Soft Sourdough English Muffins
These sourdough English Muffins are super easy to make and taste amazing! Sourdough English muffins are little bread rounds, leavened with sourdough starter and cooked in a pan. They’re toasted on both sides to create a crisp outer but have a lovely soft texture inside.
If this is your first time making English muffins, you’re in for a treat! They are so tasty and easy! You can use these delicious English muffins to make sandwiches or eggs benedict, toast them and serve them with butter.
These classic English muffins have plenty of nooks and crannies for butter to hold on to. You don’t need any special English muffin rings for this recipe. I use a cookie cutter or a glass to cut out the dough rounds, but you can also shape it into rounds by hand!
About this sourdough English muffin recipe
- An easy recipe to make. The dough doesn’t require any heavy kneading and is not very wet. A few sets of simple stretches and folds give the structure.
- You don’t need an oven! The English muffins are toasted in a frying pan or skillet, so there’s no need to heat the oven. I use a cast iron skillet which holds the heat really well.
- Flexible in timing. The dough undergoes a cold-proof to bring extra flavor. As with most sourdough recipes, the timings of the cold proof can be tweaked to fit around your schedule.
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients in this recipe are pantry staples. The only special ingredient is semolina flour for dusting (you can substitute this with fine corn meal). If you don’t have this, that’s okay; you can use all-purpose flour.
Equipment
- Cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan
- Optional – Use a cookie cutter or glass to cut the muffins, around 3 inches in diameter.
Baker’s schedule
Here is an example baker’s schedule for these homemade sourdough English muffins. These timings can be changed a bit to suit your own schedule.
- 9 am – Feed your sourdough starter.
- 3 pm – Mix the English muffin dough.
- 3:20 pm – 7:20 pm. Place the dough in a warm spot. Let it rise until it puffs out by around 40%. During the first hour, perform 3 sets of stretches and folds.
- 7:20 pm – the next day. Cover the dough and place it in the refrigerator overnight (or for up to 2 days).
- 9 am – 10 am. The next morning, roll and cut the dough into rounds. Let them puff out a bit at room temperature for an hour.
- 10 am. Cook the sourdough English muffins.
Here’s how to make them
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter. When the starter has doubled, begin the dough.
- Melt the butter in the milk and water.
- Add flour and salt, and use a fork to bring the dough together.
- Switch to using your hands and push the dough into a shaggy and sticky dough ball.
- Over the next hour, give the dough another 3 sets of stretch and folds, spaced around 20 minutes apart.
Stretch and folds
A stretch and fold method is when one side of the dough is stretched and pulled over. The bowl is then turned a quarter turn, repeated on the following side. Continue stretching, folding, and turning the bowl until all sides have been folded.
- Let the dough rise until puffed out by around 40%.
- Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge overnight or for up to 2 days.
Shaping
- Use a rolling pin or your fingers to push the dough into a 2 cm (just under 1 inch) round.
- With a glass or biscuit cutter that measures around 7.6 cm / 3 inches in diameter.
- Place them on parcment paper dusted with semolina flour. Sprinkle the top of the dough circles with more semolina flour. Let them rise again.
- Place 4 muffins in the pan and cook for 6-7 minutes on one side.
- If your pan has a lid, place this on top, and this will cook them slightly faster.
- Flip the muffins and cook the other side, uncovered.
- Let them cool slightly before serving.
Serving and storing
Fresh English muffins can be served as they are, with your favorite toppings and fillings, or they can be toasted. Traditionally, an English muffin is not cut in half; it is pierced with a fork around its circumference, then ripped in half. This creates all these ridges and nooks for fillings like butter to cling to.
Leftover muffins can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Related recipes
If you love sourdough or want more breakfast recipes you might love these too!
- The Best Sourdough Brioche Bread
- The Best Sourdough Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Step-by-Step Sourdough Baguette Recipe
- Multigrain Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Fruit Bread
- Banana Strawberry Pancakes
Sourdough English Muffins
Ingredients
Sourdough starter
- 25 g sourdough starter
- 50 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g water
Dough
- 120 g water
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 120 g cold milk
- All the sourdough starter (around 100g active starter)
- 20 g granulated sugar
- 375 g all-purpose flour
- 5 g salt
- Semolina flour for dusting
Instructions
- In the morning feed your sourdough starter. In a bowl, mix all the starter ingredients until well combined. Scoop the mixture into a clean jar and cover it with a loose lid. Leave it in a warm place to double.
- When the starter has doubled, begin the dough. Add the butter and water in a small saucepan and warm it up until the butter has melted.
- Pour it into a large mixing bowl and add the cold milk. This will bring the temperature of the water down to make it lukewarm.
- Add the sourdough starter and sugar and give it a whisk with a fork to combine it. The starter won't combine properly yet.
- Add the flour and salt and use a fork to combine them. Switch to using your hands and push the dough into a shaggy and sticky dough ball. It won't be smooth yet, but ensure everything is well combined.
- Place the dough ball in a clean, large bowl and give it a stretch and fold. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and place it in a warm place. Over the next hour, give the dough another 3 sets of stretch and folds, spaced around 20 minutes apart.
- After the hour, let the dough rise in the warm spot for another 3-4 hours, ideally around 77°F/25°C) until puffed out by around 40%. If you have a cold kitchen, create a warm and humid spot by placing the dough into a turned-off oven alongside a bowl of boiled water. Replace the water as needed when it cools down.
Cold Proof
- Once risen, cover the bowl and place it in the fridge overnight or for up to 2 days.
Shaping
- Take the cold dough from the refrigerator and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and let it sit at room temperature for around 10 minutes to relax.
- Use a rolling pin or your fingers to push the dough into a 2cm (just under 1 inch) round. Take a piece of parchment paper and generously dust it with semolina flour.
- Cut out dough circles and place them on the parchment paper With a glass or biscuit cutter that measures around 7.6 cm/3 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the top of the dough circles with more semolina flour.
- Any scraps of dough can be gathered up and rolled again. Let the dough rest and relax first before rolling it out so it doesn't spring back too much.
- Let the dough rounds sit at room temperature for around an hour to puff. At the end of the rising time, preheat a cast iron pan or nonstick skillet over low-medium heat.
- Cooking
- Place 4 muffins in the pan and cook on one side for 6-7 minutes. If your pan has a lid, add this on and it will shorten the time to around 5 minutes.
- Flip the muffins and cook for 5-6 minutes on the other side. You may need to play around with the temperature of your stovetop to get it right. If medium-low is too hot, turn it down to low heat. It should be hot enough to create a deep golden brown toasted exterior but not too hot to burn. If you have a thermometer, the internal temperatures of the muffins should read 200°F/94°C.
- Place the cooked muffins on a wire rack to cool while you cook the remaining muffins. Dust away semolina flour from the pan before adding the next batch, or it will burn.
Hi Elien,
Just wanted to say thank you, this is the 3rd recipe from your sourdough ones I tried and I am very pleased with them.
I am just finishing cooking these muffins and I really liked the dough.
Thank you, Alice! I’m so pleased you’re enjoying the recipes
Have made these for the first time today… and will have to say they are the most delicious amazing English muffins I’ve ever had…. will never be buying shop bought ever again!!
Ah yay thank you Lucy! That makes me so happy to read that!
Do I have to add oil to the pan when cooking the english muffin?
No it’s a dry pan 🙂
Hello,
Simple question. You use all-purpose flour in your recipe, why not bread flour?
Hey Jan, an all-purpose flour (with a protein level of around 11%) brings enough protein to efficiently work the dough, but it keeps it soft too without getting too chewy 🙂
Can I use AP flour instead of semolina flour?
Yup 🙂
Hi. I already have some starter ready. How much starter do you use in grams?
Around 100g 🙂
Would almond milk work instead of milk?
I’ve not tried it but I don’t see why not! 🙂
Yep! I’ve only used almond milk with this recipe and they always turn out great.
All I can say is Wow, Wow, Wow. Great recipe. Love the step by step directions. I finally have nooks and crannies!! Thank you!!!
Yay so happy to read this!! 😀😀
I tried this recipe before with AP flour and they were so good. I’ve switched to sir lancelot hi-gluten, is that okay to use and should I add more water when using it?