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 1" 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
- Stand Mixer (optional)
- 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
- â…“ 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 1" 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.
Joe says
Easy to follow directions
Great tips along the way
They came out perfect. I impressed myself but all I did was follow your instructions. Thanks. I will likely be making these every week along with my newfound love of making sourdough bread. My starter (I named her Gina as I feed her more often than my kids - JK) is 10 months old now. To be honest I tried this recipe way back at the beginning with questionable results but now that I am better educated with sourdough starter / discard and controlling the steam vs heat dynamic I gave this another whirl. To my delight!
Thank you!
Jessica says
I make these every week. Just as an experiment I used buttermilk in place of the milk and when kneading I worked in a couple tablespoons of shredded butter. They were just as good as the original recipe! Since I’ve started making sourdough your recipes turn out the best for me! Thank you for being so generous with them! 🙂
Richard Berner says
Great taste and easy to make
Using a paper towel dampened with a bit of olive oil to wipe the inside of the glass bowl the dough rises in makes it a snap to get dough out.
English muffins should be opened with a fork!
Suzi says
I wanted to thank you for mentioning long fermentation, as I am sensitive to wheat and long fermentation (and sourdough) helps reduce the sensitivity. (A girl just has to have an English muffin every once in a while.) There's a study out that shows that if you freeze your bread and then toast it... that it reduces the glycemic index! Yippee! I'm looking forward to trying your other recipes as well. Sending lots of love💖 from sunny🌞 Arizona🌵😷.
Stephanie says
This recipe was perfect. I don't keep cornmeal on hand and used all-purpose flour for dusting. They came out fluffy and pretty. The outside is perfectly chewy and the inside was gorgeous. Thank you for such an easy recipe.
Tammy G. says
This is my second time making these and they are perfect. I actually used water in place of milk because I was out and they turned out great. I love the simplicity of the recipe and that they are oil free. I mix these up at night and let them ferment on the counter overnight and then finish and cook in the morning. I'll never eat store bought again. So delish!!
Simone Greenbaum says
best english muffins. they were gone as quickly as they were out of the frying pan. will double the recipe next time
Carrah says
This is the absolute BEST recipe! the most flavorful English muffins I've ever had!! they look amazing and taste the same! these are the only ones I will ever make!! love to make a double batch and keep in the freezer to use as I need!
Mary says
These turned out excellent although I did make some adjustments. After cooking them for 4 minutes on a grill on each side, I put them in the oven at 300° for 10 minutes. then I let them cool ENTIRELY on a rack.
they are the best English muffins I have ever had.
Note the flour I used was milled from hard, red wheat (because that is what have on hand). It contains 12% protein so perhaps it is actually what one would call bread flour?? I buy it at Costco because it is a tad bit less for organic than the regular flour in a regular store.
Danielle says
Is it possible to use almond milk or any other dairy free milks?
thank you
Amy says
Yes you can.
Tammy G. says
I've made this recipe using soy milk and also using just water in place of the milk and both times they turned out great.