I bet you can guess why I love English muffins!
Yep, all those nooks and crannies, little empty pools, perfect for catching all the melted butter!
This easy recipe ferments and rises overnight at room temperature so you awaken to a soft, manageable dough.
In the morning roll out the dough, cut out the muffins, preheat the griddle, cook these little sourdough puffers low and slow, and voilà, a beautiful butter-holding breakfast!
What Should You Eat on These Sourdough English Muffins?
If you are passionate about real food and love to make your own, try making my real Cultured Raw Butter.
For a special treat add a foraged jam or jelly like this immune-boosting Elderberry Jelly from Practical Self Reliance.
Or maybe you have some wildflowers in your yard? Try a very unique Wildflower Jam from Nitty Gritty Life.
Love the simple things in life? Me too. Nothing beats a buttery sourdough English muffin with Honey Sweetened Strawberry Jam like the one found at Texanerin Baking!
Try these muffins as the bread for an egg sandy with this delicious Pastured Pork Breakfast Sausage.
Or try them as the base for every kid’s favorite “Engamuff pizza!” Just spread each half with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and a few favorite toppings and bake at 375ºF until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
Whatever You Top Them With, These Overnight Sourdough English Muffins Are Sure to Become a Family Favorite!
Overnight Sourdough English Muffins
An easy to work with, traditional sourdough English muffin, perfect for holding a variety of toppings (like butter!)
Ingredients
- 250 grams (1 cup) sourdough starter, at 100% hydration
- 510 grams (2 cups) milk
- 600 grams (4 cups) organic bread flour
- 12 grams (2 teaspoons) salt
- 20 grams (2 tablespoons) coconut sugar, or honey
Instructions
The Night Before
- In a large bowl with plenty of room for proofing, gently mix all ingredients either by hand or in a stand mixer until a smooth sticky dough is achieved.
- Cover the bowl and let it proof at room temperature overnight, 8 to 12 hours.
The Next Morning
- With wet hands, do one series of stretch and folds around the dough in the bowl, deflating the dough, and loosely preshaping it into a ball. Wait 5 to 10 minutes before continuing.
- Generously flour your work surface.
- Turn the dough out on the floured surface and pat flour onto both sides.
- Pat or roll the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick sheet. Add more flour if you notice sticking.
- Use a large biscuit cutter to cut out as many muffins as possible. Make sure they are floured on the bottom and move them off to the side of your work surface to rest.
- Gather the remaining dough and brush off any loose flour. Shape the dough into a ball and re-roll it to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut out the muffins and set them aside. Repeat this step one more time if necessary.
- Let all the muffins rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat a large cast-iron griddle to medium-low. Make sure it is thoroughly heated through.
- Add the muffins to the griddle with an inch of space around each. Cook them for 5 to 7 minutes per side. They should be golden to dark brown and fully puffed when done. Cool them on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
These muffins freeze really well and defrost quickly!
For a longer fermentation, the dough can be refrigerated after the initial proofing for up to 72 hours.
Want To Learn Everything About Sourdough?
Start with this free guide:
Jeanette T
Sunday 25th of June 2023
I apologize if someone else has asked this but why no fat (butter, oil, etc) added ?
Also, I’ve read that EM should be covered with a lid, for awhile, when cooked on a griddle to help them puff up. Do you know if that would be helpful?
Thanks so much for your recipe as I’ll be making these next week and will report back.
Butter For All
Saturday 1st of July 2023
Hi Jeanette!
The recipe is mostly hydrated with whole milk which adds a decent amount fat already. And because fat will shorten gluten strands, I find I like the texture of these muffins as is. They produce a lot of nice nooks and crannies. But you are free to add melted butter to the recipe to see if you like the results. I think covering them is a great idea, I've seen people do that, but never really needed to myself. I think it helps a lot, getting the muffin cooked through if the dough is thicker. But because I make thinner muffins I have never needed the additional covering.
Can't wait to hear how it goes!
Courtney
Jenay
Saturday 24th of June 2023
A-freaking-mazing. Only the second thing I have made with my inherited starter and it was out of this world. The comments were very helpful as were your other posts about caring for a start. My starter was probably at 100% but very runny and it still turned out perfectly. I did have to finish them in the oven but mostly because I didn’t measure the thickness and only got 18 so they were probably too thick. I topped mine with mayo, fresh marinated tomatoes, fresh chives, and bacon. 10/10 the best thing I’ve eaten in a very long time.
Butter For All
Saturday 1st of July 2023
Hi Jenay!
You sound like a seasoned pro already! I love how you were able to course correct on your own, finishing them off in the oven. Well done! Thanks so much for the very nice feedback!
Courtney
Karen
Thursday 15th of June 2023
Would this turn out using gluten free flour and starter? Yours as the recipe is look amazing!
Butter For All
Saturday 1st of July 2023
Hi Karen!
I haven't tried that, but I think it could work if you adjusted the hydration as needed. Just use your intuition and give it a go!
Jillian
Sunday 28th of May 2023
Love the way these turned out but I only got 11! I fermented the dough for 24 hours on the counter, as that's what I've done with another recipe in the past. After the 24 I put the it in the fridge for another 12. Could the longer fermentation on the countertop have resulted in a lower yield?
Butter For All
Wednesday 31st of May 2023
Hi Jillian,
That is a LONG ferment. And it's totally fine as long as your dough still has the strength to rise after shaping and while cooking. The whole formula adds up to 1392g. If you divide by 24 you should have muffins that weigh 58g each. You may have been cutting larger muffins, but the fermentation time wont change the recipe weight. You can definitely play around with different sized muffins to see what you like best.
Thanks for the nice feedback!
Courtney
Chellee B
Sunday 16th of April 2023
This is my second time trying these as they got a little dark the first time. The dough is perfect! I leave the dough on the counter overnight. I did a little more stretching and folding this week. I actually got a few more muffins from it. I cook mine on the Blackstone and have found that low for 3 minutes each side is perfect.
Butter For All
Tuesday 18th of April 2023
So smart to adjust your cooking temp, Chellee! I'm so happy to hear how nice the dough was, yay!
Happy baking!