• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Contact
  • Portfolio
  • Subscribe

Bright-Eyed Baker

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
  • Portfolio
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About Me
    • Contact Me
    • Portfolio
    • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Yeast Breads

    Published: Jul 18, 2014 · Modified: Jul 18, 2018 by Alexandra Azary · This post may contain affiliate links

    Sourdough English Muffins

    Jump to Recipe·★★★★★5 from 1 review

    It's becoming ridiculous when I realize how many recipes I have in the lineup to share, considering the fact that many of them date from last summer, if not earlier. If that happens once, like with these gorgeously perfect strawberry muffins, then okay, I can deal with that. But when there are so many that I completely forget about them until the point that I scroll through all my photos and find sets from a year back, I start to realize it's an issue that needs fixing. Today is one fix of many that need to come, and honestly I'm not sure why I didn't share this one sooner because, admittedly, I definitely have a bread obsession (on top of my dark chocolate and caramel obsessions, that is).

    Sourdough English Muffins - soft and puffy English made at home with a simple fry pan. | www.brighteyedbaker.com this recipe

    The sad truth is that I got rid of my sourdough starter a while back, because, quite honestly, I didn't have time to deal with it and I'd sorta messed it up. But back when I was a diligent sourdough-maker (because there was a time when I was on top of things like that) this was one of my favorite recipes to make, in addition to this amazing sourdough bread. The two are on opposite ends of the sourdough spectrum, but both are so incredibly good in their own way. These english muffins are soft and light and puffy and... just dreamy. They're not quite like your typical english muffin, and they're also not an especially sour sourdough, but they're something of their own that's 100% divine. They make an amazing breakfast that I *plan* on sharing next time, but until then, just know they work perfectly with melted butter, jelly, eggs, or just about anything you can think to top them with. And if you haven't gotten a sourdough starter going yet in your kitchen, get on it! For reals ;)

    Print

    Recipe Card

    Sourdough English Muffins

    Sourdough English Muffins - soft and puffy English muffins made at home with a simple fry pan. | www.brighteyedbaker.com
    Print Recipe
    Save Recipe Recipe Saved

    ★★★★★

    5 from 1 review

    • Cook Time: 16 minutes
    • Total Time: 16 minutes
    • Yield: about 20-22 english muffins 1x

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 8 ounces (1 cup) warm water (110º-115ºF)
    • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
    • 3 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
    • 8 ½ ounces (1 cup) milk
    • 17 ounces (4 cups, spoon and level) all-purpose flour, divided
    • 9 ⅛ ounces (1 cup) sourdough starter
    • 12 ¾ ounces (3 cups, spoon and level) bread flour, divided
    • 2 ounces (¼ cup) butter, softened and cubed
    • 1 tablespoon salt
    • cornmeal, for rolling and dusting

    Instructions

    1. Sprinkle sugar over warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in with a wooden spoon to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast on top, stir in, and let sit for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
    2. Meanwhile, scald the milk in the microwave (or on the stove) by heating until the temperature measures 180ºF on a reliable digital thermometer . Cool to 110º-115ºF before using.
    3. Add 4 ¼ ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour and starter to the yeast mixture and stir in until relatively smooth. Let sit for another 10 minutes, or until very bubbly. Add 4 ¼ ounces (1 cup) bread flour, butter, cooled milk, and salt, and beat in using the mixer's paddle attachment on medium-low for about 2 minutes. Add the remaining 12 ¾ ounces (3 cups) all-purpose flour and 8 ½ ounces (2 cups) bread flour and beat in on low speed until a dough begins to form.
    4. Switch to the dough hook and knead with hook on low speed for about 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, add a bit more bread flour sparingly as needed.
    5. Shape dough into a round with a smooth top and transfer to a greased bowl about twice its size, turning once to coat dough with cooking spray. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. (For overnight rising, see notes below.)
    6. Punch risen dough down gently and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, dust a surface with cornmeal for rolling out the dough and lay out a few large sheets of parchment paper. Fill a shallow bowl or plate with extra cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Keep one half covered while rolling out other half to ½" thick and use a round cookie cutter, about 3"-3 ½" in diameter, to cut out circles of dough. Dip top side of cut muffins in bowl/plate of cornmeal to coat, and then transfer to a sheet of parchment (well spread out) for second rising, covering with greased plastic wrap. Ball up remaining scraps from first half of dough and cover while repeating process with second half. Once done, kneads scraps from both halves together briefly and shape back into a smooth ball. Let rest for 10 minutes before rolling out and cutting remaining muffins. Let muffins rise, covered, until approximately doubled in size and very puffy.
    7. Heat your largest skillet/fry pan on medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Carefully slide a few muffins, one by one, onto a large flat spatula and transfer to pan. Leave space between the muffins as they cook because they will expand. Cover and cook muffins for about 8 minutes, and then carefully flip and cook another 8 minutes or so on the second side. The muffins should be golden-brown and have an internal temperature of 200º-205ºF when done.* Adjust heat and cooking time as needed to ensure that the muffins turn golden-brown but don't burn. Once cooked, transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool while cooking remaining muffins. Serve warm/toasted with melted butter, jam, jelly, etc. Store in an airtight container or zip-top bag at room temperature.

    Notes

    *If you don't have a kitchen thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the muffins when cooking them, I'd recommend that you split the first one open when you're done to make sure it's fully cooked.

    Overnight Rise:
    After making the dough, place in the refrigerator to rise overnight. The following day, take the dough out of the refrigerator and, if not yet doubled in size, allow to rise further at room temperature. Once dough has risen to doubled, continue with step 6.

    Recipe Adapted From: King Arthur Flour and Simmer Seasonal Recipes

    Loved it? Spread the word!

    Tag @brighteyedbaker on Instagram and hashtag it #brighteyedbaker

    This post contains affiliate links. Links are always for products I personally have used and love. 

    For more recipes and other food-related tidbits, stick around and subscribe to receive new blog updates by e-mail or RSS. You can also find recipes by category in the recipe index. 

    Stay In Touch: Confessions of a Bright-Eyed Baker on Social Media

          

    Digiprove sealCopyright protected by Digiprove © 2014

    More Yeast Breads

    • Overhead view of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls slathered with cream cheese frosting.
      Cinnamon Raisin Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Sweet rolls filled with a cranberry-chocolate mixture, baked in a muffin pan.
      Cranberry Chocolate Sweet Rolls
    • Rustic Dutch Oven Bread - a hearty, everyday bread with a thick, crunchy crust and tender crumb. | www.brighteyedbaker.com
      Rustic Dutch Oven Bread
    • Everything Bagel Bread - Just like a perfectly soft and fluffy Everything Bagel, but in loaf form! | www.brighteyedbaker.com
      Everything Bagel Bread

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Did you make this recipe? Let me know! Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe rating ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Sheri says

      June 06, 2023 at 6:37 pm

      These turned out great! I had to do 10 minutes each side on medium heat. Thank you!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        June 09, 2023 at 7:17 pm

        So happy to hear it! Enjoy! :)

        Reply
    2. Loren says

      January 17, 2016 at 10:20 am

      Thank you very much for the recipe! I am waiting for the last rise before cooking them on the griddle. So far, it has been a pretty straightforward recipe, and it's a great way to use my starter! The dough handles like a dream. Quick question - what is the purpose of scalding the milk? What would happen if I just went straight to heating the milk to 110 vs. scalding it first?

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        January 22, 2016 at 10:12 am

        Scalding the milk gets rid of the enzymes that can kill yeast. :)

        Reply
    3. Derek says

      April 06, 2015 at 11:28 am

      This is a tasty recipe but quite time consuming. Not a high level of difficulty but I'm not sure if the time it takes is worth the final result. I think I'll go back to buying them in store. But, if you are determined to make your own, this recipe is definitely worth trying

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        April 07, 2015 at 12:45 pm

        Homemade bread does tend to be a bit time-consuming, and these more so due to the individual cutting and cooking, but I find it to be worth it as an occasional splurge. Glad you liked them nonetheless. :)

        Reply
    4. Andrea says

      October 24, 2014 at 7:49 am

      I made these last week and we love them. I had been working up the courage to make a sourdough starter and this recipe finally gave me the last little nudge I needed. I have a question, though. How well do these freeze? A full batch will take us a couple of weeks to get through (I made a half batch before) and I want them to stay good the whole time.

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        October 24, 2014 at 11:21 am

        That's awesome! I'm so happy to hear it!! I haven't tried freezing these myself, but I think that they should freeze quite well in a freezer-safe bag for a few weeks. :)

        Reply
    5. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

      July 20, 2014 at 9:04 pm

      I've never thought to make my own english muffins before.. i definitely will be trying this recipe. thanks for the inspiration!

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        July 21, 2014 at 1:14 pm

        Thanks Thalia! I hope you give it a go!

        Reply
    6. Leah | So, How's It Taste? says

      July 20, 2014 at 2:31 pm

      Ooo, I've never made my own English muffins, but I should! I just love them with either savory or sweet toppings. Yours look so perfect!

      Reply
      • alexandra says

        July 21, 2014 at 1:14 pm

        Thanks so much Leah!

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Profile photo of Alexandra (Alex) Azary, author of Bright-Eyed Baker.

    Hey There - I'm Alex! Thanks for stopping by! Here's what you can expect to find on Bright-Eyed Baker: lots of baked goods and other sweets made from scratch, plus the occasional coffee recipe, mixed drink, or kitchen how-to post. My goal is to show you that from-scratch baking - gluten-free, dairy-free, or otherwise - doesn't have to be intimidating, no matter how busy life gets. Learn more about me.

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • Front view of a hand holding a jar of caramel sauce against a light pink background.
      DIY: Caramel sauce with milk (no butter, no cream)
    • Overhead view of brown sugar candied walnuts in a jar, with more walnuts scattered on a sheet of parchment paper below.
      DIY: Brown Sugar Candied Walnuts {gluten-free}
    • Carmel being stirred into an iced coffee against a grey backdrop.
      Easy caramel iced coffee
    • Cake tin lined with a parchment circle.
      How to Cut Parchment Paper Rounds for Cake
    • Homemade buttermilk in a mason jar, alongside lemon wedges and white vinegar in a teaspoon.
      How to make buttermilk
    • Raspberry limoncello vodka cocktail served in a martini glass.
      Raspberry Limoncello Cocktail
    • Lattes garnished with star anise and cinnamon, with extra spice and honey in the background.
      DIY: Easy Homemade Chai Tea Latte
    • Hand spooning espresso powder out of a ramekin, surrounded by cookies.
      Espresso powder and how to make it
    seasonal favorites icon
    FAVORITE FALL RECIPES
    • Two pumpkin scones topped with maple glaze on stacked white plates.
      Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones
    • A serving of strawberry apple crumble on a plate with a scoop of ice cream and two spoons.
      Easy Strawberry and Apple Crumble (gluten-free option)
    • Pear muffin on a plate, surrounded by fresh pears and flowers.
      Spiced Pear Muffins with Cinnamon-Pecan Crumb Topping {gluten-free option}
    • Glazed muffins with kanzi apples on a wooden board.
      Easy Apple Cinnamon Muffins (gluten-free option)
    • Coffee in a glass topped with cinnamon, served with rolled cookies.
      Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew (DIY Starbucks Recipe!)
    • Front-facing view of center cut of pumpkin bread, with slices stacked on a plate in the background.
      Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread {gluten-free and dairy-free option}
    • Front-facing view of apple cupcakes on a plate, set atop a light pink linen.
      Caramel Apple Cupcakes {gluten-free}
    • Front-facing view of brown sugar icing being poured over a pumpkin bundt cake.
      Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling {gluten-free}
    AS SEEN IN...
    As seen in BuzzFeed, Town & Country, Women's Health, Brit + Co, Country Living, and HuffPost

    Footer

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Accessibility

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • FAQ

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme

    20 shares