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.
delicious
Once it's kneaded and you let it rise, do you wait until it has doubled if your "room temp" is -/+ the range you specified? We keep our home warmer than this, and our kitchen is especially so. 😬 I'm guessing 8 hours will be WAY too long here. Thoughts on how to eyeball it? What should I be watching for to know it's ready to be cut?
Yes 8 hours will probably be too long if it is warm. I would check it around 5-6 hours.
Hi question- if the starter becomes active in less than 12 hours- do we use it sooner? I’m a bit confused, thank you!!
Yes you can use it as soon as it has doubled in size.
Hi! I am trying to make this recipe- I have left out my starter that has been in fridge- and while it’s very bubbly, it hasn’t doubled in size. What would you recommend? I fed it some more water and flour, but would yo used more starter?
You need to feed the starter after taking it out of the fridge and let it rise before using it in this recipe.
is the dough supposed to be extremely stiff? also do you fry it with any kind of oil in the frying pan?
The dough should not be stiff. I only add oil if using a pan that needs it but you can use oil if you prefer.
I’ve made this recipe twice in a week, and they taste amazing! My only issue is that they didn’t rise at all after I cut them, and even with them rising a little while cooking, they were pretty flat. Any tips on how to fix this?
Hi Kate, how long did you let them rise after cutting them? What is the temperature of your kitchen?
If I wanted to speed up the proofing stage can I use a heating pad (with a towel on top) so it’s a bit warmer? Thanks!
Hi Lauren, yes you can. I would use the lowest setting and check it after an hour to make sure it's not too hot! You can turn it off and on as needed.
Since I wanted to start these later in the day is there a way to do a cold proofing overnight in the fridge or am I now going to have to be up the wee hours of the night/morning to finish these? 🤦🏼♀️🥴😆
Hi Maria! If you need to start the dough later in the day, I would let it sit at room temperature for as long as possible and then transfer the dough to the fridge. You will need to take it out of the fridge the next morning and allow it to continue to rise at room temperature before proceeding to the next step.
I just ate one from the first batch while the next batch was cooking and am practicing every bit of self control I have to not eat another one! Very easy and delicious. Will absolutely make these again!!!
Made these and they are amazing. Because I got a late start (didn’t read the full timeline, NOT my super power) I needed to delay my cook till today. They didn’t seem to rise a lot during the rise time after I cut them but they did rise BEAUTIFULLY in the pan for me. I had to just put them in the fridge for the night and hope for the best and that worked fine since I was almost at a stopping point of the first proofing. So the night in the fridge, then an hour or so on the counter to just get to room temp, then I cut them and let them rise another hour and then voila’!!! PERFECTION!! Will make these again! Thank you!!
Thank you sharing Maria 🙂
How many muffins does this recipe make?
Ten.
I have made this recipe a ton of times since Covid and I still love bri going them warm and toasty to work and to friends. Freeze well and I have doubled and triple the recipe many times
These are amazing. I made 2 batches already.
Best ones I’ve made just follow the instructions. I’d say add a little more salt