Monday, October 6, 2014

OATMEAL ENGLISH MUFFINS; No Knead, No Roll





A few weeks ago when I made Homemade Jam, and the jam had to set for a few days before it was ready to eat, and all that I kept thinking was how perfect that jam would be on an English muffin with butter.  In fact I began to obsess about it, and the more that I obsessed, the more apparent it became that only homemade English muffins would suffice!

I reee-ally don’t like kitchen gadgets that have only one purpose, they take up precious cabinet space, but I’ve made an exception for English muffin rings.  For one, the rings don’t take up much space; for two, they are really inexpensive to buy; and for three, they make my life sooo much easier!

I’ve tried different methods for making English muffins, and if the more difficult method of kneading and rolling the dough yielded the best and most tasty product, I would do the more difficult method, cuz I'm a freak like that; which would mean that I’d only make English Muffins about once a year.  

Lucky for me, (and for Billy, cuz he really loves these English muffins) this more simple method is just as good, if not better!  Now you’ve got to do a little planning because English muffins, like any bread need to rise…twice.  Other than the fact that the dough needs to rise, this isn’t much more effort than making pancakes from scratch!

If you are one who makes pancakes from scratch, then you know what I’m talking about when I say that pancakes that are made from a box mix taste like cardboard.  Well the same goes for store bought English muffins; once you’ve had homemade it’s difficult to enjoy anything other than homemade!

  




Oatmeal English Muffins are crisp on the exterior with a soft interior, that is filled with nooks and crannies that are begging to be toasted and filled with drippy butter and sweet jam…and kneadless to say (Get it?  Because there's no kneading...I make myself giggle!)  I’m still obsessing over them!




Here's what you do.

In the pan there are milk, honey and butter which have been warmed to 115 degrees.  In the bowl is bread flour, Scottish oatmeal, a package of active dry yeast and salt.  Scottish oatmeal is milled quite fine which is why I like to use it in this recipe.

Whisk that together for about 3 minutes or so, until it goes from liquid to forming strands.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days.  Having the dough rest overnight in the refrigerator allows the dough to ferment and really gives the muffins an almost sour dough like flavor. 

I only have four English muffing rings, so I'm removing half of the dough to another bowl, covering it with a towel and allowing it to rise in a draft free place for two hours.  I'll return the remaining dough to the refrigerator; it can be removed either in 30 minutes, or the next day. 

Add to the risen dough a bit of baking soda which has been dissolved in a little warm water, fold that in, as though you were folding egg whites.   The baking soda is important, it gives the muffins loft and lovely texture on the inside.  Let that rest for about 10 minutes.  (Since this is half of the dough, I'm using half of the amount of water and baking soda.)

This pan has been heating on medium for 10 minutes.  The inside of English muffin rings have been greased and dusted with corn meal and the pan also get a dusting of cornmeal.

Fill the rings about 2/3 of the way full, and turn the heat down to medium-low (if using electric, turn the heat down and then fill the rings)  They will rise and fill the rings quite nicely.


Cook for 12 minutes on each side, check the bottoms periodically, if they are browning too quickly turn the heat down a bit more.  Use a paring knife to trim away any excess dough; it’s easiest to get a clean line if the dough is cooked.

Allow the muffins to cool standing up on their sides for 30 minutes, this will keep them from sinking.

Use a fork to split the English muffins before plunking them into the toaster.

Enjoy with lots of butter and your favorite jam or honey!





OATMEAL ENGLISH MUFFINS

Makes 8 muffins

1 ¾         cups                      Milk
1 ½         Tbsp.                     Butter
1             Tbsp.                     Honey
2             cups                     Unbleached bread flour
2/3          cup                      Scottish oatmeal
¾            tsp.                      Salt
1             package                Active dry yeast (a package is ¼ ounce.)
3             Tbsp.                    Warm water
¼            tsp.                      Baking soda

You will also need:

English muffin rings
A griddle or heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron is best)
Cornmeal for dusting
Butter or oil for greasing the rings
 

1.  In a small sauce pan combine the milk, butter, and honey; heat over medium heat until the mixture reaches 105 to 115 degrees.  If the mixture gets too hot, than just set it to the side to cool to the correct temperature.
2.  In a large bowl stir together the bread flour, Scottish oatmeal, salt and yeast.  Pour in the warmed milk mixture and whisk for about 3minutes, until you start to see gluten strands.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight or up to 4 days.  This allows the dough to ferment and develop flavor.
3.  When you’re ready to make your English muffins:  *Remove the dough from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap and cover the bowl with a clean towel, allow the dough to rise in a draft free place for about 2 hours it will almost double in size.  After the dough has risen, combine the warm water with the baking soda, and then gently fold that into the dough, allow the dough to rest for about 10 minutes.
4.  Heat the griddle or skillet over medium heat (I like to heat it for about 10 minutes).  Grease the inside of the English muffin rings and dust them in fine cornmeal.  Place the muffin rings on the griddle or skillet and dust the pan within the rings with more corn meal  Spray a spoon or small measuring cup with cooking spray and use it to scoop the dough, fill each mold about 2/3 of the way full.  Turn the temperature down to medium-low.  Cook for about 12 minutes on each side, but keep checking the bottoms if it seems that they are browning to quickly turn the heat down a little; if they brown too quickly the outsides will be done before the muffins get a chance to cook through.   I found it easiest to flip the muffins, using a spatula to lift and flip while holding the rings with a pair of tongs.  When both sides of the muffins are golden brown and spring back when you press on the center, they are done.  Use a paring knife and trim any excess cooked dough that may have escaped the rings when the muffins were flipped.
5.  Move the English muffins to a wire rack, remove the rings, and then cool the muffins standing on their sides, this will keeping them from sinking as they cool.  Cool for about 30 minutes and then they are ready to toast.  Cool completely before storing any remaining English muffins in an airtight plastic bag.




Notes*  If you’ve only got 4 English muffin rings, when you get to step 3; use only half of the dough as well as half of the water and baking soda, keep the remaining dough refrigerated.  You can bring the remaining dough out to rise about 30 minutes later, which is about the time it takes to cook the first set of muffins and prepare the pan and rings for the second batch (or use it the next day). 

**You may replace half of the bread flour with whole wheat flour, but add 2 Tbsp. more milk.


You may also like:

Blue Berry Oat Muffins
Oatmeal Flax Honey Wheat Bread











Maple Glazed Whole Wheat Apple Bread
Handmade Corn Tortillas, easier than you can imagine









7 comments:

  1. LOVE this English muffins! Looks so simple, Kari. Thanks for sharing :)

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  2. I've been looking for a good English muffin recipe!! Looks great - pinning :)

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  3. Love these! Now i must buy some rings! I've always wanted to do English muffins so it is about time!

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  4. I love those quick and easy English muffins! Must get some rings too.

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  5. Impressive! Definitely going to have to try this method. We love a good English muffin! Pinning and Stumbling, too!

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  6. English muffins on a stovetop??? WOW - my mind has been blown!!!

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