Sourdough English Muffins

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Sourdough English muffins are a light and fluffy bread known for a slight chew, round shape and nooks and crannies on the inside. These English muffins use sourdough starter to rise, all thanks to the fermentation created from wild yeast. They are the neutral in flavor – making them the perfect vessel for any topping.

In our opinion, sourdough English muffins are one of the most undervalued bread. We feel they are the perfect ‘vessel’ for peanut butter and taste delicious when made as the base of a sandwich. Really any of the hundreds of ways you can dress up sourdough bread- you can do the same with English muffins. (And if you need inspiration on how to dress up your bread, here are 40+ ideas to eat sourdough bread for you!)

We love making English muffins into a breakfast sandwich (complete with a farm fresh egg, cheese and a chicken sausage). And we love making them into savory lunch (or dinner) option with lunch meat, cheese, tomato, and green olives (AKA a London Muffin).

What I love about this recipe is not only the diverse ways to top the bread, but also the ways to prepare and cook the dough. You can make this as a long fermented recipe for extra gut healthy benefits (which our gluten sensitive stomach loves) or they can be made as a same day sourdough English muffin recipe.

You can also cook these on the stove (in a cast iron, on a griddle or in a pan), in the oven, or a combination of both. This not only saves time, but allows flexibility based on what you want your cooking experience to be. Are you starting to see why we believe making sourdough English muffins at home is the best?

Kitchen Equipment 

To begin, you will need a large mixing bowl (preferably with a lid), a bench scraper and a method to cook them.

We make these sourdough English muffins in a variety of methods – stovetop (on a griddle, in acast iron skillet or in a pan). You can also bake them in the oven or on a sheet pan. A thermometer is also very important with English muffins as it can be difficult to check for ‘doneness’ simply by looks.

We have also heard of people making a large batch of sourdough English muffins on the Blackstone – (we will be trying that this summer!)

Ingredients for sourdough English muffins

There are a few key ingredients for sourdough English muffins include sourdough starter and corn meal. For a full list of ingredients, head to the recipe card located at the bottom of the blog.

Sourdough Starter: Sourdough is such a powerful tool in your kitchen. The importance of sourdough within this recipe is to help the English muffins ferment and rise! This recipe specifically uses active sourdough starter to help the dough ferment and create the classic ‘nooks and crannies’ found within English muffins. While you can use sourdough discard (from the fridge), the English muffins may not be as fluffy and they may take longer to ferment than their counterpart fed with active sourdough starter. The recipes goes through a secondary rise – all thanks to the power of wild yeast.

And if you are confused on the difference between sourdough discard verses active sourdough starter, this article explains what sourdough discard is.

Corn Meal: To make a classic English Muffins, you will want corn meal (or polenta) to coat the exterior of the English muffin. This will also ensure less chances of the English muffin sticking to your baking vessel.

Fun fact – did you know if you own a grain mill, you can even grind your own corn?!

How to make sourdough English muffins

Bakers Timeline (one day recipe)

This recipe follows a timeline to have English muffins ready by a late lunch or dinner time the following day. We often use this recipe for Sundays – as we are a big ‘breakfast for dinner’ family!

If you need to speed up the fermentation period, place the bowl of dough onto of a warm oven in the morning. This will allow the dough to double in size faster. You can also place the dough balls on a baking sheet on top of a warm oven to complete the secondary rise faster, too. Use warm temperature to your advantage and adjust the sourdough to ‘warm’ conditions!

• 8PM (Day prior to bake): Make sourdough English muffin dough. Cover the dough with a lid or tea towel.
• 9 – 10PM (Days prior to bake): Complete stretch and folds until failure 1 – 2 times. Allow the dough to rest on the countertop.
• 8AM – 12PM (Day of bake): Dough should have doubled in size on counter.
• 12PM – 2PM (Day of bake): Divide and shape the dough into individual balls. Coat in corn meal. Allow them to warm up to room temperature and double in size on the countertop.
  • The tops of the dough create a light film on the top and when pressed causing it not to stick to your finger. When pressed, the dough will bounce back.
• 2PM – 3PM (Day of bake): Bake the English muffins on the stovetop or a cast iron skillet. Allow them to cool for 15 – 30 minutes before opening.

Bakers Timeline (long fermented recipe)

If you would like a more ‘sour’ English muffin, would like additional health benefits from an extended fermentation period, or if you need time on your side, consider placing your sourdough English muffins in the fridge for a cold proof. The sourdough English muffins can sit within the fridge for up to 36 hours.

Because the long fermented sourdough English muffins spend a period of time in the fridge (bulk fermentation), this will extend how long the sourdough English muffins take to complete their second proof before they are baked.

The schedule below allows for a 35 hour fermentation period from the mixing the dough together to baking them fresh in the morning. Essentially, the dough is combined and they are baked two days later (IE not the day after they are mixed, but the following day at breakfast).

Day One (Two days prior to bake):

• 8PM: Make sourdough English muffin dough. Cover the dough with a lid or tea towel.
• 9 – 10PM: Complete stretch and folds until failure 1 – 2 times before allowing the dough to rest on the countertop.

Day Two (One day prior to bake):

• 8AM – 12PM: Dough should have doubled in size on counter.
• 12PM (day prior to bake) – 7AM (the following morning) (Bulk ferment in fridge): Place in the fridge, covered, until ready to bake.

Day Three (Day of Bake):

• 7AM – 9AM: Remove from the fridge. Divide and shape the dough into individual balls. Allow them to warm up to room temperature and double in size on the countertop. Do not skip this second proof or the English muffins will NOT be light and fluffy.
  • The tops of the dough create a light film on the top and when pressed causing it not to stick to your finger. When pressed, the dough will bounce back.
• 9AM- 10AM: Bake the English muffins on the stovetop or a cast iron skillet. Allow them to cool for 15 – 30 minutes before enjoying.

How to bake English muffins in the oven

There are a variety of ways to make English muffins at home. One of our favorite ‘time saving’ hacks when making English muffins is to bake them in the oven. For a full tutorial, head to the recipe card.

To begin, you will want two sheet pans. When using the sheet pan method, you will want to refrain from putting any liner on the pan. Ensure the pan is oiled / buttered well. This will give you the classic ‘pan fried’ look, without having to toast them the skillet.

Once prepared (cut, shaped, coated in cornmeal, second proof), place the English muffins on the sheet pan. Cover the top of the pan with the second sheet pan, creating a ‘dome’. This will allow steam to trap inside the pan while they are baking. The steam will help them both rise and cook faster.

Halfway through baking, take the sheet pans out of the oven. Flip the English muffins over and place back in the oven. At this point, I keep the top pan off. The rest of the bake time is to ensure they are baked completely through.

The baked English muffins are ‘done’ when the internal temperature reaches is 190 – 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating.

How to store sourdough English muffins

Store sourdough English muffins on the countertop for 5 days. They will naturally become more sour as they sit.

If not eating right away we like to store in the fridge or freezer. We like to pierce them with a fork all the way around or cut them and keep an edge slightly attached. This makes it easy to keep the English muffins together in the freezer but allow for quick toasting when reheating.

Store the sourdough English muffins in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for three months. If putting them in the freezer, consider placing them in the fridge overnight. After they have sat in the fridge overnight, wipe out excess moisture in the ziplock bag to prevent the muffins from sticking together.

How do you like to eat your English muffins? Let us know in the comment below!