These are my first attempt at creating the oh so delicious and simple breakfast treat known as the English Muffin (is that supposed to be capitalized? Just the English, not the muffin? Let me know...)
I had a little trouble shaping these bad boys as you can probably tell by looking at them, but I think they're more delicious that way, right? The wonkier the better, I always say... Well, I don't actually always say that, but I'm going to start.
Here's an interior shot of the snooks and nannies. I won't call them nooks and crannies as I fear getting the pants sued off me by Thomas... fucking Thomas...
Here's the recipe I used, it's adapted from one I found on cook's.com
Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins (makes about 10)
Dries:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I took out about three tablespoons of the flour and added some oat bran for more texture... completely optional, but I like the roughage... maybe I shouldn't talk about roughage on a food blog...)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (Vietnamese cinnamon gives this recipe a little more punch)
1 tsp. salt.
Wets:
1/3 cup lukewarm water
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. honey
1 cup. lukewarm milk (I used 2%... but use whatever you have on hand!)
Mix-ins:
1/3-1/2 cup raisins (dates would also be AMAZBALLS in this recipe)
Method:
In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and set aside to proof. The yeast is ready when it bubbles, puffs up and smells like beer (I almost typed bear... if it smells like a bear, please throw it out and get new yeast...)
Once the yeast has proofed, add dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Fold in the raisins until evenly distributed and cover with a damp, lint-free towel. Allow it to relax and rise until doubled in size; about 45 minutes.
Heat a nonstick griddle over medium high heat and lightly grease with pan spray. Ladle out the batter in 1/4 cupfuls onto the greased pan and cook until a nice golden brown (mine took about 3 minutes, but this can vary depending on the temperature of your pan and the size of your muffin... that's what she said.) The top will appear set and the sides will be somewhat dry. Flip the muffins over and cook until golden brown on the other side, set aside to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. They can then be split open, smeared with butter and fed to your boyfriend while he plays Starcraft in the other room... just me? Ok....
