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.
These are fantastic!! So easy and taste great.
They turned out well! Very simple. Make sure you do really cook them on low. Give the pan a good 10 minute preheat on low. I think I would press the dough to 1/2 inch next time, as mine rose very high. Mine turned out a bit dense in consistency, as opposed to light and fluffy. How can I fix this?
I would let the dough ferment a little longer next time and see if that helps!
Love finding another way to use my sourdough starter and this recipe was so easy to follow. My husband and I loved it! My only question: what do you do with the left over dough after cutting out the rounds? can I roll it up, flatten it and cut out more muffins?
Yes you can!
Great recipe with good detail. Hints make it foolproof.
I made these with one-third whole wheat flour (by weight in grams) and they are good, the sourdough flavor really comes through! My dough was very sticky, though; I kept having to add a lot more regular flour to be able to work with the dough. I did an overnight stint in the frig after the first rise. I also had to cook them longer. But the end result was perfect. I like that this makes about 8 muffins, as I don’t need a larger batch! I split them using a fork and froze most.
PS—I appreciate that you included the temperature for the finished muffins. That is a big help in knowing when they are done! It definitely contributed to my excellent finished product.
Marlene, I’m glad you mentioned your overnight stent after the first rise. I like to let my dough ferment a little longer, as I am gluten sensitive and it really makes a difference and allows me to eat my homemade bread! Question for you. Do you mean that you put it directly into the fridge after the one hour rise and the needing? Or did you put it into the fridge after the 12 hour overnight rise? That second one is what I am thinking about trying, if my tummy tells me it would prefer a longer ferment. We are only hours away from the answer! Hah!
LOVE this recipe and use it to make breakfast sandwiches for the freezer. Have you tried freezing the uncooked dough? I'm guessing it would work best to freeze right after cutting then allow for time to defrost/rise before cooking?
I haven't frozen the dough. I would freeze them after you've cooked them and let them cool. They thaw really well!
I used sugar and oat milk. My starter is made with King Arthur bread flour, but adding the AP flour worked just fine. (And I only had Walmart AP flour. King Arthur is on order.) FABULOUS-looking & tasting! Had my family over and we made sausage and egg bfast sandwiches.
My starter is made with bread flour. If I use King Arthur bread flour instead of AP, what will the differences be? -OR- Is it OK to add AP to my bread flour starter? (I am fairly new to sourdough baking.) Thank you!
Hi Linda, You can feed your starter the same way you always do, with bread flour and then use it in this recipe. That's no problem at all.
I loved this recipe and have made a few times now! I was thinking to make for a upcoming church sale i don’t have time to bake the day before for. Do these freeze well?
Yes they do!
can you cold retard overnight after cutting out 3" round and then finish the final rise at room temperature before cooking on griddle?
Yes you can!