Whole Wheat English Muffins

Even if something is commercially available at a reasonable price, I can't resist trying to make it myself at least once. I've long meant to try my hand at English muffins, but compared to other breakfast breads and pastries, whole grain recipes are hard to come by. I typically stick to a few trusted sources when it comes to recipe websites, but this time I ventured outside my comfort zone this time to achieve my whole wheat goal. Like almost any homemade version, these English muffins are not facsimiles of the commercial version, but absolutely delicious in their own right. By using mostly whole wheat flour and no dough stabilizers, these turn out somewhat denser than their commercial counterparts, but there are still plenty of nooks and crannies to soak up all manner of condiments with so much more flavor than the white flour variety. (If you'd like a lighter muffin, increase the portion of bread/AP flour). Fresh from the skillet they're simply delightful with only butter and/or jam, but they also make delicious breakfast sandwiches or Eggs Benedict. If the entire batch doesn't get devoured right out of the skillet, extras freeze beautifully for a homemade breakfast anytime.

Whole Wheat English Muffins
adapted from Cowgirl Chef
makes 6 muffins

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon butter, softened
2 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup bread or all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal, or as needed
1 tablespoon canola oil, for greasing skillet

1. Place the yeast and warm water in the bowl of a mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sea salt, honey and butter and with the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed.

2. Add the flours and mix until all of the ingredients are blended, then increase the speed to medium-high until the dough is smooth, about 5 more minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, and put it in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise for 2 hours in a warm (but not too hot) place. (Note: you can do all of this in advance, and let the dough rise overnight.)

3. To make the muffins, punch down the dough, and divide it into 6 pieces that you’ve shaped into discs. Set aside for 30 minutes.

4. Put the cornmeal in a shallow bowl or on a plate. Cover the top and bottom of each disc with cornmeal and cook in a lightly greased skillet over medium-low heat. Each side will take about 5 minutes. Let cool on a rack completely.