The Best Sourdough English Muffins

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These tangy Sourdough English Muffins are a true classic sourdough. These gems are light, fluffy, and chewy. Perfect for breakfast!

I’ll never forget the first time I ate my first English muffin. I was about 11 years old. I had stayed the night at a friend’s house. This girl kept going on and on about how her mother would always make amazing English muffins in the toaster oven for breakfast. Here I was clueless. I had no idea what a toaster oven or even what English muffins were! I was pretty sure it was food for old people. She did not relent. She proceeded to show me how her mother would toast them in the oven to perfection. Then handed me my first bite slathered with butter. It was crispy and chewy. It tasted like nothing I had ever had before.

I was hooked! As soon as I went home, I requested for my mother to add English muffins to the grocery list. Unfortunately, it did not become a staple in my parent’s home. They did not feel the same about my new found love of English muffins. Regardless, I still reminisce about that first bite.

So here I am today, almost 30 years later, making my own English muffins. This time using the incredible powers of sourdough starter. Unlike some recipes out there, this recipe contains no commercial yeast. It is not a Sourdough Discard Recipe. It is a pure and true long fermented Sourdough English Muffins recipe .

Might I add, that this recipe is also vegan? …..Of course, if you are partial to butter you can easily change it up.

Supplies

Step by Step Instructions with photos :

*Remember to make sure that your starter is fed.*

First things first! Feed your starter and have it ready to go! This recipe requires 50 grams of sourdough starter. Be sure to add 25 grams of flour and 25 grams of water to your starter and wait for it to peak. This will need to be around 4-12 hours before making your Sourdough English Muffins dough.

While we are at it, I want to point out this is not a quick recipe. Sourdough is more of a marathon than a race. If you want quick, use a discard recipe or one that has commercial yeast added to it. Unfortunately, they will not be true sourdough just FYI.

Once the sourdough starter is ready to go:

Place milk and sugar into a small saucepan. Heat the pan until it boils and then remove it from the heat. Make sure you keep a watchful eye on this part of the process. Milk can burn very quickly.

Stir in the shortening into the sugar and milk mixture. The mixture should help melt the shortening. You want to make sure the shortening is fully melted. Then set this mixture aside. Let the mixture cool down prior to moving on to the next step. You do not want your yeast to meet an early death.

Add the water and yeast to the milk mixture. Mix until the mixture is fully blended. You can now add your salt to the liquid mix. I prefer to add my salt to the liquid. This ensures that the salt is equally distributed throughout the sourdough.

Create the Sourdough :

Now is the time for the flour. Add 3 cups of flour to a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour the wet ingredients into the well. Start mixing the wet and dry ingredients until the flour is completely moist. The dough should be a shaggy texture at this point. Do not worry if it is a little dry right now. Cover with plastic wrap. I prefer plastic wrap during this stage as it keeps the moisture in. Wait 30 minutes before moving to the next step.

Now you need to perform a quick kneading of the dough. Just enough to turn the dough into a ball. The dough will now feel like smooth play dough. Re-cover the dough and set aside to ferment for the next 12 hours.

During this time the dough will rise, stretch, and relax. I performed 2 sets of stretch and folds during the fermentation phase.

After the fermentation phase is complete, place the dough in the refrigerator for the next several hours. The dough will keep for about 3 days. The sourdough flavor will develop the longer it stays in the refrigerator. *You can skip this step but I would not recommend it.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the refrigeration period is the fermentation time. Yeast is active at room temperature. They need the room temperature fermentation time to actually leaven the dough. Do not skip the long room temperature ferment time!

Time to form the Sourdough English Muffins

Once the dough is fully fermented and ready to go, sprinkle your countertop with corn flour. Roll out your dough until the thickness comes up to the first knuckle of your pointer finger.

As a side note, this is where I messed up! I made the dough too thin and then tried to correct myself. Once the dough is rolled out it is hard to mash it back together.

Now take a cookie cutter or in my case, a mason jar lid and cut those babies out. Be sure that each side has corn flour on it. Then let them sit for another hour! Give them some time to re-rise and become soft before cooking them.

Get to frying!

Set your frying pan to medium heat and add oil. Place your newly cut sourdough English muffins in the pan to fry for 3-5 minutes on each side. Flip when the side is browned. Once they are fried up set aside to cool. Then slice it open using a fork! Just trust me on this one.

Questions:

Can I put these in the refrigerator earlier?: You will want to wait until the sourdough has risen until you place it in the refrigerator. The wild yeast and bacteria will slow and become dormant in the cold. Meaning the dough will not rise.

How do I know that the sourdough is fermented?: When the dough becomes approximately double in size. This can happen much sooner than 12 hours if you have a very active starter. Keep an eye on your dough.

Do I have to put the dough in the refrigerator for the cold ferment?: This is a step meant for flavor development more than anything. You can definitely skip this step. Especially, if you want to ferment the dough overnight and make the Sourdough English Muffins first thing the next morning.

I love to turn my Sourdough English Muffins into egg muffin sandwiches. What is your favorite way to eat your Sourdough English Muffins? Comment with your answer below!

Check out these other Sourdough recipes and tips:

Sourdough DIscard Pancakes

What is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Benefits: Unravel the truth and the myth’s