It’s incredibly easy (and fun!) to make homemade English Muffins, using basic pantry ingredients, and cooking them in a skillet or griddle.
If you love easy bread recipes don’t miss my Artisan No Knead Bread, or homemade white bread or wheat bread.
Why I love this recipe:
Better than Store-Bought: You can’t beat the amazing freshness of these soft and chewy homemade English Muffins. They’re wonderful served toasted and slathered with homemade jam, in a delicious Breakfast Sandwich, or get extra fancy and make Eggs Benedict.
No Oven Required: There’s no baking required–the English muffins are cooked in a skillet on the stove, or use an electric griddle to cook many at once.
Freezer-Friendly: Make a big batch and store them in the freezer for months, to have some on hand all the time!
Did you know that English Muffins originated in the United States? They were made popular by an English emigrant –Samuel Bath Thomas– who called them “English” muffins to distinguish them from other sweet, cake-like American muffins. They’re not a traditional “muffin” at all, but a type of bread that’s split open (like a biscuit) and served toasted, with butter or jam.
How to make English Muffins:
Make Dough: Add yeast, milk, honey, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour to a mixing bowl and mix well.
Rest: Add remaining flour and stir everything until very well combined, to form a soft, sticky dough. Cover bowl and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.
Shape English Muffins: Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and sprinkle cornmeal between the two. Use a greased ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop batter into equal portioned “blobs” onto the pan. Press and shape each batter blob into a flat, round disk, around 3 inches in diameter, then flip to the other side, to coat both flat sides lightly in cornmeal. The cornmeal helps make them easier to shape and handle.
Rise: Space the dough discs at least an inch apart along both baking sheets to give them room to rise. Cover the pans with a light kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 ½ hours. It’s important to let them rise, so that bubbles can develop in the dough, resulting in those nook and crannies in the center of the muffin that English muffins are known for.
Cook on a hot griddle or skillet for 7-10 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
Serve: To split open, poke the tines of a fork all around the outside center of each muffin, then split apart. Serve the best English Muffins toasted, with butter, jam, marmalade, or peanut butter. Use them to make Eggs Benedict, Crab Cake Benedict, or in a breakfast sandwich.
Storing and Freezing Instructions:
Store at room temperature for 3-4 days.
To Freeze: Place them in a freezer-safe bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Re-warm in the toaster, or for a few seconds in the microwave.
Use these English Muffins in:
- Crab Cake Benedict
- Eggs Benedict
- Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches
- Eggs Florentine
- Cheesy Egg, Avocado, and Ham Breakfast Sandwiches
- Best and Easiest Strawberry Jam
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Recipe
English Muffins
Equipment
- Griddle optional
- Instant-read digital thermometer. optional
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast * (1 packet)
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk , warm, or regular milk
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 egg , lightly beaten
- 3 Tablespoons butter , melted
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornmeal , for coating on the outside of the muffins
Instructions
- Mix dough: Add yeast, milk, honey, egg, butter, salt, and 1 cup flour to a mixing bowl and mix well. Add remaining flour and stir everything until very well combined, to form a soft, sticky dough. Cover bowl and rest for 20 minutes.
- Scoop onto baking sheets: Line two sheet pans with parchment paper and sprinkle cornmeal between the two. Grease a ¼ cup measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray and scoop batter into equal portioned “blobs” onto the cornmeal on the sheet pans.
- Press and shape each batter blob into a flat, round disk, around 3 inches in diameter, then flip to the other side, to coat both flat sides lightly in cornmeal. Space the dough discs at least an inch apart along both baking sheets to give them room to rise.
- Rise: Cover the pans with a light kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 ½ hours.
- Cook: Heat a griddle to about 325 degrees (or a cast iron or nonstick skillet over medium/medium low heat). Use a spatula to gently pick up the English muffin disks and place them on the hot pan. Cook for 7-10 minutes. They will puff up, and the bottom will get golden. Flip to the other side (they will deflate a little) and cook for another 7-12 minutes, until golden on the bottom and when you touch the sides and gently press, it no longer feels doughy. (Or until the center of a muffin registers about 200°F on an instant-read thermometer). You can always take one off and gently test it. Cook longer if still doughy.
- Cool and Serve: Remove English muffins to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before splitting open and eating. To spit open, poke the tines of a fork all around the outside center of each muffin, then split apart.
- Toast them and serve with butter, jam, marmalade, or peanut butter, or use them to make Eggs Benedict, or a breakfast sandwich.
- Store English muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2021. Updated August 2023.
So delicious, I only had bread flour…so I “Jenn’d” it a little. I allowed the dough to rise overnight in the fridge and the next morning (after an hour – let it come to room temperature) rolled out the dough and used a biscuit cutter. Placed them on a cookie sheet to rise again and cooked them on a warm cast iron skillet. Oh man… they’re delicious! Thank you for the recipe and video.