Baking English Muffins - The Topic

[jumanggy]

I know you're a vegetarian, so it probably wouldn't appeal to you if I said I wanted those with sausage and eggs, like, right now Then again, you really can't lose with Dan Lepard's recipe.

[Jon Savage]

Just for a goof I sometimes take lumps of really soft sourdough and make "English Muffins".

Usually its when I cant wait for that last rise, bake, and cool time. I just drop the rounds onto a nonstick pan and cook on both sides. Fun tasty and instant...well have to go through the first rise but....they cook really fast

tracey

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I did just that this morning and they came out fairly well. I did not proof them at all just used the sourdough straight from the fridge where it has been retarding for about a week.

[Chris Hennes]

Has anyone tried the english muffin recipe in Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice? I almost gave it a shot this afternoon until work intervened, but I may yet have a go at it later this week. It's one of the only recipes in the book that can be made in a single day!

[Chris Amirault]

English muffin fans should check out this NYT story from last week, in which an ex-Thomas's employee is accused of stealing vital company secrets related to -- of course -- nooks and crannies.

According to Bimbo’s filings, the secret of the nooks and crannies was split into several pieces to make it more secure, and to protect the approximately $500 million in yearly muffin sales. They included the basic recipe, the moisture level of the muffin mixture, the equipment used and the way the product was baked. While many Bimbo employees may have known one or more pieces of the puzzle, only seven knew every step.

Some bakery experts were skeptical about Bimbo’s claims of top-secret processes, saying the mythology surrounding Thomas’ muffins was more about smart product branding than proprietary baking. The basic techniques for making an English muffin were widely known, they said: English muffin dough is very watery and when it is cooked at high heat the water evaporates quickly and leaves large air pockets. ...

Not so in Thomas’ case, said Theresa Cogswell, a baking industry consultant who spent a good portion of the 1980s and 1990s trying to break Thomas’ English muffin code, first for a bakery ingredient supplier and later for Hostess (then known as Interstate Brands).

“I could get nooks and crannies,” Ms. Cogswell said, “but I couldn’t get them consistently all day, every day.”

[IndyRob]

English muffin fans should check out this NYT story from last week, in which an ex-Thomas's employee is accused of stealing vital company secrets related to -- of course -- nooks and crannies.

Thomas' is my preferred brand, and I think they're in the right legally, but on the other hand, I just can't believe it's that hard. So hard that nobody can reproduce it. I've seen more open crumbs in homemade pizzas.

I've only tried it once. My results fell short, but showed at least some promise. But after the initial attempt, I felt that it was far too fussy a thing to be doing early in the morning.

But this may have lit a fire in me. I like a good Thomas' English Muffin with my eggs (I find I can use just a couple of mere slivers of butter on each half). But as bread goes they're pretty expensive. It irks me to spend 18 cents on protein and around 42 cents on bread (yes, I am that stingy - at least in principle).

BTW, the domain nooksandcrannies.com is already taken. I had to check .

[Marlene]

Has anyone tried the english muffin recipe in Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice? I almost gave it a shot this afternoon until work intervened, but I may yet have a go at it later this week. It's one of the only recipes in the book that can be made in a single day!

I have, and it works beautifully.

[IndyRob]

I had to check with the dough heads over at pizzamaking.com. This sure looks like nooks and crannies to me....

Thread is here

Edited August 11, 2010 by IndyRob (log)

[blue_dolphin]

Made the Deli Rye English Muffins from Smitten Kitchen Every Day.

They use 80g dark rye flour + 175g all purpose.  No dough-y insides!