English Muffins

Guess what? I quit my job and have nothing else lined up! This might sound like a scray thing to most people, but I say this with much excitement. It took me a long time to gather up the courage to do this, but it's probably one of the best things i've ever done for myself. Growing up in the bay area, there's a lot of pressure to climb the corporate ladder or own a 2 million dollar home by the age of 30. I've never been in love with my job and have spent the last 6 years of my professional life trying to figure out what the hell I want to do with my career. I'm excited to finally take a break from it all and do what I love the most. Bake all day and travel! I have a whole list of things I've been dying to do for Bread Babe and can't wait to start. Get ready for a lot of awesome recipes and new videos!

I've been debating whether I should make this sacrifice for quite some time now and it's been amazing having such supportive friends and family rooting for me. Health, happiness, and family are the most important things to me and I'm excited to spend the next couple months focussing on all three of those things.

Speaking of family, my sister is getting surgery this week and I wanted to make sure she was stocked up with some food while she recovers. She's a huge breakfast fan, so I decided to make her english muffins. Little did I know, she doesn't even like english muffins. I obviously thought she was crazy, so I had to make them and change her mind. She was hooked after her first bite and can't stop talking about them. Mission accomplished!

For the best results, I suggest refrigerating the dough overnight for a slow rise, so make sure you plan ahead. You won't need muffin rings for this recipe because they hold their shape during the cooking process. Unlike crumpets, the dough is a lot more stiff and easy to work with. Your muffins will stay fresh up to 3 days in a airtight bag for all your breakfast creations!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup warm buttermilk, (110 degrees F)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups bread flour, sifted
• cornmeal for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In your stand mixer bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and warm buttermilk. Set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Add in your melted butter, flour, and salt. Beat with your hook attachment on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Increase the speed to medium and beat for another 7 minutes or until your dough is smooth. Your dough will still be a sticky, but that's normal!
3. Spray a bowl with nonstick spray and transfer your dough to the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight in the fridge. This is the slow rise I mentioned earlier. If you don't want to wait overnight, you can put it in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours and continue on with the recipe
4. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and divide into 8-10 equal pieces. I measured mine out to exactly 3 oz each on a scale. Roll each piece into a smooth, round ball.
5. Scatter some cornmeal all over a baking sheet and place the balls on top of the cornmeal. Sprinkle cornmeal on top of the dough balls as well. Cover the baking sheet with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise again for another 1 1/2 hours
6. When you're ready to cook the muffins, warm up your skillet on medium heat and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
7. Using a metal spatula, lift your dough off the baking sheet onto your skillet. Cook each side for 5 minutes. You want to make sure they are nicely browned, but not burned. Cooking them on the skillet will also flatten out the balls, giving them the english muffin shape.
8. Transfer the muffins into the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness of your muffins. If you made your english muffins a lot smaller to begin with, you can skip this step entirely. I make mine really thick, which is why I need to cook them through in the oven