Soft 3-Hour English Muffins on the Stovetop
Learn my method for making fresh, homemade English muffins with all-purpose flour and instant yeast! So soft, so airy! This 3-hour, same-day recipe requires no special equipment. The English muffins are hand-shaped, and cooked stovetop. Making English muffins at home is MUCH easier than you’d think. Ready? Gather your ingredients — let's do this! Overnight recipe option included in the recipe notes.
Ingredients
- 360 grams all-purpose flour
- 15 grams sugar
- 12 grams diamond crystal kosher salt
- 8 grams baking powder
- 6 grams instant yeast
- 210 grams warm water (90°F)
- 42 grams unsalted butter (melted)
- 2-4 tablespoons semolina flour (for dusting)
- 2-4 tablespoons canola oil, vegetable oil, or other neutral oil (for the pan)
Instructions
- Mix. Whisk together the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Make a well in the center and add the warm water and melted butter. Use the dough hook on a low speed to mix the dough, pausing to scrape down the sides as needed, until the dough combines into a shaggy, messy mass on the dough hook. This can take a few minutes, be patient.
- Knead. Increase the speed of the mixer just slightly to medium-low and knead until smooth, soft, and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. The dough will pull clear of the walls of the bowl as it kneads, but may cling a bit as you pull it out, though it should pull away cleanly.
- Rise. Tuck the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and place in a warm spot to rise until just about doubled in size, about 1 hour. If you poke a finger into the dough, the indentation should fill back in partially, but not completely.
- Shape. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Each piece should weigh about 81 grams. Shape each piece into a tight ball, with a smooth top and a neat, almost invisible seam underneath. Arrange the dough balls on a semolina-dusted sheet pan, pressing down briefly on the top of each one to flatten them slightly. Dust the top of each English muffin generously with more semolina flour. NOTE: Step-by-step shaping photos are in the blog post above, or video is below!
- Rise again. Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap, then place another sheet pan on top to weigh the English muffins down as they rise, about 1-1½ hours. They will just about double in size and should look quite puffy and airy, especially around the edges.
- Cook. Toward the end of the rise time, heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until water droplets flicked on the surface sizzle and evaporate on contact. Add 1-2 tablespoons oil, and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Lower the temperature to medium and place four English muffins in the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes, rotating the muffins in place and around the pan every minute or so to help them brown evenly. Flip the English muffins over, pressing down gently on top to flatten them out, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until an internal temperature of 190°-200°F is reached. You may need to flip them one more time and give them another minute or so to reach temp. Repeat until all the English muffins are cooked.
- Cool. Remove the English muffins to a wire rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
If your kitchen is particularly cold, place the bowl somewhere warm to rise, otherwise it may need an extra 30 minutes or so. Use the fingerprint test to check if the dough is ready.
When shaping the dough balls for the English muffins, do not flour your countertop. You're relying on the dough sticking slightly to your work surface to build tension in the dough and tighten up that seam at the bottom. A floured work surface will prevent the dough from sticking to itself.
Adjust the temperature of the pan to prevent burning, especially if you see the pan starting to smoke, and add more oil to the pan if needed — the semolina soaks up a lot of oil!
RECIPE NOTES
- You can knead this dough by hand if you prefer, but I find it's a bit stickier than I like to handle. If you do knead it by hand, add about 3-5 minutes to the kneading time and try not to add too much flour or they'll end up dense.
- To get a craggy texture in your English muffins: This is less about the English muffin recipe and more about how you split your English muffin in half. Use a fork to poke holes all the way around the middle of the muffin until the two halves split apart. This takes a bit of patience, but is worth it for that classic English muffin texture! I usually just use a knife because I want my English muffin ready to toast ASAP, but you do you.
- If you prefer your English muffins lighter on the outside, turn the temp down and cook for 5-7 minutes per side (or until an internal temp of 190°F minimum is reached).
- For larger English muffins, divide the dough into six or seven portions instead of eight. They may need a bit longer per side to cook through.
- Overnight rise: Place the shaped English muffins with the sheet pan on top in the fridge overnight 12-24 hours. Remove from the fridge and let the english muffins rise, covered, but without the sheet pan on top, at room temperature for 1 hour prior to cooking.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 5-6 days. They may be a little dry by the end of that window, but will perk right back up when toasted.
- To freeze: Split the English muffins in half almost all the way through, wrap each one tightly with plastic wrap, then place in a large bag in the freezer with as much air pressed out as possible. They can be defrosted on the counter and then toasted, or toasted right from frozen!
- No, you cannot bake these English muffins. I tested them in the oven and they totally lose their classic English muffin shape and end up evenly browned all the way around — no toasty top and bottom with the pale strip of dough around the sides.