English Muffin Bread

Giulia Doyle — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 15:29:34 +0000

I love English muffins, something I could not get my hands on growing up in Switzerland. But when I lived in the States I often bought them and had them well toasted with melted butter and jam, or cream cheese and jam, or as a ham and cheese sandwich. They work in so many ways with their crunchy crust, soft insides and yeasty taste. I wanted to make my own often enough, but never got around to it.

Instead of making individual muffins I decided to try a English muffin recipe in a pan first. These turned out great! I probably over-mixed the dough at the end a bit so there aren’t enough craggly holes, but overall I am very happy with the results. We loved them slightly warm from the oven and the next day well toasted.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 2 loaves

loosely adapted from How Sweet It Is Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice English Muffin Bread

Ingredients

cornmeal for loaf pans and top of loaves
5 cups all-purpose flour (separated into 2 cups and 3 cups)
2 packages (4 1/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups warm milk
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoons salt

Instructions

Grease two loaf pans with non-stick spray and sprinkle with cornmeal, moving the pan around so the cornmeal coats all the sides. Remove any of the excess.
In the bowl of your electric mixer combine 2 cups flour, yeast, cinnamon and baking soda. Add in milk, apple sauce, honey, olive oil and water, beating on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes, scraping down the sides if necessary. Decrease speed to low and add in remaining flour and salt, mixing until just combined - do not over mix, do not knead. The dough will be sticky.
Divide batter equally into two loaf pans and sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes.
After about 30 minutes of the dough rising, preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Bake for 35 minutes, or until tops are golden brown. Remove from the oven, ensure they are cooked through with toothpick and immediately remove from pans. Set aside to cool.

/2016/01/10/english-muffin-bread/

My Pot-luck Biscuits

Giulia Doyle — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 10:01:09 +0000

We had a work pot-luck before the Easter long weekend. I was told that there would be enough desserts, so I should bring something else. Not sure why, but I decided to attempt biscuits – they are a good side, versatile enough to accompany a variety of pot-luck meals and pretty easy to make. Looking online there are a million different recipes boasting to give you the best biscuits you’ve ever had. Some are light and fluffy, others are crumbly. Some need yeast, others don’t and some you drop on your cookie sheet, while others you cut the dough into circles. Being overwhelmed with choices, I opted to take out my ‘Martha’s American Food Cookbook’. Her buttermilk biscuits are just slightly different in the book than on her website, but it was simple and straightforward and that’s what I was looking for.

If you have time, bake them right before serving – they’ll be at their best. But even if you don’t – warm them up and serve them with butter and a little jam for breakfast or as a companion to your salad or meat dish. They are simple and delish!

Buttermilk Biscuits - Martha's American Food page 201 (South)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F. Sift together flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl. Work in butter with your fingers or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in buttermilk with your hands until just combined.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7-inch disk about 1 inch thick. Cut out 12 rounds with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, gathering an patting out scraps as necessary.
Arrange rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until cooked through and golden brown, rotating sheet halfway through, 10-15 minutes.

Notes

Watch your time on these - I cooked my first batch a minute or two too long.

/2013/04/01/pot-luck-biscuits/

bread – Audrey's 74

English Muffin Bread

My Pot-luck Biscuits