Help with English Muffins
-
Anyone here a practiced/semi-pro baker? I made my own muffins (shop-bought ones all smell of vinegar and that puts me off). I used a standard bread recipe, but substituted milk for the water. They tasted great. But I had trouble with the appearance. First roll of the risen dough got me 8 small but perfect muffins. I reformed the left-over dough to make a second batch and they all came out lop-sided and mis-shapen. Is there a technique to re-forming risen yeast dough so the muffins all come out looking the same?
-
I wanna point out how hilarious it is to ask for baking tips on a porn site, but who cares we're all gay
-
;D ;D ;D
I'm fine with that. Hey….I can suck cock and make a sponge cake. Who says we can't multitask?
Worth saying though that home-made English muffins are waaaaay better than shop bought. I'd just like them all to look the same. The ones from the second roll of the dough look a bit…... :afr:
-
Could you post your recipe?
-
It's not my recipe, raphjd. I got it from about.com:
http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/englishmuffins.htm
I think the recipe meant to use the lard to fry the muffins in. I didn't. I added the lard to the dough. I've kept on doing that. Lard horrifies some people, but it's thought to be healthier than using heavily processed spreads. I now use 2 parts butter to one part lard my shortcrust pastry too. I don't buy baking spreads any more.
I get seven-eight rounds from the first rolling out of the dough. I end up with enough leftover dough to make 3-4-5 more muffins. But those end up looking like crap. No matter how carefully I reform the leftovers, those baked from the first rolling out of the dough look like classic, perfect, English muffins while the next batch simply don't.
Edit: I should have said that I don't use dried yeast. I use a 7g sachet of instant yeast or 15g of fresh yeast when I can get it. The fresh yeast has to be dissolved in a little of the milk - heated to lukewarm - with the teaspoon of sugar mixed in. Leave it until it bubbles and you can hear it hissing. Fresh yeast is lovely to work with, but I can only get it from Sainsbury's and only when certain people are at the bakery counter. No idea why they make buying it so difficult.
-
Thanks.
Yeah, live yeast is a PITA to buy for some reason.
I don't like baking with spreads so I use butter, but I haven't used lard in many, many years. I guess I'll give it a go.
-
I haven't used lard in many, many years. I guess I'll give it a go.
My parents led me to believe that lard was the work of the devil, but it's reputation is being restored. It makes a fantastic shortcrust. I can't make shortcrust by hand - I don't have the skill or delicacy needed - so I use a processor and a stand mixer. 500g+ made in about two minutes. That's fine by me.
If you do make the English muffins (and they are well worth making because they taste far better than shop-bought), please tell me how the ones you make from the reformed and re-rolled dough turn out.
-
Maybe it is the recipe.
Could try a different one.
English muffins
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) milk, warm
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) butter
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 to 4 1/4 cups (17 to 18 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
2 teaspoons instant yeastPlace the ingredients in the pan of your bread machine following the manufacturer's instructions. Use the "dough" or "manual" setting. After the cycle is complete, transfer the dough to a cornmeal-sprinkled surface and roll it out until it's about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out circles with a floured 3-inch cutter. Re-roll and cut out the leftover dough. Cover the muffins with a damp cloth and let rest for about 20 minutes.
Heat a frying pan or griddle to very low heat. Do not grease, but sprinkle with cornmeal. Cook four muffins at a time, cornmeal side down first, for about 7 minutes a side.
