Recipe(tried): Buttermilk Whole-Wheat English Muffins (Bread Machine Manual Dough Cycle)

BUTTERMILK WHOLE-WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFINS
(Bread Machine Manual Dough Cycle)

I made these this morning. They turned out really good. I won't be buying English muffins from the store any longer. It takes about an hour to make a dozen. That's about 20-minutes kneading in the bread machine, 30 minutes rising time and 15 minutes cooking in a skillet or on a griddle.

1 1/3 cups whole-wheat flour*
2 cups all-purpose flour*
2 teaspoons bread machine or instant yeast
1 cup lukewarm buttermilk (90-F to 100-F)*
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda*
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Tablespoon cornmeal - for dusting bread board and cookie sheets

*To make regular English muffins; omit whole-wheat-flour and use 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, omit baking soda and omit buttermilk and use 1 cup of regular milk instead.

1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flours and dry yeast. Mix well and pour dry flour mixture into bread machine. Make a depression in center of flour to pour liquid into.

2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the warm buttermilk, beaten egg, sugar, salt, baking soda and melted butter. Mix well. Pour liquid into center of the depression you made in the flour in the bread machine.

3. Set bread machine to MANUAL DOUGH CYCLE. Monitor dough as it mixes for the first few minutes and add more flour or water as needed, a tablespoon at a time, to form a smooth ball of dough. It should be firm enough to hold its own shape and not sticky. It should not be so dry that it is crumbly.

4. When the bread machine completes its mixing and kneading cycle, turn it off and remove the dough. Don't allow it to rise in the bread machine.

5. Dust a bread board with about 1/2-tablespoon of corn meal. If you need to, you can dust the dough with a little dry flour, if it's too sticky to handle. Place dough on bread board and divide dough into 12 equal sized pieces. Take each piece of dough and roll into a ball, then flatten it into a disc about 3-inches across and 1/4-inch high.

6. Dust a cookie sheet with 1/2-tablespoon of cornmeal and lay each flattened piece of dough on cookie sheet, about 1-inch apart. Place in a warm place to rise, (like oven that is off, with the oven light turned on) and allow dough to rise for 1/2-hour.

7. Heat a griddle or skillet to medium heat, as if you were making pancakes. If using an electric skillet or griddle set it to 275 to 300 degrees F. (Don't add oil to the griddle. A non-stick surface or cast iron works well.)

8. The dough will look slightly puffy, like large cookies, that's okay, they will puff up a lot more during cooking. Carefully pick up each piece of risen dough and place it on the hot griddle. Trying to move them with a spatula will deflate them. Reduce heat slightly on griddle and cook the dough for 5 to 7 minutes on each side. They can be turned with a spatula once they are cooked on one side. They are done when they are golden brown on the top and bottom.

9. Split them using a fork. Toast them and serve with butter and/or jelly. When cool, they can be stored in a plastic bag.

Makes 12 Buttermilk Whole-wheat English muffins.