A Pinch and a Dollop

I borrowed this recipe from Truffles and Trends after watching Jennifer Garner make these on her #pretendcookingshow. Honestly, I am a little obsessed with that show and how adorable she is! Jennifer made it look so easy and so awesome, I decided to give it a try, and so happy I did!

This is an amazing way to make a quick bread that doesn’t involve a million proofing sessions, and I could do it in the morning before anyone was awake. I am taking care of my mom while we’re quarantining, and she loves a delicious bread or pastry option in the morning, so this is a perfect starter!

I need to take more pics next time I make these, and I’ll update this post to add the steps in, but what you cannot see in this pic is how light and fluffy they are, and so buttery and delicious! I could not stop eating them when I made them, and I had two myself before she even woke up! I had to freeze half of the batch so I wouldn’t eat the whole batch in a day! Trust me, you will never buy store bought English Muffins again once you have these!

Recipe says it makes about 10 English Muffins, but I think I got about 12 out of it, maybe more. So, you can make them a little smaller and stretch it, up to you!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4c warm water
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp instant dry yeast
• 2 Tbs melted butter or oil (I used butter)
• 2 3/4c all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• cornmeal for dusting (I didn’t have any, so I sprinkled my muffins with sesame seeds when frying)

Directions:

1. Pour warm water into a large bowl; sprinkle sugar then yeast on top.
2. Let sit and foam for 10 minutes.
3. Add in melted butter/oil, flour, and salt and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
4. Once combined, drop dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes, adding flour if needed to keep dough from sticking to surface. (You can probably knead in a stand mixer as well, but I did it by hand).
5. Shape the dough into ball and place into an oiled bowl (I like to use an oil mister with olive oil). Cover with a dish towel and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
6. If you are using cornmeal, sprinkle a few tablespoons on a piece of parchment paper or towel.
7. Once dough is doubled, knead a few times on floured surface and divide into 10 (or 12) portions. Shape each piece into a ball and then flatten onto cornmeal covered parchment to create muffin shape.
8. Sprinkle all of the flattened muffin shapes with more cornmeal (or sesame or poppy seeds) and then cover with dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
9. Heat a large frying pan or skillet and grease. Recipe says with cooking spray, but I used butter. I think it was worth it; made the dough super luscious and flavorful. Recipe says to cook on low heat 9 minutes first side and 5 minutes opposite side. I found I needed more time than that, so you might just want to watch the first batch or two and check for yourself. You want the bottom super golden and delicious, and the inside fluffy and moist. I also covered mine while they were cooking to steam a little bit.
10. Once cooked, you can split the steaming muffin with a fork, and add. butter or jam and all your favorite toppings. I made an insane burger the next day and used this as my bun. It was rediculously good!