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Sourdough English Muffins

When I moved to England from Canada I was amazed to learn that English muffins were not English at all.  Who invented them?  They just called "muffins" in England, so how do people know when they are ordering an English muffin or a Canadian muffin?
Even after living 25 years in England, I have not sorted this out so if you know the answer, do let me know. Deep in the throws of the UK edition of Home Made Sourdough, I baked these sourdough English muffins. They are really, really, really good.  Trust me on that and try baking them the next time you want Eggs Benedict.
Servings:6 Large muffins
Author:Jane Mason

Equipment

  • bowls, scale, baking trays, non stick parchment, scraper, round cutter

Ingredients

To refresh the sourdough starter

  • 65 g Wheat sourdough starter from the vat in the fridge
  • 65 g White wheat flour
  • 65 g Water

For the dough

  • 450 g White wheat flour
  • 175 g Milk
  • 9 g Salt
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

Instructions

Day One

  • Measure the sourdough starter into a large bowl and return any remaining starter to the refrigerator.
  • Add 65 g of the white wheat or spelt flour and 65 g of the water.
  • Stir and cover with cling film, and leave on the counter for around 8 hours. Your starter is ready when it is bubbly and sweet smelling

Day Two

  • Add the dough ingredients except the bicarbonate of soda, and knead well for 10 minutes.
  • Cover the bowl with a shower hat and leave on the counter for 4 hours.
  • Scrape the dough out onto a floury surface and sprinkle over the bicarb.  Do this through a sieve as it has a tendency to ball up and you really want it well distributed.
  • Gently knead the dough just to incorporate the bicarb. Move the dough aside.
  • Scatter some coarse corn meal or semolina on the counter and place the dough on top.  Flour the top with a bit of flour and roll the dough out to about 2 cm in thickness. Using an 8 cm (or so) cutter with straight sides, cut out the muffins.
  • Line a baking try with semolina and place the muffins on the baking tray.
  • Cover them with plastic and let them rest for 2-3 hours or until they pass the probe test.
  • Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Sprinkle semolina on the tops of all the muffins and place a second baking tray right side up and on top of the muffins. This will keep them flat as they cook, and brown their little tops!!
  • Pop them in the oven and bake them for 15-20 minutes. Check them after 15 minutes to make sure the tops are not getting too brown. If so, remove the tray and cover the tops with some parchment paper. Once they are flat, they are flat! The will not dome.
  • Remove them from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.