollandaise Sauce, of course) or English Muffin Pizza.
And the best part is that they cook on the stove so no oven needed! A hearty breakfast can be had, any time of year. Bliss.
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What you need
A recipe for sourdough English muffins contains all the usual sourdough discard bread suspects: flour, unfed sourdough starter, yeast, and salt, with a few tweaks.
Milk is used instead of water to soften the dough, and butter keeps the bread dough from being too fluffy (like when making pizza dough). Cornmeal (or semolina) is sprinkled on the dough to keep it from sticking to the griddle.
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How to make sourdough English muffins
Step 1: Make the dough
A Sourdough English Muffin recipe starts like other sourdough-based bread.
Mix the dough ingredients, then knead with a stand mixer, a bread machine, or by hand (photo 1). The dough should be soft and elastic, but not sticky. If necessary, add more flour in 1 tablespoon increments until you get the desired consistency (this is especially necessary if you’re baking on a humid day).
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and place in a warm area to rise for about 1½ hours, or until it's noticeably puffy (photo 2). You can also retard the dough by placing the covered bowl in the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours (or up to 2 days). This allows the sourdough to ferment slowly and develop a more pronounced sour flavor.
Gently deflate the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, cover it, and let it sit for a few minutes to relax the gluten. If you’ve retarded the dough in the refrigerator, allow the dough to rest for about an hour on the counter to warm to room temperature.
Step 2: Portion the dough
You can divide up the dough one of two ways:
Option 1: Roll out half the dough to about ½-inch thick, then use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out rounds, re-rolling and cutting up the scraps (photo 3). Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Option 2: Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (I weigh the dough using a kitchen scale and divided by 24, then cut pieces to that weight). Shape each piece into a round ball, then flatten each ball into a 3-inch round. Flatten each ball slightly larger than 3 inches, and trim edges with a 3-inch round cookie cutter or trim all around the edge with a pair of scissors (photo 4).
Step 3: Let the muffins rise again
Place the rounds, evenly spaced, onto a half sheet baking pan sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina, 12 per sheet (photo 5). Sprinkle them with additional cornmeal or semolina, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise on the counter until light and puffy, about 45 to 60 minutes. If the dough has been refrigerated overnight and you didn’t let it come to room temperature first, the rise time will be about 2 hours.
Step 4: Cook the muffins
Carefully transfer the rounds, as many that will fit without crowding, to a large electric griddle preheated to 350°F or an ungreased griddle or frying pan that has been preheated over medium-low heat.
Spray the bottom of a quarter sheet baking pan (or similarly flat but not overly heavy object) with baking spray, then set aside, sprayed side up. The baking pan helps keep muffins flat across the top (rather than domed) while they're cooking.
Cook the muffins for about 5 minutes on one side. The dough will puff up as it cooks (photo 6).
Lay the quarter sheet baking pan on the puffed up muffins, sprayed side down (photo 7). Continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes, then remove the baking pan.
Turn the muffins over and cook them, without the baking pan on top, for 10 to 12 minutes (photo 8).
The English muffins will be done when they're golden brown and the centers read 190°F on a digital thermometer (photo 9). The edges may feel a bit soft, but that's fine.
If you're having trouble getting the muffins to cook all the way through on the stove top, cook until golden brown on both sides, then transfer to a preheated 350°F oven and bake until the muffins' interior show no sign of wet dough, about 10 minutes or so.
Questions asked and answered
Here are some questions you might have...
English Muffins are related to the English crumpet. Crumpets are made by pouring a thick batter into ring molds on a hot griddle. The batter puffs up with holes on top (not unlike a pancake) and cooked until the top appears dry. The crumpets are then flipped over, the rings are removed., and the crumpets cook until the bottoms turn golden brown.
English Muffins are a yeasted dough that’s cooked on a griddle, turned over, and cooked on the other side so the holes form on the inside. No special rings are needed since the dough is strong enough to hold together without them.
An English ex-pat named Samuel Bath Thomas invented what he called “English toaster crumpets” in his New York City bakery after emigrating in 1874.
According to The History of English Muffins from Just a Pinch, Thomas’ English Muffins “were thinner than a traditional English crumpet and fork-split" giving “…the inside a rougher surface” (aka the “nooks & crannies” we know and love today).
Thanks, Mr. Thomas!
Pro Tip: Check the griddle temperature
My first batch of sourdough discard English muffins burned on one side because I had heated the griddle too hot (you don't want it hotter than 350˚F).
I quickly reduced the heat and the rest turned out fine. I salvaged that batch by cutting off the burnt edges. They still toasted up nicely, so crisis averted.
Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside
Homemade sourdough discard English muffins have that crunchy exterior and soft interior that's so important to this breakfast staple, with a tang from the sourdough starter discard.
You can store English muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 or 5 days, and they freeze well so you can have them always at hand.
Toasted, these sourdough delights are ready to serve with butter and jam, or serve as a base for your Eggs Benedict brunches and English muffin pizzas.
Crunchy, buttery, fork-split glory awaits!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy
Related Recipes
When you maintain a sourdough starter, you have a dilemma. What do you do with your unfed sourdough starter discard? I've got lots of suggestions for sweet and savory ways to use your fed sourdough starter and the sourdough starter discard.
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Recipe
Sourdough Discard English Muffins
Equipment
- griddle
Ingredients
For the dough
- 7 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sourdough starter discard, unfed, at room temperature, see Recipe Notes
- 2 cups milk, warmed between 100°F to 110°F
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast, or rapid rise, see Recipe Notes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
For sprinkling
- cornmeal or semolina, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Make the dough: Combine all the dough ingredients (except for the cornmeal or semolina) in a stand mixer bowl. Using the dough hook, knead to form a smooth dough. You can also knead the dough in a bread machine or by hand. The dough should be soft and elastic, but not sticky. If necessary, add more flour in 1 tablespoon increments until you get the desired consistency (this is especially necessary if you’re baking on a humid day).
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and place in a warm area to rise for about 1½ hours, or until it's noticeably puffy. You can also retard the dough by placing the covered bowl in the refrigerator and chill for 8 hours (or up to 2 days). This allows the sourdough to ferment slowly and develop a more pronounced sour flavor.
- Gently deflate the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface, cover it, and let it sit for a few minutes to relax the gluten. If you’ve retarded the dough in the refrigerator, allow the dough to rest for about an hour on the counter to warm to room temperature.
- Shaping Option 1: Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, roll the dough out to ½-inch thick, and cut in rounds using a 3-inch round cookie cutter. Re-roll and cut any remaining scraps. Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
- Shaping Option 2: Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (I weigh the dough using a kitchen scale and divided by 24, then cut pieces to that weight). Shape each piece into a round ball, then flatten each ball into a 3-inch round. For a somewhat more even rise as the muffins cook, flatten each ball slightly larger than 3 inches, and trim edges with a 3-inch round cookie cutter (or trim all around the edge with a pair of scissors). Muffins with cut (rather than flattened) sides will rise more evenly, and you can use the trimmings to get extra portions. Win!
- Continuing: Place the rounds, evenly spaced, onto half sheet baking pan sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina, 12 per sheet. Sprinkle them with additional cornmeal or semolina, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise on the counter until light and puffy, about 45 to 60 minutes. If the dough has been refrigerated overnight and you didn’t let it come to room temperature first, the rise time will be about 2 hours.
- Cook the muffins: Carefully transfer the rounds, as many that will fit without crowding, to a large electric griddle preheated to 350 °F or an ungreased griddle or frying pan that has been preheated over medium-low heat.
- Spray the bottom of a quarter sheet baking pan (or similarly flat but not overly heavy object) with baking spray, then set aside, sprayed side up. The baking pan helps keep muffins flat across the top (rather than domed) while they're cooking.
- Cook the muffins for about 5 minutes on one side, then lay the quarter sheet baking pan on the puffed up muffins, sprayed side down. Continue cooking for 5 to 7 minutes, then remove the baking pan. Turn the muffins over and cook them, without the baking pan on top, for 10 to 12 minutes or until they're golden brown and the centers read 190 °F on a digital thermometer. The edges may feel a bit soft, but that's fine.
- Remove the muffins from the griddle, and cool on a wire rack. English muffins can be cut in half with a bread knife or fork-split (to get a rougher surface), then toasted. Serve with butter and/or jam and enjoy!
- Store the muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 4 or 5 days, and freeze for longer storage.
