Wednesday, March 11, 2009

English Muffins


Hey! Guess what?!

I'm still making my own bread and now that the muffin molds have come in the mail, it's time to make English muffins.

I've gone through a lot of the recipes in the book and have made rye bread, semolina, brioche (with chocolate ganache and into cinnamon buns), etcetera, etcetera, and now I've made buttermilk bread! I noticed the openness of the texture on the buttermilk bread and decided it would probably be perfect for muffins, so now I'm giving it a whirl.

They're still rising as I type. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Feeling sad sucks, but at least I have fresh bread every damn day! Yarrrr!

So, turns out they need more like an hour to rise when starting with refrigerated dough, at this elevation, in order to reach the top of the ring. I also increase the baking temperature by 25 degrees (and only use 1 tbsp yeast in the main batch), so these were baked at 375, for about 30 minutes, instead of 20.

However, they are lovely when done. Next time I think I'll use semolina flour on the bottoms instead of the cornmeal I have. It's a whole grain cornmeal and possibly too crunchy! They did dome up, but I'm not a purist, so I love them anyway. After reading some of the comments on the AB5M website, I found I could probably put a cookie sheet over top of them while they cook to get both sides flat. Maybe next time.

The interior crumb is lovely, too.

Oh and did I mention that they're yummy?

Sorry, I couldn't resist taking a bite before photographing it!

I think we may be done buying bread at the store, so long as I have room in my fridge for my two bread proofing boxes. Which I do. I keep two different types of dough going, just to try all of the different recipes. It's been really fun, too. One may have brioche, while the other is buttermilk. Or whole wheat and peasant bread. The babies are loving it, as are Caitlin and Eric and whomever may drop in for dinner.

I've found that vital wheat gluten makes a huge difference in breads that have whole grains in them, so I do throw a tablespoon of that in per cup of whole grain flours. It makes a big difference at this elevation. After I've made at least one batch of each different type of recipe, I'll probably go back and start really messing around with ingredients, just to see if I can make the "perfect" (for us) loaf of sandwich bread. I like something with whole wheat in it, so it's not all white flour we're eating and Caitlin likes something with a softer crust. Eric is happy eating anything but the 100% whole wheat recipe.

Onwards!

11 comments:

screamish said...

yay for fresh bread and yay for not feeling sad! It'll get better...

Anonymous said...

I know I keep repeating myself but you are really SuperWoman. How can you be sad when you are so successful at so many, many different things?????????

Solanaceae said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Solanaceae said...

Let's try this again... LOL I have, and will have to put my hands on to share, a phenomenal whole wheat sandwich loaf recipe that comes out with a soft crust. If my memory serves me correctly it uses mostly wholewheat flour. I baked one loaf the same day and allowed the other to sit in the fridge overnight (in the bread pan) and we liked both. It was awesome with the chicken salad I make with the carrots and sprouts! Sending happy thoughts your way! I think we all need a little sunshine soon!

Anonymous said...

Hey,

I know it isn't the AB5MD bread recipe, but it is the one that came with my english muffin rings if you want me to post it here or email it to you, I can, once I am unpacked & in my own home. Soon, maybe as soon as this weekend...

Anonymous said...

boy am i tired and not making any sense. will comment tomorrow when my brain is not on holiday

Suburban Correspondent said...

Yes, we always go for a whole wheat/white mix.

Trisha said...

Yum!!!!

Valerie said...

Those are beautiful! And the plastic bags you will avoid collecting. I've been collecting our bags for poop pickup but Eka doesn't poop that much! What should we do with all the plastic bags....

Maybe you could do a bread making company or cooperative just among friends?

ellen said...

I have only made bread in my bread maker a few times. I want to do it from scratch but I admit I am scared. All the rising at the right temp for the right amount of time stuff... I could royally screw it up.

I love the idea of a messy house and fresh bread. We were meant for each other. ;)

Woman with a Hatchet said...

Ellen: you and the AB5M book were made for each other! It is EASY PEASY! And yummy. You can make all kinds of fun stuff and EAT IT, too! They had their master recipe listed in the NY Times, so it is readily available and they have a blog online where they talk about all kinds of breadly stuff. Go have a look.

Screamish: did you ever make those bagels?

Janet: There's no prevention from The Sad (tm). No matter how skilled/pretty/wealthy one is.

Solanaeae: lay that recipe on me!

Alessa: I am always ready to try new recipes. I like easy, though. The twins make me appreciate anything EASY. And fast.

Val: You move back to CO and I'LL make a bread cooperative! Deal?!

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