Recipe(tried): Simple French Bread Recipe from Joy of Cooking for English Muffins

I have made this bread ever since I bought my first Joy of Cooking Cookbook back in 1974. Not only does it make wonderful French bread, but it also makes awesome English muffins, large soft pretzels, etc.

For English Muffins, let the dough rise once in your bowl, then punch it down. Immediately pull off pieces of dough about half the size you want your finished English muffins to be. Roll each piece of dough in your hand (like making a meatball), then flatten it gently with your fingers and lay it aside on a floured surface. Allow to start rising.

Put your largest skillet (that has a lid) on your stovetop and heavily grease it with butter or margarine. On an electric stove you want to keep the heat between #3 and #4. On a gas stove you want to keep the heat on low/medium. Preheating your skillet is important.

Gently lay some of the English muffins in your preheated skillet, keeping some space between them, then cover with the lid. Let them gently "bake" in the skillet until their bottoms are golden brown. Then gently flip each muffin and cover the pan with it's lid again. Let the English muffins cook until the underside is golden brown.

Each batch you "bake" should take a total of about 30 minutes. I cook them 15 minutes on each side. It's ok to cook them longer on slightly lower heat. It won't hurt them. You want to make sure the insides of them are no longer "doughy".

See recipe for: Simply French Bread