Though the dough rises and is ready in about 2 hours, I strongly recommend refrigerating it for at least 6 hours so your English muffins have better flavor. This post is lengthy because I want you prepped for the best success possible. If you’ve never made homemade English muffins before, I encourage you to review the entire post as well as the video and step-by-step photos below the recipe. Are you a yeast beginner? This Baking with Yeast Guide is helpful. English muffins are a breakfast staple in the US, inspired by the traditional English crumpet. You can enjoy them plain, but they taste divine toasted with butter, honey butter, jam, or even raspberry sauce. English muffins are essential for eggs Benedict and as the bread for breakfast sandwiches. If you’ve never heard of English muffins before, imagine a homemade yeasted bread patty with plenty of airy pockets inside—much denser and flatter than dinner rolls. The craggy, airy goodness inside is branded as “nooks and crannies” by the company Thomas’. Today’s recipe is a variation of English muffins, which are traditionally made with all white flour and very little sugar. I like to use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flours here and sweeten them with honey. They’re NOT sweet like regular quick bread-style muffins—just a little touch of honey goodness to pair with the whole wheat flavor. By the way, if you enjoy baking with whole wheat flour, try this hearty, yet soft whole wheat pizza dough. It’s a whole grain favorite!
Are English Muffins… Bread?
Yes, a yeast bread. I learned they’re called English muffins so they aren’t confused with sweeter cupcake-like muffins such as blueberry muffins. Let me brief you on today’s recipe.
These Homemade English Muffins Are:
Made with a simple 8 ingredient no-knead dough Fresher-tasting than store-bought Perfect if you’re looking for a fun baking project Started on the stove and finished in the oven Heartier than white flour English muffins Super soft and filled with their signature jagged texture aka “nooks & crannies” Begging you to slice & toast them and slather with butter! An intermediate baking recipe
They don’t have the same exact texture as store-bought, but the flavor is out-of-this-world especially if you let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (and up to 24 hours). Your kitchen will smell like a bakery and it’s just so satisfying. Start on the stove: Homemade English muffins can be cooked entirely on the stove, but it depends on your stove and griddle/skillet situation. I have a large griddle, but it doesn’t heat evenly so the batch is never consistent. I also find that English muffins solely cooked on the stove end up doughy inside. For best (and most uniform) results, I recommend starting the muffins on the stove and finishing them in the oven.
Recipe Testing: What Worked & What Didn’t
After making homemade English muffins from King Arthur Baking, I decided to try my hand at a honey wheat version. This recipe went through 6 rounds of dough variations. Here’s What Works:
Use melted butter because recipe tests made with softened butter weren’t as flavorful. Embrace a sticky dough made with some whole wheat flour and some all-purpose or bread flour. You will be tempted to add more flour, but don’t. The high hydration level is key to obtaining that shaggy & airy texture inside. Let the dough rise on the counter until doubled, about 2 hours. Then let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. This time gives the muffins extra flavor, plus cold dough is MUCH EASIER to work with. (We do the same when making artisan bread, cranberry nut no-knead bread, and olive bread.) Start the muffins on the stove in a skillet or on a griddle and finish them in the oven. Cook until an instant read thermometer reads the center as 200°F (93°C). If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, cut a muffin open and if it’s still extra doughy in the center, return to the oven.
Here’s What Doesn’t Work:
A firm, dry dough will not produce an airy center. Avoid using ALL whole wheat flour because you may end up with bread hockey pucks. Do not punch down the dough after it rises. Do not skip the cornmeal or semolina flour because it’s needed to coat the dough and your hands. Do not flatten the shaped muffins with force because they will deflate.
Step-by-step photos are found below the printable recipe.
9 Ingredients You Need
There are 8 ingredients in the dough, plus cornmeal for hands + cooking surface.
Quick Test Recipe Comparison
Once I landed on the perfect dough, it’s all a matter of shaping and cooking the muffins. Use your hands to gently shape the dough into 1-inch thick discs. The next photo shows 3 columns of cooked English muffins. Let me explain each.
Can I Skip the Stove?
I do not recommend it. Cooking them entirely or briefly on the stove browns and sets the exterior, preventing them from puffing up too much. If cooked entirely in the oven, you’ll have rounded dense dinner rolls, not English muffins.
Cutting Into Your English Muffins
To preserve the craggy texture, I recommend slicing the honey wheat English muffins in half using a serrated knife. Or you can slice around the edges with a regular sharp knife and then pry the two halves apart with a fork.
How to Store & Freeze English Muffins
This recipe yields 12 muffins. The shelf life of homemade English muffins is shorter than store-bought. Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 2 days and then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 3 days. After that, it’s best to freeze them. Freeze for up to 3 months and then thaw by defrosting in the microwave or setting out on the counter. For best taste and texture, slice and toast them.
See Your Homemade English Muffins
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
Let Me Show You a Few Steps
Here is the yeast proofing mixture that you prepare in step 1 above. The foamy top proves the yeast is ready and active. After the dough comes together, use a silicone spatula to fold the dough a few times and scrape down the sides of the bowl. The dough is very, very sticky: Below left: Let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled. Below right: Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. The dough doesn’t rise that much in the refrigeration period—just a little. Cold dough does, however, produce a more flavorful English muffin and it’s a lot easier to work with than room temperature dough. Unlike most yeasted bread recipes, do not punch the dough down—you do not want this dough to collapse or release air. With cornmeal or semolina dusted hands, begin pulling sections of dough and gently shaping into discs. The dough is very sticky, but manageable since it’s cold. Arrange on a lined baking sheet and then cover and let rest for 20 minutes as you prepare the stove for cooking. After cooking the muffins on both sides on the stove—a photo you can find above as well as shown in the video tutorial—bake until the centers are 200°F (93°C) or no longer doughy.
