Sourdough English Muffins
Homemade Sourdough English Muffins – Easier Than You Think & Better Than Store-Bought
Sourdough English Muffins are hands-down one of my favorite ways to use my sourdough starter! They’re soft, tangy, and full of those signature nooks and crannies! They are perfect for toasting, buttering, and topping with jam or eggs.
And guess what? They’re just as easy to make as pancakes—no oven required, just a skillet and a little patience. If you believe that everything tastes better homemade, these muffins will prove you right.
Once you make your own homemade sourdough English muffins, there’s no going back. Store-bought simply won’t compare.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Sourdough English Muffins
I’m not over exaggerating when I say that English muffins are as simple to make as pancakes, you just mix up the ingredients the night before and can wake up to beautifully fermented dough that’s ready to be cut and cooked!
🍲 Ingredients
Sourdough Starter – This recipe takes quite a bit of sourdough starter, so it is best to feed your starter a larger amount. (example: 50 grams starter + 200grams flour + 200 grams water). The starter is one of the leavening agents in the English muffins, and also what gives it the special sourdough flavor.
Water – Filtered water is best.
Flour – Unbleached all-purpose flour.
Salt – We use pink Himalayan salt for all of our recipes but use what you have.
Honey – This really rounds out the flavor to ensure that these English muffins have the perfect balance of sour, salty, and sweet!
👩🍳 How to Make English Muffins
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- In the afternoon, when it’s bubbly and at its peak, assemble your dough.
- Whisk together the starter, honey, and water until the starter has fully dissolved and turns into a milky liquid. Add the flour and salt and mix together until a shaggy dough forms. (OPTIONAL: perform 2 – 4 stretch and folds every 30 minutes to one hour apart to develop strength in the gluten and create a smooth surface on the dough)
- Cover with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and leave it on the counter to rest overnight for 12 – 18 hours.
- The next morning, turn your dough over onto a lightly floured work surface
- Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Using a wide mouth mason jar ring or biscuit cutter, cut out your English muffins. Transfer to a floured or cornmeal covered baking sheet to rise for 1 – 2 more hours.
- While you are cutting the dough, preheat your cast iron on the stove.
- This recipe makes 12 – 15 English muffins depending on how thick you roll out your dough, and how you cut the muffins out.
- Make sure your cast iron is well seasoned by smearing a little bit of coconut oil or bacon grease to the pan while it is preheating.
- Turn the heat up on the stove to a medium heat, sprinkle the English muffins with a little bit of corn meal and place top down on the pan. Turn the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat back up to medium, flip the muffins over, turn the heat back to low, cover and cook for an additional 4 – 5 minutes.
- If you are using a cast iron and don’t have a lid for it, bake the muffins in a 350-degree oven for 4-5 minutes until the middles are cooked through.
- Transfer the English muffins to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Pierce the edges of the English muffin with a fork all the way around, serve with butter, jelly, as a sandwich – literally anything, and enjoy!
🪄 Troubleshooting
- Flat Muffins: If your muffins spread too much and don’t rise, your dough may have been too wet or not enough gluten was developed during kneading or fermentation.
- Dense Texture: If the muffins are too dense, make sure your starter is active and that you’re allowing enough fermentation time for the dough to rise properly.
- Over-proofing: Keep an eye on fermentation time. Over-proofed dough can lead to muffins that collapse or have a gummy texture.
🗒 Variations
I’ve also mad English muffins with a miniature biscuit cutter to make tiny breakfast sandwiches for my family and it was such a hit!
🗒 Bakers Schedule
8 am: Feed your sourdough starter, and let it rise all day.
6 pm: In the afternoon, while making dinner, mix together your ingredients.
7 pm: stretch and fold
8 am: Cut out your English muffins and let rest
9 am: cook and enjoy!
It really is that simple.
🗒 Best served with
- Breakfast with Jelly
- Lunch Sandwiches
- Side to Dinner
👝 How to Store Leftovers
These make a lot of English Muffins, because I love to be able to save them! These store and reheat really well. You can keep them in a Ziplock bag on the counter for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. I also like to make premade breakfast sandwiches with bacon, eggs, and cheese, and freeze them that way!
🤔 Common Questions
Absolutely not! I’ve made these plenty of times without a stand mixer and they just take a tiny bit more effort. If you’re using your hands, don’t be afraid of using extra flour while working with the dough because it does tend to get sticky.
Sourdough English Muffins
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- cast iron / non stick pan
- biscuit cutter / mason jar ring
Ingredients
- 200 grams active, bubbly sourdough starter
- 400 grams water
- 750 grams flour
- 10 grams salt
- 2 tbs honey
Instructions
- In the morning, feed your sourdough starter.
- In the afternoon, when it's bubbly and at its peak, assemble your dough.
- Whisk together the starter, honey, and water until the starter has fully dissolved and turns into a milky liquid. Add the flour and salt and mix together until a shaggy dough forms. (OPTIONAL: perform 2 – 4 stretch and folds every 30 minutes to one hour apart to develop strength in the gluten and create a smooth surface on the dough)
- Cover with a damp bowl cover or tea towel and leave it on the counter to rest overnight for 12 – 18 hours.
- The next morning, turn your dough over onto a lightly floured work surface
- Roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness. Using a wide mouth mason jar ring or biscuit cutter, cut out your English muffins. Transfer to a floured or cornmeal covered baking sheet to rise for 1 – 2 more hours.
- While you are cutting the dough, preheat your cast iron on the stove.
- This recipe makes 12 – 15 English muffins depending on how thick you roll out your dough, and how you cut the muffins out.
- Make sure your cast iron is well seasoned by smearing a little bit of coconut oil or bacon grease to the pan while it is preheating.
- Turn the heat up on the stove to a medium heat, sprinkle the English muffins with a little bit of corn meal and place top down on the pan. Turn the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the heat back up to medium, flip the muffins over, turn the heat back to low, cover and cook for an additional 4 – 5 minutes.
- If you are using a cast iron and don't have a lid for it, bake the muffins in a 350-degree oven for 4-5 minutes until the middles are cooked through.
- Transfer the English muffins to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Pierce the edges of the English muffin with a fork all the way around, serve with butter, jelly, as a sandwich – literally anything, and enjoy!
