If you’ve never tasted homemade English muffins, you have really been missing out. With the help of an automatic bread machine to make the dough, and an easy method to “bake” them (developed by my bread making expert sister, Teri Brown), anyone can make fabulous English muffins easily. The old method calls for “baking” the muffins on a griddle, which is time consuming and requires constant watching. Teri discovered that she could do it in the oven in half the time by putting a baking sheet on top of the muffins to keep their shape and baking them just long enough to make the familiar browned circle on each side of the muffin. After baking, the muffins are cooled and a fork is pushed into the sides to split them in half, which is referred to as fork split.

You can use any favorite bread dough to make the English muffins (even frozen dough from the grocery store), but my favorite is the following Honey Oat Bran English Muffins which are delicious. Since the muffins aren’t cooked through, they need to be stored in the refrigerator, and they also freeze well. You’ll find that store-bought muffins in your home will be a thing of the past.

12 English Muffins

1 3/4 cups water
2 tablespoons dry milk
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup oat bran
1 tablespoon yeast

Oat bran, for outside of the muffins

1. Place all ingredients in bread machine in order given. Set to dough cycle. When the cycle is finished, turn dough out onto a floured surface.
2. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured pastry cloth to 1/2 inch thickness.
3. With a 4" cutter (a tuna fish can works well) cut out 12 rounds (you may have to reroll to get all 12). With the rolling pin, roll each to about 4" in diameter and cover with a dishtowel.
4. Let rise about 25 minutes, or until doubled.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°.
6. Place some oat bran on a small plate.
7. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
8. Spray the rounds with a little water and dip into the oat bran. Turn the rounds over, spray with water and dip in the oat bran. Place on the baking sheet.
9. Spray the underside of an additional baking sheet and place, slightly sideways, on the pan with English muffins.
10. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn the muffins over, and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.
11. Remove from the oven and using a fork, prick through the center so the muffin splits into two halves.
12. Because the dough isn't totally baked through, the muffins must be eaten within a day or frozen.
13. To serve, broil until golden brown and serve with butter. Do not try to use a toaster as the outsides brown too much.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 174 Calories from Fat 24
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 14% Protein 11% Carb. 75%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 3 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 5 mg
Sodium 124 mg
Total Carbohydrate 33 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 5 g

Vitamin A 2% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 4%