Hello all and welcome back to “How to Eat More Marmalade 101”. Please take a seat!
I’ve decided that we’re all going to dip our toes into bread together - starting with a basic and easy English muffin - a.k.a. your marmalade and butter vehicle. This recipe is excerpted from Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz - the #1 baking cookbook I give as a gift to all levels of cooks (it’s really on sale right now… so…). This is a simple recipe that lends itself well to a beginner bread-maker.
With the loose theme of….wheat…I also want to present to you a beautiful burnt orange collection of vintage Pyrex mixing bowls - now up for sale on the Eyes Eat First Etsy shop. These are beautiful bowls I’ve spent a while collecting - great for dips, snacks, and honest-to-god mixing alike. Get in there!
english muffins
1½ cups whole milk (360g)
2 Tbsp butter (28g)
2 Tbsp honey (43g)
1 tsp. yeast (3g) - I always use SAF instant yeast - I buy a bag and keep it in the freezer, but feel free to use active dry
2¾ cups bread flour (360g)
¼ cup whole wheat flour (35g)
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt (6g)
Neutral oil, for the bowl and baking sheet
Cornmeal, for dusting
directions
We’re gonna scald the milk - this denatures some of the milk proteins which both improves the texture and helps with nooks and crannies! In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium heat just until it starts to steam and a skin forms on the surface. Don’t let the milk come to a full boil. Keep this milk at this temp, decreasing the heat slightly so it doesn’t boil, for about 30 seconds, then remove it from the heat. Whisk in the butter and honey and set aside until warm but not hot (you’re going to mix with the yeast, and if it’s too hot the yeast will die. It should be around 105°F on an instant-read thermometer - or lukewarm to the touch).
Combine the yeast and about 2 Tbsp. of the warm milk mixture until yeast is foamy.
Combine this milk/yeast mix with the rest of the milk, the flours and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low until combined, then raise the speed to medium-high and mix until the dough comes off the side of the bowl and gathers on the hook - it will be elastic and smooth but very sticky still, about 8-10 minutes. Generously oil a large bowl and scrape the dough in. Allow to double in a warm place, about 1-1.5 hours.
While the dough is rising, line a baking sheet with parchment and generously oil and dust with cornmeal. Once the dough has doubled, gently ease it onto the baking sheet. Oil another piece of parchment and place (oil side down) on top of the dough. Press with your hands to form a 1/2 thick slab. Put in the fridge and allow to rest for 8-12 hours.
When ready to cook, pull out your dough and use an oiled 3 1/2” round cutter to cut rounds (or whatever you have! Worst case just cut pieces with an oiled knife/bench scraper). Grab a skillet and transfer as many pieces as will fit - cornmeal side down. Place over medium-low heat and cook until the muffins are puffed, the bottoms are crisp and deeply browned, and the surface has gone from shiny to matte, 7 to 10 minutes. Flip the muffins gently, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the second side is deeply browned, another 5 to 7 minutes. You want low and slooooooow - it’s how you get the nice nooks and crannies. If you couldn’t fit them all in one, just cook the last batch completely over low heat.
Let cool, and split with a fork! It’s the only way to open an English muffin.
side notes: things i want
Self-explanatory - tomato hat tomato hat!
We bought the Acid League Meyer Lemon Honey Vinegar and basically drank it - it’s that good! I want to try their other flavors - maybe their Strawberry Rose for spring?? They don’t sell online anymore but have a bunch of retailers.
Unisex functional fragrance? I can’t tell if I’m just falling for their “power of nature” spiel, but The Nue Co. Forest Lungs sample I got definitely made me feel really good. I’m tempted by the full size (out of stock on their website but available elsewhere), along with every other fragrance they make. It’ll fix everything?