Whole Wheat English Muffins

English muffins are on our to make list.  Yay another item marked off!  I eat English muffins almost every morning.  Either with an egg and no fat cheese or with peanut butter (of course PB& Co) and a banana.  These don't have as many nooks and crannies as the store bought kind, but they are taste great!  Making these takes a little time because the dough must rise, but I mixed it together after work, went to the gym, formed my muffins, started dinner and then cooked these while dinner was in the oven.  

Whole Wheat English Muffins  (straight from Recipe Tips)

1/4 c. warm water

1 package dry yeast (or 1 Tbsp.)

2 c. whole wheat flour, plus more as needed during kneading

1 c. all-purpose flour (you may use all whole wheat flour, but you will have a denser muffin)

1 c. milk

3 Tbsp. canola oil

1 Tbsp. honey

1 egg

cornmeal, as needed

Sprinkle yeast over warm water (105 degrees is ideal) and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix flours and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix milk, oil, and honey.  Add egg and stir until well blended.  Stir in yeast mixture.

Add liquid to half of the dry ingredients and mix well, with a mixer or by hand.  Mix in remaining dry ingredients.  Dough will be soft and sticky.  Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead for several minutes.  If dough is too sticky to knead, add flour one tablespoon at a time.  (I used my mixer with the bread hook, I had to add more flour about 3-4 TBS.)

Put dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

Turn risen dough out onto a work surface that has been liberally dusted with cornmeal and pat or roll to about 1/2″ thickness.  Cut into approximately 3″ rounds.  If you wish, combine the scraps of dough into more muffins, handling as little as possible.  (I decided it would be easier to cut the dough and shape them, this may have resulted in not as many nooks and crannies as store bought English muffins.  However, this resulted in no scraps.  I made 18, recipe said 12.)

 Cover muffins with a towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes.

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat.  Sprinkle with corn meal.  Using a spatula, carefully transfer muffins to hot griddle.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side, then turn and cook 2 minutes more on each side.  Outsides will get golden brown and crusty, insides should be soft but not gooey. (I think it took longer than 5 mins on the first side to get these cooked properly.)

Remove to cooling rack.   English muffins can be fork split or cut with a knife.  

Hamburger Buns

D was going to be breaking out the smoker this weekend for a pork shoulder, so I knew I'd want some bread to go with it.  We typically don't buy hamburger buns because we end up not using them all, so I got the idea to make some homemade hamburger buns.  It was much easier then I ever imagined and they turned out way better than store bought buns!

Hamburger Buns (From Annie Eats)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. sugar

2 ¼ tsp. instant yeast

¼ cup warm water (105°-115°)

1 cup warm milk (105°-115°)  (I used skim)

1 tbsp. vegetable oil  (Used Olive Oil)

1 tsp. salt

3 to 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour  (I used half Whole Wheat Flour)

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. cold water

sesame, poppy or caraway seeds, or coarse salt, for topping

Directions:

In a bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve the sugar and then the yeast in the warm water.  Add the milk, oil, salt and 1 ½ cups of flour to the yeast mixture.  Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.  Gradually add flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  Switch to the dough hook and knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough, about 7-9 minutes. 

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl.  Turn once to coat the entire ball of dough in oil.  Cover with a tightly-woven dampened towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface.  Working with oiled hands, divide the dough into 9 equal pieces.  Shape each piece into a ball, and flatten into 3 ½ -inch disks.  For soft-sided buns, place them on a well-seasoned baking sheet a half-inch apart so they will grow together when they rise.  For crisper bun, place them three inches apart. 

Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes. 

15 minutes before you want to bake the buns, preheat the oven to 400°.  Just before baking, brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with any desired toppings. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190°.  When the buns are done, remove them from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.  This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.