English Muffins

Total Time: 5 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 5 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 egg
• 3 3/4 cups hard whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup gluten flour
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ascorbic acid (optional)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Recipe

• 1 heat the milk and butter to blood temperature.
• 2 test a drop on your wrist-- it should feel barely warm.
• 3 beat in the egg.
• 4 dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture.
• 5 measure the flour into a bowl and stir in the salt.
• 6 make a well in the middle and pour in the milk mixture.
• 7 mix well.
• 8 turn out the dough and knead it until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• 9 put the dough back into a clean, oiled bowl and turn it over (so it is coated in the oil.) cover it with a damp teatowel and let it rise for about 2 hours, until doubled in volume.
• 10 punch it down, then turn it out and roll it into a cylinder, about 1 1/2" in diameter.
• 11 cut it into 16 equal slices.
• 12 they should be 1/2" thick; flatten them slightly if required.
• 13 arrange these on an oiled cookie sheet or on waxed paper.
• 14 cover them with the damp towel and let rise another 2 hours, until doubled in size again.
• 15 bake them in a heavy, ungreased, cast iron skillet at a temperature just slightly lower than for pancakes.
• 16 (medium-low heat.) they should be lightly browned.
• 17 turn them once, and bake the other side.
• 18 each side should take 3 to 5 minutes.
• 19 to serve the muffins, they should be split and toasted.
• 20 (they will be just barely cooked in the middle otherwise.) these can also be made in a bread machine on the dough cycle.
• 21 put the wet ingredients in first, and follow with the dry ingredients.
• 22 run the dough cycle.
• 23 let rise for the first time, then follow the instructions above from that point, step ten.