Homemade English Muffins

Nothing brings back more childhood memories for me than an english muffin. From my elementary school's white cheese filled-one to the butter & apple mint jelly topped muffins we ate in Mr. Robles's high school classroom during class council meetings, nothing beats the comfort of a chewy, toasted english muffin with each nook and cranny collecting pools of cheese, butter or jam.

I decided to try my hand at making english muffins, mostly because Ray loves eating them with peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. There are alot of different recipes out there, using variations of water, milk, powdered milk, butter, shortening, etc. I opted for Alton Brown's recipe, thanks to the high number of reviewers and positive ratings. I should have read the reviews a litter more closely, however. If I did, I would have seen that a lot of people recommended the addition of baking soda to the risen dough to help the nooks and crannies form. My sad looking muffins, while having the right taste and texture, ended up a little more dense than I would have liked, with only a sprinkling of air pockets. However, once split and re-toasted, with a slathering of PJ&B on top, we couldn't really complain about anything. It was still better than anything store-bought!

English Muffins
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients 
1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk 
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon shortening 
1 cup hot water 
1 envelope dry yeast 
1/8 teaspoon sugar 
1/3 cup warm water 
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 
Non-stick vegetable spray 
Note: Add 1 tsp baking soda to the risen dough for extra nooks and crannies

In a bowl combine the powdered milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, shortening, and hot water, stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Let cool. In a separate bowl combine the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in 1/3 cup of warm water and rest until yeast has dissolved. Add this to the dry milk mixture. Add the sifted flour and beat thoroughly with wooden spoon. 

Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes. Preheat the griddle to 300 degrees F. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and baking soda to mixture and beat thoroughly. Place metal rings onto the griddle and coat lightly with vegetable spray. Using #20 ice cream scoop, place 2 scoops into each ring and cover with a pot lid or cookie sheet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and flip rings using tongs. 


Cover with the lid and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack, remove rings and cool. Split with fork and serve.