There’s some pretty extreme weather variation, here on the High Plains. A few weeks ago we were getting freezing temperatures every morning and now the forecast is for a week of triple digit temperatures as a Heat dome engulfs the southwest. They’re expecting a 115 degrees, in Phoenix, Arizona and all time records for Death Valley; yuck!
That’s too hot to play with the oven, so we had to find another way to make use of the Sourdough at feeding time. Stovetop pan bread seemed like the perfect option, so we made some English Muffins. I’m not sure why they call them English, they were actually invented in New York City. Sam Thomas trademarked the name in 1926 and the Thomas brand still dominates the store shelves a hundred years later.
Technically they’re not muffins either. Sam was probably imitating the British Crumpet when he came up with the idea for his muffin. Crumpets are made from a batter, more like a pancake than bread though. The defining characteristic of the English Muffin is it’s crumb. When cut in half, the surface is covered with small holes that are perfect for holding butter, jam, eggs, cheese or Hollandaise sauce.
A perfect relationship with our High Plains Sourdough Yeast. We mixed the Sourdough starter with one cup of Whole Wheat Flour and two cups of all purpose flour. We added a wee bit of honey and enough warm oat milk to get a nice smooth dough ball, then let it work and ferment for around 36 hours with about 8 hours in the fridge. The key to getting lots of those beautiful little jelly holes is cutting the muffins and letting them puff up as much as they can before baking them.
For stovetop baking you need a covered pan to surround the muffin with warm damp air. A cast iron dutch oven works perfect. I actually use a nonstick frittata pan because it’s the perfect size with a lot less head space to warm up. Low and slow is the way to go. On our gas range we use a setting of 2 or 3 for about 4-5 minutes per side. They’re not really English and they’re not really Muffins but they sure are fun.
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?" "I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet. Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.” ― A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh