Whole Wheat English Muffins
I’m grateful to live in a world full of convenience when it comes to food. It’s not like it was for people in generations before me who had to do mostly everything by themselves when it came to putting a meal on the table. I can admit that I take that for granted. These days, if you want something, you can usually go into the grocery store and buy it, or go to a restaurant or fast food joint to eat it. Such are the conveniences of living in a first world country.
Breakfast foods are one of those things that I think most people would rather be able to buy in a store or restaurant rather than put in the effort to make themselves. Who can blame them, really? If you have to wake up and be at work by say 8 or 9 in the morning, you may be in the mood for pancakes or french toast but you’re probably not going to feel like waking up super early to make them and still be on time to your job-especially if you have kids to get ready for school on top of that. Sometimes I wake up in the morning craving a honey butter croissant- I’ve never woken up craving one and actually attempted to bake it before I had to be where I needed to be in the morning. Nor am I likely to ever try.
I usually just resort to the ease of store bought or restaurant made method when I want something for breakfast. If I want bagels, I’ll buy a bagel. If I want pancakes, I’ll go to a restaurant to eat some. If I want a breakfast sandwich, I’ve always just went out to the store to buy the ingredients to put it together, or just picked one up through a drive-thru.
Until now, that is. This time was different.
Sometimes, I’ll be flipping through one of my numerous cookbooks and suddenly come across a recipe that at first glance, I may think: why on Earth would I make that for myself, when I know very well that I can go out and buy it at the store? What a waste of time.
Then I’ll give it another glance and think, “Well…why not?”
That was what basically happened with these English Muffins. I bought this huge, beautiful cookbook called “Bake” that features regional recipes from around the world and was looking through it to choose a recipe to make and I stumbled across this one. I’d never seen how they were made before and when I saw that it looked relatively easy, I began thinking about giving it a go for myself. To make them a little healthier, I substituted whole wheat flour in the recipe and I think it gives the bread a nuttier, heartier flavor. Was it a necessary recipe to make? No, but it was a lot of fun. It also made me decide to go a step further and throw together the ingredients for a full on breakfast sandwich- recipe is soon to follow.
I hope you guys don’t mind me bringing whole wheat English Muffins to this week’s Fiesta Friday- I wouldn’t mind if they just get pushed to the back of the table while you guys smash on some ‘less healthier’ options. I swear they taste great toasted and smeared with butter and jam though!
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Whole Wheat English Muffins
Recipe Courtesy of ‘Bake’ by Edward Gee
CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE VERSION
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
- 1-2 tbsp water
- Fine cornmeal or polenta, for dusting
- Vegetable oil for drying
Directions
1. Mix together the flour, yeast, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Add buttermilk and water and mix to combine. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth dough forms. If it is too wet, add a little flour. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for about 2 hours.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to thickness of 1/2 inch. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles, rerolling the trimmings, if necessary. Do not overwork the dough. Sprinkle the circles with fine cornmeal and let rest for 1 hour.
4. Put some oil into a flat griddle pan or heavy skillet and het over medium heat. Add the muffins to the pan, in batches, and cook on one side for about 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Turn and cook on the other side for 4-5 minutes, until golden brown. Place the cooked muffins on some paper towels and cool before serving.
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Healthy and yummy! Glad you brought these Jess!
Thanks Lori 🙂
Reblogged this on My Meals are on Wheels.
Don’t worry, Jess! I’m definitely grabbing one of these English muffins. I love that they appear so golden brown compared to regular English muffins. You should add herbs and enter it into the Fiesta Friday Challenge! =)
Thanks Andrea, that’s a great idea! Sage and rosemary would probably be pretty good to include in these…
I am definitely going to try these. Wish you were closer so I could invite myself to breakfast. 🙂
Please do, let me know how they turned out! And yes, I’d love to live close enough to feed everyone at one big breakfast! Thanks 🙂
I love these! They are sooooo versatile.
Thanks Melissa 🙂
I’ve never thought of making my own english muffins, these are a great idea! I’m glad you brought them to the party!
I’d never thought about it either, until I saw them in my cookbook- I’m pretty glad that I did 🙂
Jess, these are a wonderful addition to the party! Andrea is right – you should add some herbs to them and submit them for the yeast challenge – there’s only a couple of days left to enter, though! Happy Fiesta Friday!
Thank you Selma, I had been thinking about submitting something for the challenge, I’ve seen some really great submissions so far 🙂
wow, they look so good! I love English muffins and have them always at home but never thought of homemade. Delicious!!! Great photos:)
Thank you- I think that they are worth the effort, even though you can buy them in the store. They taste really fresh and just wholesome 🙂
I love that you brought home made english muffins, they are wonderful. Yours look amazing,
Thank you- I was thinking just before I posted that they would look silly bringing to the party, but nobody seems to mind luckily lol
Those look awesome! Love that they are whole wheat. I have never made English muffins but it sounds like something that would be fun to try!
It was really fun to try for me, I think you’d like it 🙂
I do like English Muffins but have never made them with whole wheat. I have used sourdough and then my contribution to FF Challenge 1. These I would definitely like to try as whole wheat is just about the only bread I eat, there are exceptions 🙂
Whole wheat bread is my staple too, and these didn’t disappoint- thank you!
Yummy and so healthy too! Nice recipe, sounds very simple. 🙂
It is really simple, and I love that they taste just as good as the store bought version. Thanks apsara!
These look delicious, Jess, and I for one appreciate the non-sweets brought to the party. I like that you used whole wheat bread. I know what you mean about the convenience of buying food rather than making it yourself. That’s why it has taken me years to start to learn to make bread (why spend the time when other people have perfected that art?). I am going to have to add your whole wheat muffins to my to-try list!
Thanks Ngan- it’s gotten to the point where I actually prefer to make my own bread rather than the store bought brands. It just tastes fresher, doesn’t it? 🙂
Completely! I feel like homemade anything always tastes better. 🙂
These muffins you made, look wonderful to enjoy, I might have it a go with your recipe. Thanks for stopping by at my blog too
Thank you- I think you’ll like them. Your blog is very nice by the way 🙂
Jess! I am a person who doesn’t mind waking up earlier in the morning to prepare breakfast. Apart from breakfast is the most important meal of the day, breakfast is my favorite! I would do anything for breakfast. I admit that there are times that I prefer to eat out when I know that I am ready to make that specific food (because I failed once) – like hashbrowns!!
Anyway, let’s talk about these Wholewheat English Muffins… This is very creative! I’ve never tried or even think to make my own. And making whole wheat is really good! Of course, we will not set these aside. I love how party goers brought healthy treats for today’s FF.
Enjoy, Jess! Happy FF17! 🙂
Thank you Jhuls- there’s nothing like a good breakfast, is there? I love that you said “I would do anything for breakfast.” I kinda feel that way about pancakes- I would lay over railroad tracks for pancakes lol
I love this Fiesta Friday- lots of great recipes that are healthy but still so delicious 🙂
Ahh! Pancakes!! I would kill for for pancakes!! 😀
These look fantastic, and no sugar. These Friday Fiestas, they give me so many new ideas to try.
These look amazing! I have an English muffin almost every morning for breakfast (Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat “British” muffin!). I told my husband that I’m so inspired to make homemade English muffins now… he flipped out because I was going to change (another!) quick food item into homemade! Homemade looks SO much better! I’ll let you know when I try your recipe. I thought that I need English muffin rings, but yours are perfect without! 🙂
Hahaha, I have to agree- just about homemade EVERYTHING is the better choice Thank you, I hope you like them 🙂
Jess, what a lovely thing to bring to the party! I made English muffins once, but they weren’t half as pretty as yours…Thanks so much for snaring!
Thanks Kloe 🙂
These sound so good, and I love whole wheat breads!
Thank you Nancy 🙂
If you’re interested in British regional baking then I can definitely recommend the National Trust Complete Country Cookbook (ISBN 9781907892455 ). My mother in law bought me a copy and it’s great – really shows all the variations in recipes across the British isles. There’s a Shearing Cake recipe in there from North Wales that I have been meaning to try for ages, that was apparently a favourite of Katharine Hepburn. 🙂
Thanks Dorris! I actually am really interested in British cooking and baking especially, I’ll check this cookbook out 🙂
Yum I love wholewheat muffins! Especially with loads of jam 🙂
Loads of jam- Now you’re speaking my language lol thank you:-)
This looks great, Jessica. I recently tried baking whole wheat herb bread but unfortunately, it didn’t rise. While my family did like the result as it reminded them of herbed naan and parathas, I am learning that whole wheat needs to be treated differently than all purpose flour.
Hi Ahila, yes whole wheat does bake differently from white, I’m still learning a lot myself with it. Practice practice as the say lol thank you for commenting 🙂
Yum Yum yum 🙂 And I don’t have to worry much about the calories too.
Not at all! Thank you 😉
Lovely!
Thank you 🙂
yum yum yum! So much healthier than the shop brand ones!
Yes and I think they’re just as good if not a little more better. Thank you Rai 🙂
You have great pictures, they capture the mood and taste of these muffins.
Thank you, I try really hard with my pictures, so that means a lot to me 🙂