Easy English Muffins Recipe (2024)

About My Easy English Muffins

If you’ve only ever had store-bought English muffins before, you’ll be shocked at how good the homemade versions are. All homemade bread is so much better than industrial supermarket bread. This recipe is so easy to make—the muffins are made right on the stove stop with no oven required.

It delivers delicious, plump English muffins, with a golden brown griddled crust, and insides that have all the nooks and crannies you could ever want! By comparison, I have to say—the supermarket versions look kind of pale and miserable (see the photo below)!

These freeze beautifully, and toast right from the freezer, so they’re absolutely perfect for making ahead. That way, you can have fresh, homemade English muffins as part of breakfast with zero effort, whenever you want.

This recipe can be found in my new cookbook, Simple Pleasures. In the book, you’ll find many more great bread recipes, including rustic Italian bread, amazing dinner rolls, party sharing breads, and even my mom’s special focaccia.

These iconic breakfast breads are incredible simply toasted with butter and jam. They’re even better as part of a classic America breakfast sandwich. Perhaps best of all, they form the base of what I think is the perfect brunch dish of all time—eggs Benedict.

In this recipe, I give you two option for how to make English muffins. One method uses a stand-mixer to knead the dough. The other method is a no-knead method for people who don’t have a stand mixer and who don’t want to knead the dough by hand. No oven is required for these English muffins—they cook on the stove top.

Just a quick warning —once you’ve tried these, you might never be able to go back to store-bought! I know that was true for me! Once I’d developed this recipe, I felt store-bought English muffins suddenly looked sad, pale, and grey by comparison. Even my childhood favorite brand in the US weren’t good enough anymore.

Contrary to what many people will tell you, English muffins are an English invention (the clue’s in the name!). They go back to before 1747 when the first recipe I know about was published in a London cookbook.

That cookbook, The Art of Cookery, soon crossed the Atlantic Ocean and became the most famous cookbook of its time. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both owned copies. By the mid-1800s English muffins were well-known in the United States; and in 1880 they were commercialized by Samuel Bath Thomas in New York City.

Can you make ahead and freeze English muffins?

Yes. Once cooled, you can store English muffins covered at room temperature for 4 or 5 days, ideally in a Ziploc bag. They also freeze beautifully for up to 2 months. If you split them open before freezing, you can toast them right from the freezer.

What kind of flour should I use for English muffins?

You want to use a flour with at least 11% protein content to make this bread. In the US and Canada, all-purpose flour is great. In other countries, such as the UK or Australia, it might be better to use a bread flour.

What kind of yeast should I use for English muffins?

You can use any kind of dried yeast you find in the supermarket. Look for products with names like “active dry yeast”, “instant dry yeast”, or “instant yeast”. These products come in sachets, boxes, jars and cans. All will work great.

Once you’ve opened a jar, can or sachet of dry yeast, it won’t last forever. It’s best to store it in the fridge, or even the freezer. That way, it will last a few months. Say around 4 months in the fridge, or 6 months in the freezer. So, if you’re not planning on using yeast that much, it’s best to buy it in the smallest quantity you can.

Are English muffins and crumpets the same thing?

No, they’re not the same thing. They’re not even related. People have been confusing English muffins and crumpets for hundreds of years! English muffins are made with a bread dough that’s quite solid. Crumpets, on the other hand, are made with liquid batter, similar to pancake batter but made with yeast. They are also completely different as end product. English muffins are a bread with crispy outside and a soft crumb inside. Crumpets are chewy on the inside and full of deep channels running from top to bottom.

Are English muffins just biscuits?

No, English muffins and biscuits aren’t related! This is a common thing for people to get confused about, because people often confuse English muffins and scones. Scones are, in some ways, quite similar to some forms of US biscuit. However, scones and English muffins aren’t even slightly similar!

Why are English muffins not sliced?

Ever since the very first recipe for English muffins was published in London in 1747, the instruction has been to never let a knife anywhere near the muffins when opening them! (See the extract from that recipe below.)

Do you toast both sides of an English muffin?

The short answer is yes, toast both sides. The only exception is when they’re made fresh and straight off the griddle. That way, they’re delicious opened up while they’re still warm, with a slice of butter put inside to melt without toasting. However, they’re best toasted on both sides if you made them a day or two before, or if they’ve been frozen. And if they’re store-bought, I would say toasting them is a necessity.

Troubleshooting

Undercooked English muffins. The timing for cooking English muffins on the stove top is quite sensitive to the thickness of the muffins. If you’re finding that your muffins are underbaked when the tops and bottoms are nicely browned, it’s likely that you’re wanting your muffins a little thicker than mine.

If that’s the case the fix is easy. Once the muffins are nicely golden brown on both sides, put them on a baking sheet, and bake in a pre-heated oven (at 350°F / 180°C) for another 6 to 8 minutes. That will ensure they’re cooked through. Transfer them to a wire wrack to cool.