English Muffin Bread - A Soft Loaf of Nooks and Crannies

Those who have read my post on the best homemade English muffins, detailing how much and why I love Alton Brown's English muffin recipe with my little tweak, are well aware of how picky I am when it comes to the texture of English muffins. I am aware of most of the English muffin bread recipes that are out there on the interwebs and given several of them a try only to have my belief exponentially reinforced, i.e. a very, very wet dough is the way to go. After having spent several months experimenting with different ratios and formulae, as of March 20, 2010, I have found this recipe to consistently produce the most satisfactory result and -- thank heaven -- the easiest to make.


To reiterate what I've written in the homemade English muffin post:

The best recipe is a recipe that gives you what you want.

That presupposes a criterion, or a set of criteria, for evaluation. You need to have a personal definition of what good English muffin bread looks, feels, and tastes like.

My two criteria are spongy texture and lots and lots of nooks and crannies. This recipe produces exactly what I like, so if you prefer your English muffin loaf to have tighter or less moist and spongy texture, chances are you will not like this. But if you're a fan of nooks and crannies, rejoice!

Below is a picture of a toasted slice of this English muffin bread. See those little nooks and crannies? Yup. That's where the melted butter goes. The kind of light, crispy, airy-yet-substantial toast like this can only be achieved with fresh bread that has spongy and open texture like that of a live porous corallum. So if this is what you're after, you don't want to go with English muffin bread that has fine, tight texture; you want these tiny little air chambers and lots of them.

Pedantic rambling aside, here's how to make this English muffin bread -- what I believe to be the best homemade English muffin in loaf form which I have found to date. This bread is phenomenal toasted -- as it is meant to be. (However, I must say, the untoasted version is not too shabby, especially fresh out of the oven.)

The only caveat: I have not been able to get the sour taste. While this bread has great flavor, it's not as sour as I think English muffins should be. In fact, looking back, that was the thought that crossed my mind when I tried Alton Brown's recipe for the first time as well. In the course of my experimentation, I found one formula that gave me the sour taste. Unfortunately, that formula was a big fat failure in terms of texture. And since, personally, texture means a lot more to me, I'm more than happy with this beta version.

You may notice the odd presence of vinegar on the ingredient list and wonder if the lack of sour taste could be remedied simply by increasing the amount of vinegar. You see, the reason for the vinegar has nothing to do with taste and everything to do with texture. Baking soda alone is not enough to create this many holes which you see here. The trick works when you make the traditional English muffins on the griddle, but when the bread is cooked as a big loaf, I have found that baking soda alone is not enough. Together with the baking soda, the acidity of the vinegar helps achieve many and evenly-distributed holes. But too much acidity causes too much fermentation. The dough rises too rapidly, develops a large air pocket on the top which deflates after it's baked resulting in an unsightly sunken top. And this explains why more vinegar cannot be added for taste.

My experiment will continue, but as of today, this is my best work yet.



Recipe for Homemade English Muffin Bread (with Lots of Nooks and Crannies)
This post has been submitted to Yeastspotting.
(Makes one loaf)
Downloadable Version

306 g all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur.)
156 g bread flour (I use King Arthur as well.)
26 g nonfat milk powder
14 g sugar
10 g instant yeast
10 g salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (Do not use olive oil which is too strong; use something bland.)
1/2 tablespoon white or cider vinegar
1 3/4 cup (14 fluid ounces) water

The fresh bread yields when you press on it with the tip of your finger then springs back.
Follow the instructions very closely for consistent results:

Make sure the ingredients are weighed accurately. In the course of testing this recipe, I have found that no matter how careful I am with measuring the flours, etc., accuracy and consistency can only be achieved through the use of a reliable digital scale. (I can hear all experienced bakers go, "Well, duh ...")

Stir all the dry ingredients together (in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer) very well. Failure to get the baking soda thoroughly dispersed will result in unsightly brown spots.

When measuring the water, make sure that you hold up the measuring cup (the one designed for liquid) to eye level. Mix together the vinegar, oil, and water and heat the mixture in the microwave. The temperature of the liquid must be between 120°-130° F. This is very important. Use a thermometer. Don't guess. Err on the side of paranoia and irrational precaution. You won't be sorry.

If you have a stand mixer, gently pour the warm liquid in as you mix the dough on low with a dough hook attachment. Once all the liquid is in, increase the speed to high and continue to mix for about a minute. Those without a stand mixer can just pour the liquid into the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk very briskly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. The dough/batter will be very wet and thick.

Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan (do not use a smaller size pan as the dough will flow over the top when baked and form two "wings" on the long sides of pan, making it very difficult to remove the loaf from the pan without destroying its beauty) and sprinkle the bottom and sides with cornmeal.

Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, scraping every bit off the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Level the top as best as you can.

Cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes or until the height of the risen dough is almost flush with the top of the pan.

Place the filled pan into the oven and set it at 375° F. Let the oven heat up to the desired baking temperature along with the bread. (My oven takes about 8-10 minutes, yours may be different.)

After the oven has reached 375° F, continue to bake for 30 minutes or until the top is browned and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Remove the loaf from the pan immediately and let it cool completely on a cooking rack and covered with a kitchen towel.

The bread will be spongy and a bit difficult to slice fresh out of the oven. It will firm up a bit after a day or two.