Sourdough English Muffins: Healthy and Unbelievably Easy to Make

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I will be the first to admit that I’ve looked up how to make sourdough English muffins and groaned at the pillar of text in every single blog. So, before we start, please know that I feel your pain. WHY ARE THESE POSTS SO LONG?! It’s because the nuances of the recipe need to be explained a bit. Bear with me.

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At 100-calories each, they’re not only cheaper in the long run than “healthy” English muffin alternatives, but they also taste better. Since they’re super easy to make, too, you won’t miss the store-bought stuff.

They are Way Easier to Make than You Think

There’s actually not that much work involved. It’s all about your technique! The following post, while it seems intense, is really only long with descriptions. I want to cover how to care for your sourdough starter when you’re lazy or busy as well as getting your dough just right.

Honestly, it will take you about 5 minutes of active time for two days, and then 30 minutes active time on the third day. It sounds like a lot of time from start to finish, but you’re going to mix it, leave it alone for a night, stretch it, leave it alone for a night, and then on the third day cut them out and cook them!

It’s really easy. I know you can do it. Trust me, I did this with a toddler home with me, and she is going through a phase where she fights naptime, screams really loudly at random, and likes to run laps around my kitchen island chasing the dog. …I am so tired. But I love her!

Starting with Sourdough Starter

Before you start, it’s important to prepare your sourdough starter. This can be done following anyone’s recipe that you like. I was a very bad sourdough mom, so my starter was fed 1/4 cup of flour and water every day for the first 5 days.

Then, I took half out and made a loaf of bread aided by active dry yeast. I added back enough 1/2 cup each of flour and water and put it in the fridge. After the first week, I fed it once a week and used the half I was meant to discard to make bread. So far, my ill-maintained sourdough starter has survived a month.

Obviously, since I’m not taking the best care of it, I am familiar with “hooch.” This is the alcohol-scented brown liquid that accumulates on top of your starter. Its presence indicates that you’ve failed to feed your starter enough so it was left to create a biproduct.

If you’re properly feeding your starter enough, you won’t have this. However, it’s not a dealbreaker. You will mix it in, discard half your starter, and make sure to feed it enough. This means taking the weight of your remaining starter and giving it that much flour and water.

When you’re starting out, you’ll keep it room temperature. However, after about a week, you can move it to the fridge to slow the activity. I’ve found that fridging it helps to not only slow the bacteria’s metabolism, but it also develops a nicer flavor.

Using Sourdough Starter for English Muffins

Now, when you’re ready to make English Muffins, you’re going to prep the starter. This entails discarding half and giving it a final feeding. You’ll leave it at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours until it’s had time to rise up and deflate. Now it’s ready to use.

Scoop out 1 cup of starter and place it in the bowl of your stand mixer with 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water. This is going to look really dry at first, so you’re going to monitor it closely. Run the mixer to combine all the ingredients, then let it sit for 10 minutes. This gives your dough a little time to hydrate before you go beating the gluten into a good structure.

Run the mixer for what seems like ages. It took me 15 minutes on medium-high speed. I ended up turning the speed up because the dough didn’t stick to the bowl as badly. NOTE: It’s a really wet and sticky dough.

Once it passed the windowpane test, I prepped my bowl with a spritz of olive oil. Then, I sprayed my hands and a spatula for good measure. Once I got the dough unstuck from the stand mixer bowl, I formed it into a ball as best I could with my hands and dropped it into the greased bowl.

Time to Rest

You can cover with plastic wrap, or if you have a fitting lid, use that. Refrigerate it for 24-hours. Then, let it come to room temperature for an hour so it’s relaxed before you agitate it. To do this, you’ll oil your hands or a spatula to dig under the dough.

You’ll get under the dough on one side and stretch it up and over. Turn the bowl 90º and do it again three more times. Once you’ve stretched the four sides of the dough up and over, recover it, and place it back in the fridge overnight.

Remember, this process for English muffins is the long game. It takes a long time, but most of that time is waiting. I have an almost-2-year-old home with me, and I did everything during naptime for three days. Three days sounds like a lot of work, but the majority of that time is passively waiting.

Actually Making Sourdough English Muffins

The most work you’ll do is on day 3. You’ll dust your work surface with flour and dump your dough out. Press it out to 1-inch thickness. Flour a 4-inch round cutter and cut out 8 muffins. You’ll set them on a sheet pan that has been lightly dusted with cornmeal. Then, you’ll dust the tops of them with more cornmeal, cover them with a tea towel, and let them rest and rise for 1 hour.

I use an electric griddle for the next step. It’s one of the medium-sized kitchen appliances that I’d recommend you have. If you don’t have one or are not interested in buying one, a large nonstick pan with a flat bottom will work great. The idea is that you want to cook these one side at a time (at first) to get that classic crust and browning.

Using your trusty bench scraper, you’ll get your dough rounds onto the griddle. Keep in mind that this dough is stretchy and very wet. It’s very likely that it will lose its perfect roundness. Try not to be worried about that. They will turn out great anyway.

Preheat both the oven and your griddle to 350ºF. Let your sourdough English muffins cook on the first side on your griddle for 5 – 6 minutes. Flip them carefully and cook the second side for 5 – 6 minutes. Once they’re done, place them on a clean sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes to make sure the inside is totally done. It’s that easy!

How to Use Sourdough English Muffins

You’ll let your sourdough English muffins cool completely before storing them for future use. Growing up, my dad always kept the Thomas English muffins in the freezer. If you prefer to do the same, first, perforate the center with a fork so it’s easier to break it apart for the toaster. Then, you’ll toast it on 1 twice, flipping in between.

If you keep them room temperature, store them in a plastic bag or bread bag until you’re ready to use. Cut in half and toast on 2. At this point, you can do whatever you normally do with an English muffin.

I’ve found they hold up fabulously in a classic breakfast sandwich. Just fry up an egg with a bit of cheese and place between the toasted halves for a satisfying and easy breakfast.

You could also serve simply with butter and jam on the side of a couple eggs and fruit for a complete sit-down breakfast.

My other favorite thing to do with English muffins is to spread a little bit of tomato sauce on top followed by a sprinkling of mozzarella and a couple pieces of pepperoni. Place these in your toaster oven for 2 minutes for a really easy, kid-friendly dinner.

And That’s It! See? Easy!

Really. It’s so much easier than it sounds even after my long post here. I know you can do it, and the outcome will be so worth it! You will totally want to make them once a week instead of grabbing them at the store.

Comment below to let me know how your sourdough English muffins turned out, and subscribe to get a wicked cute weekly meal planning worksheet!

Sourdough English Muffins

Strong sourdough flavor, nooks and crannies, and only 6 simple ingredients? Sourdough English Muffins are way better than whatever you buy at the store.

5 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Rising Time 2 days d

Course Breakfast

Cuisine English

Servings 8 muffins

Calories 100 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup sourdough starter fed and allowed to rise once
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup water room temperature
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ cup white cornmeal

Instructions

 

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the sourdough starter, flour, water, oil, and salt. Mix until fully combined. Turn the mixer off and let it sit for 10 minutes.
• Mix the dough on a medium-high speed for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it passes the windowpane test. It should be a sticky and wet dough.
• Lightly oil a glass bowl and your hands. Remove the dough to the bowl using a spatula and your hands. You'll want to try and tuck the dough into a nice ball as best as you can.
• Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 24 hours. Remove from the fridge, and let it come to room temperature. Using oiled hands, dig under the dough and stretch one side up and over. Repeat three more times as if folding an envelope. Cover and refrigerate again overnight.
• Prep a sheet pan by dusting it with cornmeal. Set aside.
• Flour your work surface and place the dough in the center. Roll or press the dough out to a 1-inch thickness. Then, using a 4-inch round cutter, cut out 6-8 muffins. Reform the dough and cut out the rest. You should have 8.
• Place the rounds on the cornmeal and dust the tops with additional cornmeal. Cover with a tea towel for 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and preheat a griddle to 350ºF as well. Careful not to scoop up too much cornmeal, place the muffins onto the griddle. Cook for 5 minutes on the first side and then flip to cook for 5 minutes on the other side.
• Dump the cornmeal from your sheet pan and wipe it clean. Place the griddled English muffins onto your pan, and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Cool completely. Store in a bread bag for 1 week.
• To freeze, perforate the muffins around the center for easy tearing, and then place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 1 year. To eat from frozen, microwave for 15-30 seconds, tear it open, and toast on level 2.
• Serve with butter and jam or as the base for your favorite breakfast sandwich!

Keyword Bread, English Muffins, Sourdough

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