Homemade English Muffins: Yes. You. Can. Make this batter at night; then griddle away in the morning. These English muffins make the best egg sandwiches and eggs Benedict, but they are also a treat simply spread with softened butter and jam. 🍞🍞🍞

Just-Baked English Muffins.

In an attempt to make my homemade bread a little more nutritious, I began incorporating white whole wheat flour into my breads, from the peasant bread to Jim Lahey’s No-Knead bread to these English muffins.

Milled from white winter wheat seeds, which lack some of the pigmentation in the bran layer contained in the red wheat berry (from which traditional whole wheat flour is milled), white whole wheat flour is lighter in color and milder in taste — the pigment from red wheat carries a bolder flavor. What’s more, it’s as nutritious as traditional whole wheat flour.

This English muffin recipe is simple overall, but it requires an overnight rise as well as English muffin rings (see notes below) because the dough is very wet. That said, it is fun to make, and the reward of a homemade egg sandwich, eggs Benedict, or simply a warm muffin spread with butter and jam is well worth the effort of planning ahead.

How to Make Whole Wheat English Muffins, Step by Step

First, make the dough and let it rise overnight:

dough, risen

Next, deflate it.

dough with baking soda

Then, using a 1/3-cup measure, portion the dough into the English muffin rings set on a griddle:

scooping dough

Cook until golden brown on the bottom…

muffins on griddle

… then flip and cook again until the underside is golden brown.

English muffins cooking on a griddle second side

Transfer to a rack to cool.

Just-baked English muffins on a cooling rack.

Then halve…

A halved English muffin.

… and transform into the breakfast sandwich of your dreams:

egg
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100% Whole Wheat English Muffins

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5 from 14 reviews

  • Author: Alexandra Stafford
  • Total Time: 18 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: 10 muffins 1x
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

Homemade English Muffins: Yes. You. Can. Make this batter at night; then griddle away in the morning. These make the best egg sandwiches and eggs Benedict, but they are also a treat simply spread with softened butter and jam. 🍞🍞🍞

Adapted from Peter Reinhart’s Artisan Bread Every Day

  • This dough is very wet, like batter, so you will need English muffin rings or something similar (empty tuna cans, Ball jar rings, etc.) to constrain the dough.
  • The key with this recipe is to be sure to portion the dough into 10 rings. If you portion it into 8 rings or fewer, you will be disappointed — it’s very hard to cook the muffins all the way through on the griddle when they are on the large size. You will doubt the need to divide the dough into 10 rings as you portion it out — I do every time — but the dough spreads and fills the rings as it cooks slowly on the griddle.
  • With 100% white whole wheat flour, the texture isn’t quite like that of a Thomas’ English muffin (see photo of halved muffin above), but it is still light and airy.

Ingredients

  • 2⅔ cups (12 oz | 340 g) white whole wheat flour, such as King Arthur or other
  • 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1½ cups (12 oz | 340 g) lukewarm whole or nonfat milk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

For finishing: 

  • 3 tablespoons warm water
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • cornmeal for dusting

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and instant yeast. Add the milk to the bowl, followed by the honey and oil. Stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 4 days. 
  2. On baking day: remove the dough from the refrigerator 2 hours before you plan to bake the English muffins. After 2 hours, dissolve the baking soda in the warm water. Add it to the batter and stir to combine. Let the dough rest 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet (or other skillet) over medium heat. Mist the griddle and the inside of the rings with spray oil, then dust the inside of the rings with cornmeal (I dunk each ring into a bowl filled with cornmeal.) Cover the cooking surface with as many rings as it will hold, then dust the pan inside the rings with more cornmeal. Lower the heat to low or medium-low—you’ll have to use trial and error to find the right temperature.
  4. Using a ⅓ cup measure, scoop dough into the rings. It’s OK if the dough doesn’t fill the ring completely initially — it will spread and rise as it cooks. Sprinkle tops of dough with more cornmeal. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, peeking underneath with a spatula every so often to ensure griddle is not too hot. If muffins are browning too quickly, turn the griddle down. Flip muffins, and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes. (This will feel interminable. Be sure to have a crossword puzzle nearby.) When both sides are evenly golden brown and crisp, transfer muffins to a cooling rack. Let cool briefly (enough for rings to cool), then pop out rings. Let the muffins cool for at least 20 minutes before splitting them open with a fork.
  • Prep Time: 18 hours
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Griddle, Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American