Before we sit down to our morning meal, here's something you should know: REALLY "Rye", our dark and spicy bread mix, is at the end of its spring availability. One more week and it's gone until fall. So, if you want it, now's the time to buy. $23.95 for a 48-ounce bag.
A nod to The Grandmothers is a familiar device in food writing, but I'm frankly happy my Irish ancestors weren't watching over my shoulder this past Saint Patrick's day. I was making English muffins.
It's a family tale told large: some of my great-great-great-grandmothers were Irish nationalists and English haters. I wonder if it's true. There's always more myth than fact in family (and foodie) lore. There is, however, one inescapable reality: my English Muffins taste great - and I'm sure the ancestral Grandmothers would approve.
I've wanted to make English Muffins for years, ever since going through a box of recipes my wife Leslie used when she lived in Honduras and made a sourdough version to create a little taste of home. Just reading the process tickled my taste buds. Adapting the basic concept to a gluten-free version was in reach, but other projects intervened and English Muffins went deeper and deeper onto my mental back shelf.
Then last week I was in a traffic jam, boxed in by a truck emblazoned with a giant photo of that famous brand of (glutenous) English Muffins. Staring at chair-sized nooks and crannies on an empty stomach was unbearable. A light bulb went off, Google went on, recipes spewed out, and we all ended up here.
As I tried adaptations of recipes I soon discovered that a blend of methods worked best. The resulting fry-and-bake process is not likely one you'll find in any English household (or cookbook), but I think you'll agree it creates a delectable muffin. Crisp on the outside, tender in the center, slightly sour but lip-smackingly delicious, these English Muffins are gluten-free nirvana. And, yes, they are FILLED with nooks and crannies!
A note: the recipe calls for half a large egg. This was my solution to a volume problem. The industrial sized recipe I settled on created more dough than any home baker could use. Even reducing the ratio to the basis of a single egg produced a dozen muffins, which won't fit on household griddles. If you've got a commercial griddle and a house full of hungry folk, then go on and double my recipe. Otherwise, break a single egg into a small bowl, whisk it, and divide in half. A single large egg minus its shell weighs 50 grams. Spooning beaten egg into a separate small bowl parked on the kitchen scale will let you divide exactly, but you don't really need to be so accurate. A large egg measures about 3 Tablespoons, so spooning out 1 1/2 Tablespoons will get you close enough.
Let's make some English Muffins!
Yield:
six large (3 1/2 inch diameter X 5/8 inch thick) muffins
Equipment needed:
griddle (preferably nonstick electric)
sheet pan or cookie sheet
plastic wrap
spatula
bowls
Ingredients:
1 1/8 cup (180 grams/6.5 ounces) Luce's Gluten-Free Artisan Bread Classic Sourdough bread mix
5/8 cup (90 grams/3.2ounces) Luce's Gluten-Free Artisan Bread New Italian bread mix
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp double-acting baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 TBLS (30 grams/1 ounce) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.
1/2 large egg, lightly beaten (see note above)
1 cup + 1 TBLS (270 Ml) whole milk
Corn meal (preferably white) for dusting
Procedure:
1) Place bread mixes, salt, baking powder, baking soda and instant yeast into a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add soft butter and mix with a fork until well-distributed. Add the milk and egg and stir until ingredients are blended. Let dough stand 2 minutes, then stir vigorously for 50 strokes. Dough will be quite sticky.
2) Thoroughly dust the surface of an un-greased griddle with corn meal. Turn dough out onto a dampened sheet of plastic wrap and pat or roll into a rough log shape. Use wet hands to divide dough into 6 equal pieces. Pat each piece into a disk about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and place the disks onto the griddle, ensuring at least 1/2 inch of separation between disks. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest and rise for 1 hour. Rise will be rather minimal.
3) Position oven rack in center slot and insert an ungreased sheet pan or cookie sheet. Heat oven to 350 F.
4) Liberally sprinkle corn meal on top of each muffin. If using an electric griddle, set temperature to 325 F and turn on power. If using a stovetop griddle, set heat to medium. After 10 minutes, use a spatula to slightly lift muffin and check its color. You're looking for a walnut-brown crust. Allow muffin to continue frying until it reaches color then flip. Fry the other side of the muffin to achieve the same color. Slide muffins into oven.
5) Bake for 20 minutes, then remove entire sheet pan to a cooling rack. Let muffins remain on the pan at least 10 minutes before removing them to the cooling rack. Let muffins cool thoroughly before splitting with a fork and consuming, with or without butter, with or without toasting.
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