THOMAS ENGLISH MUFFIN LIGHT RECIPES

Samuel Bath Thomas immigrated from England to New York City and opened his first bakery there in 1880. That is where Thomas created skillet bread that would one day become the famous muffins known for their craggy texture when split in half. This hack for Thomas’ English Muffins uses a special kneading process to give the muffins the "nooks and crannies" they are famous for, making craters in the finished bread to better hold on to melted butter and jam. I have seen several recipes that claim to re-create these muffins, but none produce the large air pockets that a proper clone requires, in addition to great flavor and a perfectly cooked interior. To ensure proper nooks and crannies and muffins that are cooked all the way through, I've included some important steps. The dough you'll make here is like a ciabatta dough in that it is very wet. So rather than kneading the dough, you stretch and fold it over several times on a well-oiled surface. Then, when the portioned-out dough has proofed on baking sheets for another 1½ to 2 hours, you par-bake the muffins. After baking, the muffins are cooked on a griddle or in a pan until dark brown on both sides, then they must cool. This is the hardest part. The muffins will be too soft to open for at least four hours, and now you have to fight off the temptation to eat one. It’s hard, I know. The muffins smell great and you’ve waited all this time, but resist for now and your patience will be rewarded. When the muffins have had their rest, split them with a fork and toast them as you would any English muffin. Check out all my top secret recipes for famous bread here. 

Provided by Todd Wilbur

Total Time 5 hours 0 minutes0S

Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes0S

Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes0S

• Ingredients

Homemade English Muffins! Oh boy! Never again be fobbed off with those little white sponges sold in grocery stores. I have called for whole wheat flour because that is what I use, but you can certainly use all or part hard unbleached (white) flour. The ascorbic acid (Vitamin C powder) is available in bulk food stores, but you will not need it unless your flour is organic, and does not have dough conditioners added. Don't be put off by the length of the instructions, these are really quite easy. You can even make the dough in your bread machine.

Total Time 5 hours 30 minutes

Prep Time 5 hours

Cook Time 30 minutes

Yield 16 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 9

• Ingredients

Nutrition Facts : Calories 136.9, FatContent 3.3, SaturatedFatContent 1.3, CholesterolContent 18.3, SodiumContent 168.2, CarbohydrateContent 21.9, FiberContent 3.5, SugarContent 0.1, ProteinContent 6.6