Sourdough English Muffins
These easy sourdough English muffins cook up light and fluffy, with a delicious sourdough flavor!
Mix everything the night before and wake up to a beautiful dough that's ready to be cut out and cooked to "nook and cranny" perfection!
Do you know what I love about this sourdough English muffin recipe? Everything!
The taste. The texture. The ease!
Enjoy them slathered with homemade butter and a little cinnamon sugar for a quick breakfast or an afternoon snack.
They are very filling when turned into little breakfast sandwiches with eggs, ham, and cheese.
We even serve them as a side at dinner instead of rolls.
Cook a batch to eat right away or freeze it for later!
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Step-by-step instructions
These sourdough English muffins are simple to make, so let's dive straight into the details!
1. Feed your sourdough starter 12 hours prior to mixing dough so that it's active and bubbly.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix all of the ingredients together with your hands until they are fully combined. Cover the bowl and let rest for 30-60 minutes.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes with your hands. (This step can also be done in a stand mixer, using a dough hook, on low speed for 5 minutes.)
4. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature for 8-12 hours at 65-70 degrees. (It will double in size.)
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, flour the top of it, and press it out to a ½" thickness, using your fingertips.
6. Cut out 3" rounds and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet that's been sprinkled with cornmeal.
7. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. Cover with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
8. Preheat a non-stick skillet over LOW heat. Place 4 muffins into the skillet, making sure there is 2" of space in between each one. Cover and cook for 4 minutes per side. (No need to add oil to the pan before cooking.)
9. Place the muffins back onto the parchment paper to cool before slicing them in half.
Tips for success
The sourdough English muffins should be cooked over a very low heat, and covered, for best results. This will allow the inside to cook evenly while the outside does not burn.
A good quality all-purpose flour works best in this recipe. I always test my recipes with King Arthur brand for consistent results.
Don't have a kitchen scale to measure flour?
Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
Because flour is measured by weight in these recipes, if the flour is scooped straight out of the bag with the measuring cup, there will be more flour than is called for in the recipe.
If you do not want to knead the dough by hand, use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix at the lowest speed for 5 minutes.
If you live in a very warm or humid environment, you may need to adjust the recipe. I recommend reducing the milk by 30g and using granulated sugar instead of honey to help the dough from being too sticky to work with. Add more liquid if the dough is too stiff.
How to store and freeze
- These sourdough English muffins can be frozen after they have been cooked for up to 3 months.
- Store them in a container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Make sure you try these sourdough English muffins toasted with a slab of honey butter melted on top!
Other recipes you may like:
- sourdough berry sweet rolls
- sourdough coffee cake
- sourdough biscuits
- sourdough bagels
- sourdough cinnamon rolls
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to know how it turned out!
Leave us a message in the comment section below. And don't forget to rate the recipe!
Sourdough English Muffins Recipe
EQUIPMENT
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Tea towel
- Non-stick skillet with cover
INGREDIENTS
Ingredients to make ½ cup (100 g) of Active Sourdough Starter
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) sourdough starter
- ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (50 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ tablespoons (50) water
Dough Ingredients
- ½ cup (100 g) active sourdough starter
- 1 tablespoon (20 g) honey (sugar or maple syrup)
- 1 cup (240 g) milk
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- ¼ cup (40 g) cornmeal (for sprinkling)
INSTRUCTIONS
Feed Your Sourdough Starter
- 12 hours before you plan to mix the dough, add the ingredients to make ½ cup (100 g) of active sourdough starter to a clean jar. Stir until combined, loosely cover the jar and let the starter rise at room temperature. (The ingredients will create a total of 115 g active starter but, because some of it will stick to the sides of the jar during the transfer, we are making a little more than needed.) The sourdough starter is ready to use when it has doubled in size and there are plenty of bubbles on the surface and sides of the jar.
Make the Dough
- Add 100g of the active starter and the rest of the ingredients (except corn meal) to a large bowl and use your hands to mix until well combined. Cover and let rest 30-60 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough by hand for 5 minutes. (A stand mixer with a dough hook attachment can be used on the lowest speed.)
- Place the dough back into the bowl, cover and let ferment on the counter at room temperature 8-12 hours. (Room temperature is 65-70°F)
Cut and Cook
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, flour the top of the dough and press it out using your fingertips until it is ½" in thickness.
- Use a 3" biscuit cutter to cut rounds and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet that's been sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise for 1 hour at room temperature.
- Preheat your non-stick skillet over LOW heat. Place 4 muffins into the skillet spaced 2" apart, cover and cook the first side for 4 minutes. Turn the muffins over and cook for an additional 4 minutes. (When done, the center of a muffin should register about 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.)
NOTES
- Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
- If you live in a very warm or humid environment, you may need to make adjustments in the recipe. I recommend reducing the milk by 30g and using granulated sugar instead of honey to help the dough from being too sticky to work with. Add more liquid if the dough is too stiff.
- Store at room temperature for up to 5 days in a container or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe was very easy to follow and smells great just finishing up can't wait to taste them I would like to know how many carbs is in one I'm diabetic
Hi Jane, according to my nutrition calculator, each english muffin has 32 carbs. Hope this is helpful!
I’m in the middle of making this recipe and the dough turned out really sticky, I’ve added a tbsp of flour but it’s still sticky.
I’ve used white spelt flour.
How can I fix it? And what could cause the problem?
Thanks (:
Hi Romi! When working with a different flour you'll need to adjust the hydration. I find when I working with ancient grains, I reduce the liquid by about 50g and then slowly add more liquid until the consistency feels right.
Yum! Great recipe for using up sourdough discard--I quadrupled the recipe (because I had so much starter) and the family is eating them fast as ever--highly recommend! I used my stand mixer for all of the mixing and kneading (a little crunched for time) andI a cast iron flat (no sides) skillet to cook them.
Holy cow, these are sooooooo GOOD!!! I just made them for the very first time, and I had to stop myself after eating 3! Wow!!! And, I didn't even follow the recipe perfectly. I used 1/2 cup of sourdough starter because I somehow didn't see that first step until after. I also only put corn meal on one side. Next time I think I'll skip the corn meal altogether. Absolutely DELICIOUS!!! THANK YOU for helping me discover such AMAZING english muffins, the best I've EVER had, and definitely my favorite sourdough item!
You are so welcome Karina! 🙂
When you say knead…is that the traditional bread making motion of kneading or the folding method…stretch and fold? Does it matter?
Hi Laura, I'm referring to the traditional bread making motion of kneading. 🙂
It’s delicious! But any tips on getting a “holey” nook and cranny crumb? Mine are always dense
Hello Amy, I would like to incorporate whole wheat flour into this recipe. Should I modify the liquid quantities? Thank you!
Hi Diane! Yes, whole wheat flour requires more liquid. Add 25 grams more liquid and see if it feels right. It doesn't take too much more so only add a little at a time. 🙂
Interested in trying this recipe. I live in a very hot and humid climate. Can I do the 8-12h rise overnight in the fridge? Or will it not work?
If you live in a very warm or humid environment, I recommend reducing the milk by 30g and using granulated sugar instead of honey to help the dough from being too sticky to work with. Add more liquid if the dough is too stiff.
Hi Mary. I have made these in Naples FL as well as Highlands NC and I make them exactly like recipe states. They always turn out perfect! I make them regularly, maybe twice a month over the last 18 months. I have made them with honey, maple syrup and organic cane sugar. I think my favorite is with honey, but can’t tell a lot of difference. Love Amy’s olive walnut sourdough too, except I swap out the olives for dried apricots and then use white chocolate for the walnuts. So delicious! I sometimes add cranberries with the dried apricots and/or dried cherries. Works and tastes beautifully! Love beginners sourdough too!!! Thanks Amy for great recipes!!
Forgot to tell you we eat a whole food plant based diet, so I do use either soy milk or almond milk…not sure if that makes any difference regarding it working perfectly without any adjustments for a high humidity area. I also freeze them immediately and pull them out when we are going to eat one. They defrost fast, I then split with fork and either toast or microwave about 20 seconds if using as a bun for our veggie burgers.
Lovely recipe. Thank you. I have made them twice just recently. Mine were MEGA size. We had some with egg, cheese and bacon. Hubby was very happy. Just had some toasted this morning and was wondering is there a way to make them not dry out after bring so nice when freshly made.
Love this recipe and I make it often.
I reduce the milk to your recommendations -30ml and the dough turns out amazing no sticky mess.
I didn't have regular milk so I used almond and perfect as always