Sourdough English Muffins

“Oh my God! It’s six already!”

I am sleep early impaired, therefore I am cursed with an occasional oversleeping problem. What happens when a mother wakes up late? No breakfast.. Father and child(ren) will start their morning with empty stomach. Boy, I sure am happy I don’t live anywhere near my mom morning walk distance or she’ll harass me saying that I still live my days like I was in my teen by sleeping late. Though on the other hand, I can always ask her to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner if she lives nearby. Oh mom, don’t think I didn't know how you devoured those crime novels and Hitchcock’s movies after you thought I was sleeping already. Can't you see I am slowly turning into you? It’s just that I am not a mother from her generation who still manage to wake super early even when they’re sleep deprived.

Anyhow, long before I have my sourdough starter and the emergence of 711 in every nooks and crannies in everyone’s neighborhood, the city was ruled by MacDonalds. Open 24/7, MacDonalds offers literally fast food and eating their food was a necessary evil  which we had to do to our body in order to not let us starve in the morning. I did pick a lesser evil in that case, though.

Whenever I overslept, we would go to MacDonalds drive thru and order Egg MacMuffin, a simple English muffin with sunny side egg and sliced cheese. Compared to the burger, hash browns, fried chickens, and Lord knows-what’s-inside their nuggets, that seemed like a more reasonable and less destructive choice of morning meal considering that we got it from that joint.

I have to admit that their Egg MacMuffin tastes good. But is that the only way to enjoy English Muffins? Of course not. Apart from the need to end our MacD morning visits, I dream of slathering English muffins with cream cheese and my strawberry jam. The only way to do it is to make my own English muffins because no one sells it plain and I have zero intention of having factory bread.

After almost ten recipes of English muffins, I declare that the recipe from wildyeastblog.com is the best. The taste isn't the only reason I love it. The fact that I put my starter to use in making it is actually the most appealing thing to me. I need not feed Bonnie just to have some good ol’English Muffins. Just mix it right away before bedtime. In the morning I'd have a beautiful sponge. As always, I reduce the salt and add some wheat bran for extra fiber. 

Let’s make it, shall we?

Recipe

Sponge Ingredients:

110 gr ripe 100% hydration sourdough starter

150 gr all purpose flour

10 gr wheat bran

100 gr whole wheat flour

270 gr soy milk/low-fat milk

Final Dough Ingredients:

75 gr all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp honey

all of the sponge

Method:

-In a medium bowl, mix the sponge ingredients until just combined. Cover and let rest for 8 hours or overnight.

-Add the final dough ingredients and mix to roughly combine. Turn the dough out onto the counter and hand mix for about 7 or 8 minutes, or until the surface becomes quite smooth. The dough will be very soft and sticky at first. Resist the urge to add more flour; it will become less sticky with mixing.

-Flour the counter and your hands well, and roll or pat the dough out to a thickness of about one-half inch. I use a quite large stainless steel mug to cut the dough since I don’t have a big cookie cutter. If you have a tuna can, I suggest you use it to cut the dough. It’ll make perfect sized muffins. Place the cut round dough onto wheat flour dusted parchment paper. Cover and let proof for 45 – 60 minutes.

-There are two ways of cooking it. First, you can pan fry it on medium heat about 7 or 8 minutes on each side until browned and the sides are firm. Second, this is how I prefer to cook it, bake it in a 210C oven for 8-10 minutes on each side depending on the size of your muffins.

Enjoy! 

See how huffed and puffed they are?

I giggled like a little child the first time I baked this. Why not? It was insanely good. Its clean, earthy taste is just so.. me. I love food that tastes 'clean'. Though it'll be hard to describe the clean taste, perhaps 'feel good for eating healthy food that tastes delicious' would suffice.

Why we're in love with English muffins?

Because the texture is firmer than burger buns, it doesn't take long to assemble, they're definitely lower in calories, and it's decadent. Not to mention uber fulfilling. Gotta heart the fiber, right! 

 Now let's assemble it MacD style

Oh, yeah.. That is one helluva messy looking sunny side. I  have never been patient enough to make a pretty sunny side. I said to mom that it's covered with the muffins anyway. Ha! Should we just call it 'Splattered Yolk'?

YUM!

It's so rewarding that my family enjoys this so much. I feel great that I provide them with something healthy. Another beauty of these muffins is that they freeze well. Just thaw it in the microwave and we're good to go. So with the freezer well-stocked with these muffins, I don't have to panic and shout a long echoing no (read: Noooooo..ooooo..oo..o..) everytime I wake up late.

Egg MacMuffin Momma Style;D

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