Multigrain English Muffins (Sourdough)

Sourdough English muffins with the added fiber and nutrition of a variety of grains.

Submitted to YeastSpotting

I enjoy English muffins.  They are a fun bread that is great for breakfast sandwiches, or any kind of sandwich.  To me a good English muffin is chewy and deeply browned on the outside and soft in the center.  These were just that and the grains added more nutrition and texture while the sourdough added a great depth of flavor.  These muffins are about 30 percent grains.  I may try these again, adding more grains, but I won't be making plain white English muffins again, these are definitely a new favorite.

Multigrain English Muffins (Sourdough)

Ingredients:

Soaker:
11 grams rolled barley (or oats)
11 grams corn meal
7 grams oat bran
7 grams flax seeds
7 grams ground flax seed
43 grams water

Final Dough:
85 grams soaker (above)
200 grams barm, room temperature and active
184 grams bread flour
7 grams sugar
5 grams salt
14 grams shortening
20 grams dry milk
93 grams water, room temperature

The night before you plan to make the English muffins, prepare the soaker.  In a small bowl add the grains (you can use any combination of grains adding up to 43g total) and water, stirring until combined.  Cover bowl tightly and let sit over night.  It is also a good idea to make sure your sourdough barm is refreshed and you have at least 200 grams of it.

The next day, in the bowl of a stand mixer, add the soaker, and the rest of the ingredients.  Stir with the paddle attachment, on low speed, until all of the flour is hydrated and the ingredients form a ball (you may need to add more water or flour).

Then switch to the dough hook and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is soft, tacky, smooth, and elastic.  Transfer dough to an oiled bowl, rolling to coat all over with oil, and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm area for about 4 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

When the dough has doubled, gently remove from bowl and divide into 8 pieces, about 76g each.  Try to degas the dough as little as possible.  Form each piece into small boule shapes, stretching the dough over the top and sides and pinching the seam closed underneath.  Lay bouls, seam side down, on a cookie sheet covered with lightly oiled parchment paper.  Cover the pans with plastic wrap, and let rise for about 2 hours more until the bouls have almost doubled in size.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, about 350F, and lightly oil the pan.  Also preheat the oven to 350F.  Using a metal spatula, gently lift a dough ball off the parchment and slide onto the hot skillet.  Do not press down on the dough, the top side will swell a bit and then flatten once the dough is flipped.  Fill the skillet with dough balls leaving 1 inch in between (I can usually fit 4 at once in my 8 inch skillet).  Fry the dough for about 7-10 minutes.  The dough will brown quickly, but will not burn for a while so be patient.  Then, flip the dough balls and fry the other side for 7-10 minutes.  Remove the muffins from the skillet and immediately place in the heated oven for 10 minutes more.  While first batch is baking, proceed with the rest of the dough.

Allow muffins to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and eating.  This recipe makes 8 English muffins.  Enjoy.

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