Sourdough (Whole Wheat) English Muffins

Source: adapted from King Arthur Flour, with some baking tips from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients: 

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 cups (454 g) warm water (I left the gram amounts on the things that I actually weigh instead of measure in a cup)

1 Tablespoon yeast

1 cup (227 g) sourdough starter

1/2 cup dry milk

1 Tablespoon table salt

2-3 cups (up to ~450 g) whole wheat flour

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

~3 cups all purpose flour

yellow cornmeal, for coating

Directions:

Combine the dough ingredients (sugar through whole wheat flour) in a large bowl and mix well. Add softened butter and some all purpose flour and mix well. On a floured surface, knead the dough (add more flour as needed) until smooth and elastic (it won't be particularly sticky).

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until noticeably puffy. For best sourdough flavor, immediately place bowl in fridge (without rising first) and allow to chill for up to 24 hours (I usually make the dough midday or afternoon and take it out in the morning, so not quite a full 24 hours).

Gently deflate the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly cover with a towel and let it rest for a 10-20 minutes. Roll the dough to a large circle around 3/8" thick. Cut in rounds with a drinking glass. Glob the leftover bits into another ball and re-roll and cut until it's all used up. (I usually get 20-22 muffins from a batch.)

Place the rounds, evenly spaced, on cornmeal coated sheet pans. Sprinkle the tops of the rounds with more cornmeal. Gently cover with a dish towel and let rise for 45-60 minutes or up to 2 hours (if the dough has been refrigerated) until light and puffy.

Transfer as many as will fit without crowding onto an electric skillet preheated to 300 degrees F (I can get 6-8 per batch) and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the partially baked muffins to a cornmeal lined cookie sheet (I use the same one they had risen on) and finish baking for 5-10 more minutes in a 350 degree F oven, until internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Continue cooking and baking the rest of the muffins similarly. Let muffins cool on a rack, and then enjoy or slice and freeze for breakfast sandwiches of the future.

Notes:

I love English muffins, and have tried to make them a few times, but it wasn't until I landed on this recipe (with a sourdough starter I created during the pandemic like everyone else in the world!) and baking method combo. Now I make them every few months, keeping a stash in the freezer for whenever an egg mcmuffin hankering strikes. My friend's husband once said they taste more like English muffins than English muffins do. Ha! I'll take that as a compliment. They are delicious.