My favorite sourdough English muffin recipe gets a cinnamon-raisin makeover and it's even easier than the original.
In a large bowl, stir together the starter and milk until well-combined. Add the flour, cinnamon, maple syrup (or honey), salt and raisins until the flour has been fully-incorporated with all the ingredients. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow about five hours for bulk fermentation (more or less depending on room temperature; also see note below for alternate bulk fermentation method). The dough should increase in size during this time.
After bulk fermentation refrigerate the dough overnight (around 12 hours).
Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface and sprinkle the top of the dough with flour. Take one portion of the dough, pull and fold over itself, keeping a ball shape. Repeat this several times, adding more flour as necessary. Note: A dough scraper would also be helpful in managing the dough by scraping from the bottom then folding the dough up over itself instead of using your hands.
Flatten the dough with your fingers to roughly 1/2 – 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle a little more flour on top. Dust your round cutter with flour, too. I use one that is about 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Cut the dough into rounds and transfer the rounds on a baking tray generously dusted with corn meal. Lay the rounds on the baking tray. Shape the dough scraps into a ball and flatten again to collect more rounds. You should have 10 rounds, depending the size cutter you use. Dust the tops of the rounds with more corn meal then cover the tray with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 45 minutes to one hour.
Preheat your oven to 325ºF. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and apply a light brushing of butter. Cooking in batches, cook each muffin for two to four minutes on each side or until lightly brown. The muffins will rise during this time. Transfer the browned muffins on the same baking sheet (you don’t have to wipe off the corn meal). Finish the English muffins in the oven until they are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Enjoy immediately or crisp up in the toaster later.
Sourdough Starter: this recipe is flexible. I usually use 1/2 cup starter for my other English muffins but for this recipe I used 2/3 cup with also good results. For temperatures warmer than 75ºF during bulk fermentation you might consider using the smaller amount.
Sweetness: I used one tablespoon maple syrup for this recipe and the muffins weren't very sweet so I recommend bumping up if you prefer a sweeter English muffin.
Fermentation Time: For this recipe, the dough bulk fermented for five hours in a 75ºF room followed by overnight refrigeration. The other option is to mix all the ingredients in the evening for overnight bulk fermentation at room temperature. The latter option requires no refrigeration. Both methods would still involve one hour of final proof after the English muffins have been shaped.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 - 2018 LEMONS + ANCHOVIES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.