Anybody done it? Is there a trick? Butter versus shortening versus lard? Milk grade? Those huge bubbles in the crumb?
I have about five hours.
>>7076989
Bump for interest
>>7076989
We prefer to call them "Freedom Muffins", because the English are such keks.
>>7076995
Yes. Thank you. Thank you for "Freedom Muffins."
Irish commentary aside, I'm starting with sourdough starter from the fridge about 24 hours in, and a separate milk and flour dough which I will mix together when they both reach room temperature.
>>7076989
You must first create the universe to make muffins from scratch.
>>7076989
Inject the batter up your ass then shit it into the pan for authentic British cuisine
>>7076989
I made some once, I don't remember it being difficult apart from it taking a lot longer to cook than my recipe claimed.
I'd do mostly lard with a little butter, it's not hugely enriched though. Only like an egg's worth.
>>7077182
Keep crying like a fucking woman
>>7077187
Longer to cook. On the stovetop? I have a double burner griddle. Most recipes seem to finish in the oven because the dough needs to be pretty wet to get the big bubble crumb.
>>7077017
>sourdough
Why though
>>7077176
He is not making Indian fusion shut up
>>7077187
7.5/10
>>7077213
Yeah, I did it in pan. Took like half a fucking hour, but I believe it was cold as balls that day.
>>7077240
Because it's there. I had it already. Plus, some of the more reliable food bloggers suggested it makes a more distinctive flavored final product, something beyond just a vehicle for butter.
>>7077251
Huh. I have that pampered chef pan in 10 inch and mine is discolored at the collar just like that.
You know, I never even thought of how you would go about making english muffins.
Do you just roll a big ball of dough and pan fry it?
I can never get mine to be as flat as OPs pic. They always rise on the opposite side of what's on the skillet first. But Alton Browns recipe or https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/english-muffin have worked for me. I think I just need to lower my skillet heat or something.
>>7077452
You roll the dough out flat and cut rounds.
>>7077522
>>7077452
>>7077503
OP here. So the choices I made:
>Whole vitamin D milk
>Butter, because I had it
>Double burner stovetop griddle
>sourdough starter + milk/butter flour dough
>used parchment paper and aluminum cookie sheet to weigh them down once spring started on heat
I made the relatively wet dough (60% hydration), rolled it out on a floured silicone mat, then cut rounds with a ring.
Placed the rounds on the cold griddle coated with corn meal. After 20 minutes, turned on the heat and let them start to spring.
When they started to mound, placed the parchment paper, and the cookie sheet gently over them and made a guess about heat and time.
My dials, on my electric, were less than half, about 3 of 10. 20 minutes to first turn, 10 minutes after second turn got them to 200 internal temperature.
They look like original pic, but less consistent size. Some were bigger, some were smaller.
Fork split like the store bought deal, and excellent crumb. toasted up they held a slice of Canadian bacon, a fried egg and some sauce without sagging or breaking up.
Not bad. Extra batches still going because doubled the recipe. It's easier than it looks. The milk and butter are obviously the crucial ingredients, and the weight during cooking for the form factor.
>>7077192
Why do you hate women
>>7076989
OP, Alton did an episode on it. They looked pretty fussy, really, and unlike a bagel, maybe not worth the effort, esp when Thomas' is like BOGO every other week, and Publix brand is $1.50 for 5 pack. Now if I lived over in asia or something and had a real jonesing, I'd totally make a few and tuck them into a freezer.
Tell me the texture differences. I am assuming it's moister inside? How did they turn out?
>>7077760
Sounds like it worked out pretty well. Pics pls.
I didn't find I needed weighing down on mine, flipping every few minutes kept them flat, but like I say it was a cold dough so there was barely any spring.
>>7077760
Sounds like everything went well, OP. I've wanted to try making them myself too, but I haven't bothered yet.
>>7077808
Texture, yes, they were initially doughier when they first came off the griddle. After setting up on the cooling rack for ten minutes they finished and reached 200 Fahrenheit. When I fork split the finished ones, they were hard to tell from Thomas'. After the toaster, they were better. Less added sugar and heavier per piece. I used King Arthur all purpose unbleached. The crumb averaged 3/16 - 1/4 inch bubbles.
I figure the $ as:
one third of a five pound bag = $2.25
1/2 stick of butter = $0.45
Pint of milk = $0.59
Corn meal dusting = $0.20
2 yeast packs = $1.20
$4.69 made 36 pieces, averaging the same 4 inch diameter of the store item. So it's not a great savings given labor and mess, but it was fun to produce a slightly better and more substantial version of the thing.
It was less mess than either bagels or pretzels, whose boil steps produce so much extra cleanup, and way better than the soda foam mess pf pretzels in particular.
This pic, not mine, is never the less identical to my results.
I've done it, it's dead easy you are basically taking a very slack dough in the first rise and pan baking little bits of it.
what helped: muffin rings
>tuna cans r gr8 m8
lightly greasing the pan
>cast iron is best iron
but mostly dry and doing just under medium, a bit over medium-low flame
and letting them bake off/cool down fully
it;s basically a civilized version of fry bread, and what i noticed was that they tasted almost identical to Thomas' aka great, but with a really distinct "fresh" taste and aroma.
it's a breakfast option if I get up an hour early or I have some overnight proof.
let us know how they turn out>>7077881
oh nvm. quality thread kid. thanks
>>7077881
What a fantastic reply with costs too! Nice job OP. They look beautiful. I like a pretty special jam when I have them. Maybe a thick cut marmalade.
What's next? Eggs florentine?
>>7077881
About consistency. I made a double batch. My recipe called for 1 cup of milk, but I used a whole pint, plus some liquid from the sourdough starter.
My surface area allowed frying 8 rounds per batch, and I cold rose the first batch on the griddle. That meant letting the griddle cool after the first batch, then placing the second batch of rounds on a hotter than initial griddle. So they didn't rise as much, because the excess heat inhibited or killed some of the yeast. So the second batch sprang less and were smaller.
So I took longer between 2nd and 3rd and completely refreshed the corn dust. 4rd were bigger, with a more hollow crumb, like I wanted. 4th batch was somewhere between, because well, the experiment's mission is complete. Art is for artists.
Cut down to size, yeah, this is an easy bread, and given the initial conditions of the dough, it is durable enough that it is actually hard to mess it up. Would do again at regular recipe scale.
Pic related, another web pic which looks exactly like mine would if I had a digital camera that could upload other than phone.
>>7077934
Actually, I wished I had made some peach preserves since those eaten tonight were all savory eggs bene. I have enough extra to freeze some while I thaw out some peach puree from September for tomorrow. Some kind of topping for a dessert.
>>7077934
I decided to take a look at it, and what I found was that Thomas standard package is a 6 pack for between 1.50 and 1.99, so best deal fresh that's .25 cents per round. Grocers in the US love turnover more than quality so they will do BOGO on x-date approach. I got about .13 cents per round, so I beat the fresh retail by almost half, but fought to a draw against the x-date deal. So if the time is less valuable than the money, and assuming water and kitchen are basically free, it's one of those little things that can add up.
