Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tea and Toast, anyone?

So, our oven element decided to have a k-nips (sp?) and go out on Sunday. I had turned it on to pre-heat prior to putting in potatoes for baked potatoes for dinner and Jay and I were sitting in the livingroom when we heard a loud pop from the kitchen. Going in to investigate we discovered the bottom element in the oven had a huge glowing bright orange spot in it and it was hissing and crackling.....so, no baked potatoes for dinner and no baking, so, no making bread and we had just finished the last loaf that morning....hmmmm.....

Anyways, I've made English Muffins quite a few times (just not in the last 3-4 years) and decided they would be a good substitute for loaves of bread until the oven is fixed ("come on landlord".......*tapping foot* :-D).

They turned out just as hoped and were quite a hit with Jay and the wee little man. I shall enjoy some lightly toasted and spread with honey with a cup of tea at 4 o'clock I imagine. :-)



Whole Wheat English Muffins

Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Servings: 24-30

Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. boiling hot water
- 1/4 c. cold water
- 1 TB. active dry yeast
- 4 c. Whole Wheat Flour, plus more as needed.
- 2 c. White Flour
- 1 t. salt
- 2 c. Milk
- 6 TB. Oil
- 2 TB. Honey
- 2 Eggs

Directions:
-Mix hot and cold water and sprinkle yeast on it. Let stand for 10-15 minutes.
-In a large bowl, mix flours and salt.
-In another bowl, mix milk, oil and honey. Add egg and stir until well blended. Stir in yeast mixture.
-Add liquid to about half of the dry ingredients and mix well, with a stand mixer or wooden spoon. Mix in remaining dry ingredients. Dough will be soft and somewhat sticky.
-Turn dough out on a liberally floured work surface and knead for several minutes, sprinkling flour on it if needed to make it workable.
-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. Rising time will depend on temperature but allow about an hour.
-Turn risen dough out onto a work surface that has been liberally dusted with flour or cornmeal and pat or roll to about 1/2" thick. Cut into approximately 3 inch rounds with a cookie cutter, tin can or jar lid. If you wish, combine the scraps of dough into more muffins, handling as little as possible. Cover the muffins with a towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
-Heat a cast iron griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat. Using a spatula, carefully transfer muffins to hot griddle, cooking about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins gently so as not to deflate them too much. Outsides should be golden brown and crusty, insides should be soft but not gooey. Sacrifice a muffin or two to check for done-ness.
-Remove to cooling rack as they finish cooking. Cook the rest in batches.

Tip: English muffins are traditionally split open with a fork, rather than cut, and then toasted, but they will be good however you do it.

Variations of this recipe:
Add cinnamon, raisins and a little extra honey. Toasted and then buttered they make a great breakfast meal.

Chocolate chips- I've tried it and if I remember right, they were quite tasty. :-)

Another idea for this recipe: Mini Pizza's











Whole Wheat English Muffins Recipe adapted from this one.


Enjoy!

5 comments:

TW said...

That'a girl! Don't you let a thing like not having an oven get you down!

The mini pizzas are a creative idea. Are you going to try them?

Hannah said...

Yes, I will be strong! I will conquer my lack of an oven! I ....uh, uh...miss making cookies though...;-)

Actually, I did make mini pizzas and the pictures my proof. Thems was good!

TW said...

Ohhhh. So you're graciously telling me that I'm not very attentive and that of course you took the picture of the pizzas. Now I know! ha,ha.

One time your mother-in-law made cookies using a waffle iron. They're weren't chocolate chip, but they were chocolate, and they were good. Maybe you could get the recipe from her and then sneak chocolate chips into them?

Even if I'm sometimes not very attentive, I'm always happy to help. :)

Fogwood214 said...

THANK YOU for this! I have been wanting to try my hand at English muffins in forever but was letting my inexperience in the field stop me. You have motivated me, and now it's on my list to try sometime in the NEAR future. :-D

Hannah said...

T.W. - Actually I wasn't trying to tell you that you inattentive, just that I had already tried mini pizzas. :-P
Hah! I'm ahead of you again but thanks for the reminder. Jay and I actually tried Ginger Molasses Cookies (The recipe you girls made for our wedding.) in the Waffle iron and it worked quite well. Alas, I am out of chocolate chips and since I'm watching sugar intake, I haven't yet replenished our supply. :-O

Fogwood214 - Glad you are now inspired to try your hand at them. I had the recipe printed out for months before I was brave enough to try them and then when I did, they were so easy I made batches and batches of them. (As I'm sure some members of the family remember..;-D)