Please welcome Erin, who is guest posting today to share her incredible sourdough English muffins! I know they’re incredible because I started a double batch right away on Sunday after receiving the recipe. Good heavens! My family is in love, and they’re so easy. Erin’s directions couldn’t be better and the pictures are spectacular. I will let Erin introduce herself…
I write from Anchorage, Alaska where my incredibly supportive husband, two precious boys and I are busy loving mountains, growing seeds, baking with sourdough, and preparing our hearts for Easter. We look forward to a summer of sunshine, hiking, gardening, fishing, travel and the addition of a few chickens to grace our backyard! Enjoy the English muffins, and thank you, Wardeh, for all of the time and thought you put into your blog. You are appreciated!
I found this recipe by “jmonkey” at the Fresh Loaf several years ago. I have changed it a bit to make it more flexible around what flours and liquids one can use. I also incorporated the seeds as add-ins, and also more salt!
This recipe is included in our Sourdough A to Z eBook and/or demonstrated on video in our Sourdough eCourse. We’re open for enrollment any time — please join us!
Erin’s Sourdough English Muffins
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin)
- 1 cup liquid (water*, milk, fermented dairy, coconut milk…)
- 2 cups flour (your choice)
- add-ins like seeds, dried fruit, or chopped nuts… (optional)
- 1 tablespoon raw honey (or any other sweetener)
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon sea salt of choice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
*Note: The English muffins will turn out if you use water instead of full fat or fermented dairy and if you add more flour initially for easier kneading. However, the results will not be as soft on the outside or as tender on the inside once you’ve finished the cooking.
Place 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin) into a medium size bowl. Pour onto that the 1 cup of liquid. This is the first place where the recipe is very flexible. Your liquid could be water, milk, any fermented dairy, coconut milk… Stir to combine starter and liquid. In this photo, I chose to water down some of my homemade yogurt. If your sourdough starter is very stiff, you might need an extra 1/4 cup of liquid. I have never added extra liquid.
Once combined, add 2 cups of flour to the mixture. This is the second place where the recipe is very flexible. Use any combination of flours. I have used white wheat, whole wheat, and rye. I know there are a lot of spelt users out there and sprouted flour users, too. It’ll all work! The only flour I question is rice flour, but if used in combination with another flour, it might even work.
Stir well to combine. Along with the flour, I often add in a couple tablespoons of ground flax seed or poppy and caraway seeds (when I make delicious rye sourdough english muffins). The soaking affects the seeds as well as the flour. So, great! Cover and let your dough sit overnight, even up to 24 hours.
I’ve added these pictures to show you the thickness of my dough. The stiffness changes every time I make this recipe. Sometimes it is more wet. It really does not matter too much. In the morning, you will be able to tell that your sourdough has been at work.
On top of your soaked dough, sprinkle 3/4 teaspoon salt (I use 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt), 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 tablespoon honey. Use a wooden spoon to push/cut/stir in your newly added ingredients. Don’t worry about incorporating it perfectly; you will be kneading it in just a moment.
This next part of the directions might feel a little strange, because you are kneading something that could be quite wet. I pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto my counter and spread it around with my hand and then rub my hands together. I then dump out my dough onto the oiled spot and knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes. The purpose of this kneading is to incorporate the honey, baking soda, and salt. After this, I take a pizza cutter and separate my dough into 8 equal portions.
As you can see, the dough is quite wet. Up until this point we have not added any new flour. At this time, I do find it helpful to dust my hands with flour before I shape each muffin. You might prefer to use all-purpose flour for this dusting, or sprouted flour where the sprouting has done the work of soaking. I usually use what is on hand… whole wheat. Whatever.
With dusted hands, pick up a portion and gently shape it into your muffin. My muffins are usually about 1 finger thick and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide. Sometimes they are nice and round. Sometimes not. Size and shape are not important here. Place your muffins on a lightly floured or cornmealed (greased might work if you want to stay away from newly added flour) sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
About 5 minutes before you want to griddle/skillet your muffins, set the heat to mediumish. I usually set my cast iron to 4, the front of my stovetop griddle to 5 1/2, and the back of the griddle to 4 1/2. Each place distributes heat differently. You will figure out what works best for your situation. You don’t want the muffins to brown too quickly because the insides need a chance to cook. I also have found that I do not need to grease my skillet/griddle. Do what you think is best here as well.
Carefully transfer the muffins onto your heat source. Cook the muffins for about five minutes on each side. You can take a little peek every now and again to make sure the bottoms are not getting too brown. When it is time to flip, do this carefully. Your muffins will plump up beautifully, and you do not want to deflate them by being too rough. Cook for the second five minutes. Now, if you find that the outside edge of your muffin is not as done as you like, feel free to pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. I do not bother doing this.
Mercy. I cannot express to you with words how good these are. Whether you are eating them fresh off the griddle, toasted, warmed, or room temperature, they are bound to bring a smile. My husband savors each sandwich as if it is a dessert. Incredible! The muffins pictured above used 1 cup rye and 1 cup whole wheat. I also added poppy and caraway seeds.
I’m shaking my head as I type. So, so good. Enjoy your muffins topped with butter. A truly nutritious treat! They last (if you can get them to last) for at least a week. I keep mine in a sealed container on the counter. They also freeze beautifully. Might want to slice them first. And it most definitely works to double or triple the recipe. Enjoy!
Thanks, Erin! This recipe is going to bless so many! I’m sharing this post in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop, also Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet.
About Erin
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Ow wow, I cannot wait to try this recipe!
YUM. They look delicious. And fairly easy. Thank you!
.-= Millie @ Real Food for Less Money´s last blog post… Tuesday Twister March 30 =-.
I have been wanting to make English muffins for sometime now — thanks for making the directions so easy!
Mmm . . . they look good! And what a cute little family you have!
I absolutely LOVE LOVE these muffins. So easy to make and amazingly good. Toast with peanut butter and honey in the morning … oh, I’m wanting one again right now!!!
Thank you for the recipe! Are they hard to cut cleanly? Do they travel well if made into a sandwhich? I am going to have to try these.
Hi Kelli,
These definitely travel well. And as far as cutting cleanly, I recommend doing a partial cut all the way around the muffin and then twisting it open. Enjoy!
And Bethany, thanks for the compliment on my family!
Thanks Erin, i like the recipe and the pictures are great, can i know the type of camera you’re using because photography is one of my hobbies.
Can’t wait to try these!
What part of Alaska do you live in?
My husband lived in Anchorage from 1984-88.
DUH! I just noticed at the top that you live in Anchorage!
How long have you been there?
The muffins look great! I killed my first attempt at sourdough starter, but once I get one going, I’m looking forward to trying these.
I made these english muffins this morning. They are delicious!! They turned out perfect!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Pampy,
The camera I use is a Canon Digital Rebel EOS. I think that is how you say it! Shows how much I know about cameras!
Yeah Tiffany! So glad you enjoyed your muffins!
We’ve lived in Anchorage since 2001. Such a great place to call home!
And Martha,
Good luck getting your sourdough starter going again! I have found it so valuable in the kitchen and use it for nearly all of my baking.
Oh, Erin!!!! Your family is absolutely adorable!!!! AND, your recipe sounds FABULOUS!!!! I can’t wait to try it, OK, so I won’t wait!! I’ll be making these today, or at least starting them. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe………
Hi Connie,
Such gifts!
I’d love to hear how they turn out! I’ve got a batch soaking as I type. Thanks for the family compliment.
Erin, how far do you live from the town Sara Palin is from? My stepdaughter lives there. I just can’t think of the name of it……..getting old, I guess…….and the english muffin dough looks and smells GREAT!!!!!
Hi Connie,
Glad you have a good start on your muffins. Mine turned out delish! Had them with lentil stew tonight. 
We live about 45 minutes from Wasilla.
Hi Erin: First, those English Muffins!! WOW! They are fabulous!! Yummm! Second, if you’re near Wasilla, there is a hospital there. My son-in-law is on of the emergency room doctors there and my stepdaughter will have her RN in June! Oh yes, and YIPPEE I’m going to be a grandma again!
I have been wanting a sourdough english muffin (soaked) recipe for such a long time! I am SO EXCITED to try this!! Thank you so, so much for sharing! Now I can finally have something to put my eggs benedict on!
Kylie- from little New Zealand
Erin, you mentioned that rice flour might work in a mix. Do you think using an entirely gluten free mis (with a gluten free starter) would be successful? Wardeh, I know you do a fair amount of gluten free stuff…have you ever tried gluten free sourdough? Anby suggestions?
Connie- So glad you are enjoying your delicious english muffins! And congratulations on the coming of your new grandchild! Very exciting!
Kylie- Enjoy the recipe! I would love to hear how it goes for you. An eggs benedict would be proud to sit atop this muffin, I must say!
Michelle- I will let Wardeh shine her gluten free wisdom here! The only thing that I will say is that the partial rice flour turned out fine for me. But if you are trying to stay away from gluten, what good is a partial… It’s definitely worth a try!
Oh, WOW! Wardeh, can we skip to the sourdough portion of the ecourse next week!?
Just kidding… but I can’t WAIT to try these!
Michelle – I just don’t know if using a gf mix would be successful.
I’m sorry, I wish I had some experience with gf and sourdough, but I have not done any experimenting with that.
These are amazing. I made them this morning, they are so easy to make. I ate 4 on the spot, with butter they are mouth watering. Thank you for sharing this recipe its definitely going to be a regular.
Fabulous! Made them yesterday and will be making again!
Miro and Tara- Yeah! So glad you enjoyed your muffins! I made a batch the other day with my homemade yogurt as the liquid and they were the softest most delicious muffins yet!
OK, I am going to try these gluten free. I will report on my success (or othersie!!) Just wondering how many muffins this recipe produces. You said to divide the dough into 8 portions…but there’s definitely more than 8 muffins in your photos.
Michelle – It does only make 8 muffins, at least for me. I’m pretty sure Erin has doubled (or tripled) the batch for those pictures. I really hope it works doing it gluten-free!
I have yet to make these muffins with a single batch!! They freeze so magnificently. Last batch I used my maple kefir and rye flour and I think they were the best yet. Living in Vermont I lots of maple!!
Connie – Wonderful idea to use the maple syrup instead of honey. What a blessing to have Vermont maple!
Michelle- The batch you see in the photos is a double batch.
Look forward to hearing about your results!
Connie- I am so glad you are enjoying the muffins. The maple rye version sounds delicious!
Maybe a silly question, but is this active, bubbly starter we’re using, or fed and rested? Thanks! Cant’ wait to try these.
Megan, that’s not silly! I personally use a bubbly, active starter for this recipe. I feed my starter and wait for it to be bubbly and domed, then I use it in this recipe.
I made a double batch of these English Muffins and wow, they were the best! Thank you so much for sharing! Do you have a good sourdough recipe for pizza crust? I thought that would be good to share next.
I am so thankful that these recipes are family tried and true!
Blessings.
Hi Megan- I feed my sourdough 1-2 times a day and leave it on the counter at all times. (I use it nearly every day!) So, for these muffins, I’ve made them with a happy bubbly active starter and with an I-didn’t-get-my-feeding-yet-today-and-it-shows starter. I have found that it doesn’t seem to matter because by stirring in the liquid and flour you are feeding it and allowing it to rest.
Karen- Yeah! Such joy in sharing this recipe! I am so glad you enjoyed the muffins.
We actually had pizza with soaked sourdough pizza crust last night! Imagine that! Next time I’ll get out my camera. Thanks for the post idea!
Well, reporting back on these muffins and they were DELICOUS! I had a few problems with the muffins sticking to the grease proof paper, next time I’ll try something different. I loved how easy these were to prepare! Mine lasted only 2 days before I had ate them all ! I enjoyed them with butter and honey which was definately my favourite, but also had them with sliced cheese on top, and as a base for a ‘tuna-melt’ These were so good I am in fact making them again tomorrow! Can’t thank you enough for this recipe!!
Just finished cooking these and ‘sampled’ one. I’m wondering why in the world I did not double (or triple) the recipe! They are delicious. Thanks so much for sharing such a great and useful recipe.
.-= Millie @ Real Food for Less Money´s last blog post… Tuesday Twister May 11 =-.
Yeah Kylie and Millie! Thanks for letting me know of your success! They are a surprisingly easy (and impressive) treat. So glad you enjoyed them!
Twitter: thevintagewife
says:
Mmmmm, these are tasty! The kids are using elderberry syrup on theirs. Me- plain is yummy!
.-= Michaela´s last blog post… My how they reproduce!!! =-.
Michaela, So glad you are all enjoying the muffins! I have a batch soaking right now. I ran out of milk, so I am using coconut milk instead. We’ll see how that tastes!
Just curious, two questions:
1. When you say “soaking,” do you mean “proofing?” I just want to make sure because I’m still new to sourdough baking.
2. Have you tried baking sooner than 24 hours? What is the temperature in your kitchen? I’m wondering if the proofing time will be quicker in warmer climates….
Last, that pic of your family sure is darling! “A picture is worth a thousand words” comes to mind…makes my mouth water at the thought of eating your muffins I will be trying out to day.
Jade –
1. By soaking, this is the time when the starter is mixed with the flour and the mixture sours or ferments — I would call this souring or the sponge. Proofing more refers to the time for bread to rise. The dough rises during this time, but that’s not its purpose. I hope this makes sense.
2. I have made these muffins after 8 hours of souring. The range is flexible – in warmer temperatures, the souring will occur more quickly, so you would be fine to cook them earlier.
I’m sure Erin will have more to add.
Hi Jade! So glad you are going to give the english muffins a try.
These muffins are incredibly flexible depending on your situation (time and weather!).
Let us know if you have any more questions! And, I’d love to hear how your muffins turn out.
Thanks for the family compliment. Such encouraging little taste testers!
Is there anyway I can bake these instead of fry? I’m having problems and I don’t like how they are turning out.
They taste great! But not cooking properly.
.-= Marg´s last blog post… Meeting neighbours =-.
Marg- Thanks so much for writing. I’d love to know what is not working for you. Is the dough too sticky? Do they not rise in the pan? Let me know, and we will try to figure something out. I made a batch last night (in hot California) that turned out very different from the batches I make at home (in not hot Alaska). Everything was different. Do you live somewhere very warm? What kind of flours did you use (to feed your starter and make your muffins)? I look forward to hearing back from you!
Well, certainly not as complicated as that.
I went ahead and baked them. They turned out more evenly cooked and less burnt. I guess I’m just not used to this kind of dough and wouldn’t have thought to fry it. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks but I’m trying. I just wish the results were more encouraging.
Marg, I have really had to play with my temperature and stove to get it just right. I keep my big burner at about 4 to 4.5 and my small burner at 4.5 to 5. I end up cooking 4 minutes on at least the first side of each muffin, perhaps 2 to 3 on the second side. And I use a cover on each pan to keep the heat in. It bakes them while they’re browning/frying. It isn’t hard, it is just a matter of playing with your situation to get it working. But if baking works for you, that’s good too!
Thanks for that tip Wardeh about the cover! That is just what I needed to get mine to cook more evenly.
Marg- Glad baking worked for you. Without knowing exactly what’s going wrong, I wonder if it would help to turn the heat down a little bit, check them after a short time if you think they are getting too dark, and flip gently so as not to loose any rise. Keep me posted, OK?
And, be sure to let me know if you have any more thoughts or questions.
Ok, I am long overdue in posting how my gf free muffins worked. I have been waiting for a RESOUNDING success story, which I haven’t really reached yet. But I will post where I have gotten to and perhaps someone with more experience in gluten free baking and sourdough baking can take it from here!
The good news is that, yes, it works! If you don’t have a GF Sourdough Starter, the best information I found for starting one comes from a lady names Sharon Kane. She has a number of different websites, but a good summary of her info iand how to make the starter s on the Weston a Price site at this link:http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/1668-gluten-free-sourdough-starters.html
Sharon also has several e-books with her recipes. I am trying to figure things out on my won as I can’t afford all the recipe books I would like!! If you can get it I would because GF and allergen free baking can be so fussy!!
Anyhow using this starter I have made several batches of these with different flour mixes. So far I can’t quite get the combination right of good taste AND good texture. I have done these all with coconut milk as my liquid. I have found a thicker starter is more effective, so the last feeding I try to do a little less water than I normally would, so it is nice and thick. I did all of these mixes in equal proportions (1/2 c each type of flour) except where indicated. I did these in my covered skillet at 250 degrees. I needed at least 10 minutes per side.
* Buckwheat, rice, arrowroot, chickpea….perfect texture but the taste…..I find Buckwheat (I use the dark) is very strong tasting and only works in some things….this was not one of them. Keep on going.
* Rice, Arrowroot, Rolled Oats, Coconut. Really nice mild flavor but quite crumbly. I used dessciated coconut without running it through food processor to make it flour, so I used 3/4 c where I would normally use 1/2.
Rice, Arrowroot, Rolled Qunioa, Rolled Oats….Good flavor but even more crumbly than the last batch.
(I also did a batch with teff that tasted horrible, but I think I allowed my starter to get too sour. As I said I am new to all this.)
Anyhow, hopefully this info is helpful to some other brave soul who can give it a try!! hanks Erin for the recipe and motivation to give it a try.
Thanks, Michelle! I have heard good things about Sharon, so it is good to hear that you’re using some of her methods and making progress. I know this is going to be helpful for some – thanks!
Michelle- What a wonderfully informative response! Thank you for taking the time to write!
I’m sure many will find the link helpful. Thanks for passing that on. And I must say, you get an A+ for effort and persistence!
I also agree with you wholeheartedly concerning the thickness of the sourdough starter making a difference. I just recently made a batch of english muffins in the oh-so-hot location of southern CA. Because of the heat, my starter was runnier than normal (even though I fed it the same), and for the first time, I had to add flour (AP) to my muffin dough. I felt like I was kneading stretchy mozzarella cheese (if that makes sense). Mercy! I realized I need to feed the starter more flour and less water to get the consistency I am used to having when I am home in my not-so-hot state of AK. Good learning experience!
Has anyone else tried a GF sourdough starter or experimented with other GF flour blends? If so, do share! Let’s be the first to perfect a GF sourdough english muffin
recipe!
Thanks for the help. I’m sure the dough was fine, just not what I’m used to. Sourdough has proved to be a huge learning curve for me. I kept turning the stove down and down. It was on 2 and still making them too dark. I didn’t mean to cause this much fuss. I just wanted to know if they could be baked, I thought that might be a solution to my problem, and I discovered that. Sorry for bothering.
Marg- You are funny! Absolutely no bother at all. Fun to brainstorm with you. I’m glad you asked your question as I’m sure others found it helpful. Plus, I appreciate knowing how the recipe works for those who give it a try. Really.
Hi! So, I just made these today. And I love them. But I have questions for next time!
1. My dough was extremely wet – I put oil on my counter & hands and the dough was *still* sticking to everything. I did my best, though, & when the dough was ready to be cut, I found that cutting it didn’t even make a difference because it all just kind of melted back into itself. In the end, I just pulled pieces off and rolled them in flour in my hand (but even then, I had to be quick because they kept sticking to me!). So…my question: to avoid this problem in the future, should I use less liquid (or more flour) in the first step of the recipe? Or do you have another suggestion?
2. Due to the wet dough, it was really difficult to transfer the muffins (after they rested for an hour) to my skillet. Actually, I ended up ripping the wax paper around each muffin, and attempted to gently flip it over onto the skillet, and then peeled the wax paper from the upward-facing part of each muffin. (Does that make sense?) Because of this, my muffins were really lopsided. Some parts were thicker than others, and so they didn’t cook evenly (some of the insides were doughy while other parts were soft, springy and very English-muffiny). How do *you* transfer your muffins from their resting place to the skillet/griddle?
Sorry if my questions are super complicated. I just *really* want to master this. I only got my sourdough starter last week, and these muffins were the second thing I’ve made (after my first batch of bread which was UH-may-zing!). I will for sure be making the muffins again next week because my mom will be visiting us!
Thanks for your help!
Mama Rissa – I’d suggest adding more flour. I noticed that in the winter, I used just about 2 cups of flour for this recipe. In warmer weather, the dough is much more wet. So I’ve been adding at least 2-1/2 cups when mixing up the dough – and perhaps more when shaping. I think just that will improve your experience with the muffins dramatically! I’d like to hear more about your Uh-may-zing bread.