These No Knead Sourdough English Muffins include kefir milk and whole grain emmer flour for added flavor and benefit from an overnight cold-ferment in the refrigerator.
They are very easy to make. Most of the time is spent on the bulk ferment on the counter or the cold ferment in the refrigerator. The hands-on time is only about 20 – 30 minutes to prepare the dough and the time spent griddling the muffins.
The original recipe calls for a 4-5 hour bulk ferment on the counter and a cold ferment for 12 -42 hours. Since I used sourdough instead of yeast, I let the dough bulk ferment for about 6 hours before shaping the muffins. Then I placed them in the refrigerator and let them cold-ferment for about 18 hours.
The trickiest part of this whole process was finding the right temperature so I didn’t burn them. The first time I made these muffins, I used my griddle. I followed the directions and added butter to the griddle. That didn’t work so well. The butter on the griddle smoked up the whole kitchen and came close to setting off my smoke alarm. Opening doors and windows prevented a noisy experience.
My griddle was too hot (as well as smoky) so the muffins got burned on the bottom before they cooked all the way through. And this was even after letting them rest in the cornmeal all night. I think I need a new griddle.
I decided to go for round two.
For the second batch, I opted to use my cast iron skillet instead of the griddle. I liked the cast iron skillet method a lot. I found that cooking the muffins in batches of two at a time worked the best. That way, I was able to flip the muffins without them sticking together.
These sourdough English muffins seem to get better with age. They have a nice chew and taste good toasted and spread with homemade Crockpot apple butter.
Notes from the host kitchen:
- Something to remember about this recipe is that it takes some time. The dough sits for 4-5 hours before you scoop it onto the cornmeal-lined baking sheet(s). Then there is a resting period in the fridge of 12-42 hours.
- Since you don’t weigh the dough as you are portioning it, it takes some doing to have them all the same size. Doesn’t matter in the end… large or small, they are all great.
- Plan to use a good bit of cornmeal. The cornmeal is important because it softens a bit while the muffins are in the fridge and provides a sort of insulation to keep the bottom from burning while the muffins are on the griddle.
- Except if your griddle is too high; they might still burn even with the cornmeal.
Special Equipment: Flexible spatula, rimmed baking sheet, griddle (electric or cast iron) or 12-inch cast iron skillet, square-end spatula, wire rack
No Knead Sourdough English Muffins
- Yield: 10-12 Muffins 1x
Description
These no knead Sourdough English Muffins include kefir milk and whole wheat emmer for added flavor and utilize an overnight cold-ferment.
Ingredients
- 275 grams (~2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 125 grams (~1 cup) whole grain emmer flour or whole wheat (makes a more tender interior)
- 9 grams kosher salt (for table salt, use the same weight or half as much by volume)
- 25 grams (~2 T) sourdough starter (active, fed)
- 340 grams (1 1/2 cups) cold kefir milk or regular milk (helps create nooks and crannies)
- 30 grams honey
- 1 large egg white, cold
- Cornmeal for dusting – don’t skip this
- Roughly 1 ounce bacon fat, unsalted butter, non-dairy margarine, or oil (2 tablespoons; 30g), for griddling
Instructions
Make the Dough and Let Rise:
- In a large bowl, mix bread flour, whole grain emmer (or whole wheat) flour, and kosher salt together until well combined. Add kefir milk, sourdough starter, honey, and egg white, stirring with a wooden spoon or flexible spatula until smooth, about 5 minutes.
- Cover with plastic and set aside until spongy, light, and more than doubled, 4-6 hours at 70°F. (The timing can be flexible depending on your schedule.)
For the Second Rise:
- Thickly cover a rimmed aluminum baking sheet with an even layer of cornmeal. With a large spoon, dollop out twelve 2 2/3-ounce (75g) portions of dough; it’s perfectly fine to do this by eye. If you’d like, pinch the irregular blobs here and there to tidy their shape.
- Sprinkle with additional cornmeal, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 12 and up to 42 hours.
- Instead of forming blogs with a spoon, I shaped the very sticky dough into balls using wet fingers, and placed them on a cornmeal-dusted rimmed baking sheet. I ended up with 11 muffins.
To Griddle and Serve:
- Preheat an electric griddle to 325°F or warm a 12-inch cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. When sizzling-hot, add half the butter and melt; griddle muffins until their bottoms are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Flip with a square-end spatula and griddle as before.
- Transfer to a wire rack until cool enough to handle, then split the muffins by working your thumbs around the edges to pull them open a little at a time.
- Toast before serving and store leftovers in an airtight container up to 1 week at room temperature (or 1 month in the fridge).
Notes
Adapted from Serious Eats No Knead English Muffins by Stella Parks
ACTIVE TIME: 20 minutes – TOTAL TIME:16 to 30 hours
- Category: English Muffins
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Would you like to bake along with us?
Elle is the host kitchen this month and we’re making no knead English muffins. Come on it’s fun! Look for the details on her blog Feeding My Enthusiasms
Be sure to visit all of the Bread Baking Babes and check out their version of this month’s recipe:
- Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth
- A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
- Judy’s Gross Eats – Judy
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
- Notitie Van Lien – Lien
- Bread Experience – Cathy
- Feeding My Enthusiasms – Elle
- Thyme for Cooking – Katie
- My Kitchen in Half Cups – Tanna
- My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Karen says
Too bad about your griddle! Cast iron to the rescue! I love your gorgeous dish! So perfect with the muffins.
Cathy says
Thanks Karen! At least I had a good story to share. Ha!
Kelly says
You made them beautifully even! I ended up with 9 instead of 12 and only two were the proper size. I didn’t feel like dividing or evening out! 😀
Cathy says
Thanks Kelly! The first time I made them, I actually weighed them. This time, I eyeballed them. Eyeballing them was much easier. I think 9 would make a good size muffin.
Lien says
A great way to shape them more evenly, wish I thought of that. Beautiful china as well as muffins!
Cathy says
Thanks Lien! The china was my grandmothers. Glad I get to use it sometimes. Shaping them like boules was actually fairly easy but a little sticky.
Elizabeth says
How brilliant to use the cast iron skillet! I wish we’d thought of that. Although… isn’t there the same problem with choosing how hot to turn the burner to? (Or griddle is a stove-top cast-iron one. We put the dial at 4. Next time we’ll put it on 3.)
What lovely muffins!
Cathy says
Thank you Elizabeth! I wasn’t so brilliant, I read the list of special equipment and it suggested a cast iron skillet as an alternative to using a griddle. Yes, it is the same is figuring out the heat for the skillet, but I know my skillet better than the griddle. I use the skillet a lot more. So there you go…
Tanna says
Ah Cathy, we both got 11 muffins AND topped the muffins with crockpot apple butter. Such good stuff.
How ever these get cooked/baked the tricky part is the temp. I have plenty of cast iron and other skillets but no stove top so my griddle is my hero and I’m getting to know it well. Knowing our equipment is a very good thing.
Gorgeous English muffins.
Cathy says
How cool is that! Great minds think alike. I agree, we do need to know our equipment. I’ll be making these again for sure.
Ruth says
I made the dough yesterday and cooked them this morning on a cast iron griddle for breakfast. They are AMAZING! I let them rise 12 hours at room temperature and then formed them for the 2nd rise. There was no room in the fridge so I had to leave them covered on the counter overnight for a total rising time of 20 hours. There were plenty of nooks and crannies for butter and jam. Thank you for a recipe I will be sure to use again.
Cathy says
Hi Ruth, thanks for sharing your experience with these English muffins. The extended proofing time must have been the key! Cool!
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Theresa says
Hi Cathy, Just wanted to let you know that I made this recipe using my favourite GF flour – oat flour. I used milk kefir (1 3/4 c), but no sourdough starter, which I don’t have. And no egg white. I let it rise at room temp for 6.5 hours, formed the muffins (12), and let them rise at room temp for 18 hours. Oat flour doesn’t rise quickly, and my place is cool anyways. And they rose very nicely. I’m really happy with them although I need to fiddle with the ring burner to get the right heat. It has irregular heat which is a bit annoying sometimes. Thanks for posting this recipe!
Cathy says
Hi Theresa, Thank you for sharing your substitutions and method for making these English muffins with gluten free flour. I love oat flour and kefir milk. I bet your muffins were delicious!
Happy Baking!
Cathy