"English" Muffins (Bakestone Recipes)

Title:
"English" Muffins (Bakestone Recipes)

Yield:
4 Servings

Categories:
Bread,
Breakfast




Ingredients:





     1 lb All-purpose or bread flour


     1 ts Salt


 1 1/2 tb Dry yeast


     1 ts Sugar


     8 fl Warm milk and water


     2 oz Butter, melted






 (Note:  Over here, and in England, these are just called "muffins", and are


 the ones in the song about the Muffin Man who lives in Drury Lane. They did


 actually sell them door-to-door every morning in London until the turn of


 the century or thereabouts.) . Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and


 leave in a warm place. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in 1/4 pt of the warm


 milk and water.  Leave to froth, then mix in the fat. Stir all the liquid


 into the warm flour and beat well until smooth and elastic. Cover and prove


 in a warm place for 50 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Turn onto a


 well-floured board and knead, working a little more flour if necessary to


 make the dough easier to shape. Round up the dough, roll into a thick


 sausage shape and (using the sharpest knife you have) slice into 8 to 10


 portions, each about 1 1/2 ~ 1 3/4 inch thick. Shape each one into a round


 with straight sides.  Put onto a greased baking sheet. Cover (I use greased


 plastic wrap) and put in a warm place to prove for 30-40 minutes or until


 springy to the touch. Leave room for expansion and be careful not to


 over-prove, as the muffins will get flabby and lose their shape. Warm and


 grease the bakestone lightly. Lift the muffins carefully onto the bakestone


 and cook over very moderate heat for 8-10 minutes until pale gold


 underneath.  Turn and cook the other side.  Wrap in a cloth and keep warm


 if cooking in batches.  To serve, insert a knife in the side, pull the top


 and bottom slightly apart, and insert slivers of butter. . These are


 strongly recommended.  The taste of them hot off the bakestone, griddle or


 frying pan makes Thomas's look very poor indeed by comparison.


 


 From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini