We've Never Seen English Muffins Like This!

English muffins are one of my favorite breakfast breads. I usually buy them, as they can be a bit tricky to make if you want to do it from scratch. But as long as you’re not married to the shape of the individual muffins, this recipe will allow you to make perfect-for-toasting English muffin bread at home — easily. 

What is English muffin bread?

This English muffin bread is baked in a loaf pan, requires no kneading and yields a bread that toasts perfectly and has plenty of “nooks and crannies” to fill with butter or jam. It’s very easy to make and so good that it just might become a weekend fixture in your kitchen.

The bread starts out with active dry yeast, but baking soda is added to the dough. The baking soda causes lots of bubbles to rapidly form in the dough. These extra bubbles are what give the bread that open texture that most of us associate with English muffins.

The bread is much more batter-like than dough-like, and it will come together easily in a bowl when mixed with a wooden spoon or spatula. No mixer is required for this recipe.

Then, you’ll pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and leave it to rise. It’s bake directly in that same pan. No kneading, shaping or dough-handling required. Simple, right?

If you like the cornmeal on the bottom of store-bought English muffins, you can dust your loaf pan with a bit of cornmeal after greasing it. I’m not a fan of the cornmeal (I always try to brush it off so it doesn’t fall into my toaster), so I simply grease the pan with cooking spray or vegetable oil when I make this recipe.

Another note: This recipe doesn’t make an extremely tall loaf. I bake it in a 9-by-5-inch pan, which makes a nice sized loaf whose slices fit perfectly into my toaster. If you prefer a taller loaf, you can use a smaller 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and the baking time will be the same. 

Once it’s baked, the loaf should be cooled on a wire rack before serving it. Cut it into thick, toast-able slices and enjoy! 

English muffin bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup water, warm (approximately 100-110 F)
• ¼ ounce active dry yeast (2½ teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup milk, warm (approximately 100-110 F)

Step 1:

In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of water with active dry yeast and sugar.

Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes until yeast is foamy. 

Step 2:

Transfer yeast mixture to a large bowl. Add in 2 cups all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, milk and  ½ cup of water. Stir until batter is uniform, then add in remaining flour and mix until a thick, smooth batter forms, about 1-2 minutes. 

Step 3:

Pour batter into a lightly greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap.

Let dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until about doubled in size. 

Step 4:

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, until the top of the loaf is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread should read 190-200 F. Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.