Sourdough English Muffin Bread
If you’re a fan of tangy sourdough bread and crave the soft, nooks-and-crannies texture of English muffins, this Sourdough English Muffin Bread is the perfect recipe.
With minimal effort and a little patience, you can create a versatile loaf that’s just as delicious toasted with butter as it is served with your favorite jam or honey. Its golden cornmeal crust gives it an authentic texture, making it a delightful addition to your bread-making repertoire.
This recipe is designed to fit easily into your daily routine. Most of the time is spent waiting for the dough to ferment and rise. Whether you’re a seasoned baker or new to sourdough, the step-by-step process ensures success. The result? It is a flavorful, homemade loaf that makes great sandwiches and pairs well with breakfast or even as a side for soup.
Table of Contents
What to Expect from this Sourdough English Muffin Bread Recipe
This English Muffin Bread has a flavor similar to that of a sourdough English muffin, but with a softer crust since it is baked differently than traditional individual English muffins. The bread is soft and spongy, resembling the inside of a sourdough muffin. When sliced thin and toasted, it captures all the delightful qualities you love in a classic English muffin.
This Sourdough English Muffin bread is more moist and has a softer crust than regular sourdough bread. I would compare it to a sourdough sandwich loaf rather than an artisanal loaf but with a larger crumb for the muffin aspect. In fact, you will use a loaf or bread pan for this Sourdough English Muffin bread, whereas most Sourdough bread is baked as a boule or batard in a cast iron pan.
The key to making this bread, similar to an English muffin, is the corn meal on top, which really makes it feel like an English muffin.
Sourdough English Muffin Bread Ingredient Notes
- Flour – This recipe uses all-purpose flour, with a protein content of 11.7%. Higher-protein flour (like bread flour) results in chewier bread with a slightly denser crumb, while low-protein flour (pastry flour or cake flour) produces a very soft, almost cake-like crumb with minimal chewiness.
- Sourdough Starter – Use an active, bubbly starter fed 4–6 hours prior. A 100% hydration starter (equal parts water and flour) works best.
- Milk – Milk softens the crumb and adds richness, creating a tender texture that complements the tangy flavor. Use whole milk for a richer loaf.
- Honey—Honey adds a touch of sweetness to balance the tanginess of the sourdough and promotes browning in the crust. If preferred, substitute with sugar or maple syrup.
- Cornmeal—Cornmeal creates the signature crunchy crust and prevents the dough from sticking to the pan. If you don’t have cornmeal, you can dust with semolina or flour, though the texture will differ.
Tips for Success!
- Active Sourdough Starter: An active starter is vital to bring the signature tangy flavor sourdough is known for. An inactive or weak starter won’t provide the same robust taste, and your bread may taste bland. The wild yeast and bacteria in the starter also work together to create the open crumb and soft, spongy texture characteristic of English muffin bread.
- Plan Ahead: Sourdough relies on a long fermentation process, so start the day before you need the bread. This ensures you have enough time for the starter to double and the dough to develop flavor.
- Hydration Balance: This is a high-hydration dough and will feel sticky. Resist the urge to add too much extra flour, as this can make the bread dense. Aim for a shaggy, slightly sticky texture.
- Temperature Matters: Fermentation times will vary based on the temperature in your home. A cooler kitchen will extend the rise time, while a warmer one will speed it up.
- Don’t Overhandle the Dough: When transferring the dough to the loaf pan, handle it gently to maintain the airy texture.
- Check Doneness: The loaf is ready when golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If unsure, use a thermometer—190°F in the center is ideal.
Sourdough English Muffin Bread Timeline
The total active recipe prep time is only 25–30 minutes, with an inactive fermenting time of 18–22 hours.
Step 1: Feed Your Starter
- Active Time: 5 minutes
- Inactive Time: 4–6 hours
- Feed your starter and let it double in size before mixing the dough.
Step 2: Mix the Dough
- Active Time: 10 minutes
- Combine the sourdough starter, water, milk, salt, and honey. Add the flour and mix until you form a shaggy dough. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Perform Stretches and Folds
- Active Time (per stretch and fold): 2–3 minutes
- Rest Time Between Sessions: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Perform stretches and folds twice, with a 30-minute wait between each session.
Step 4: Bulk Fermentation
- Inactive Time: 12 hours
- Cover the dough with an airtight wrap and let it ferment at room temperature overnight or for 12 hours.
Step 5: Prepare for Baking
- Active Time: 5 minutes
- Grease the bread pan, sprinkle with cornmeal, and transfer the dough into the pan. Allow it to rise for 2–4 hours.
Step 6: Preheat Oven and Sprinkle Cornmeal
- Active Time: 5 minutes
- Sprinkle the loaf with cornmeal while the oven preheats.
Step 7: Bake your Sourdough English Muffin Bread
- Baking Time: 25–28 minutes
- Bake at 425°F until the loaf is golden brown.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, all-purpose flour works well in this recipe. However, bread flour may yield a slightly chewier texture due to its higher protein content.
If cornmeal isn’t available, you can substitute semolina, polenta, or even a light dusting of flour. The texture will vary slightly, but the bread will still be delicious.
Sourdough thrives on time for flavor development. While you can ferment in a slightly warmer spot to shorten the process, rushing it may impact the flavor and texture.
Once cooled, store the bread in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for 2–3 days. Slice the loaf and freeze it if you plan to store it longer—toast slices straight from the freezer.
This could happen if your starter wasn’t active enough or the room was too cold. Make sure your starter is bubbly and doubling in size before using it, and try placing the dough in a slightly warmer area.
I would not recommend using whole wheat flour in this recipe. This is a pretty wet dough and I think whole wheat would make the bread too dense.
Sourdough English Muffin Bread
Equipment
- Loaf Pan - 1.5 quart
Ingredients
- 100 g high hydration sourdough starter see note 1
- 430 g flour
- 230 g warm water
- 100 g milk
- 2 g salt ½ tsp.
- 10 g honey 1 tsp
- ¼ cup cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- Before starting your bread, feed your sourdough starter equal parts flour and water for a 100% hydration starter. Let this rest until the starter has doubled (4–6 hrs, depending on the temperature in your house).
- Combine sourdough starter, water, milk, salt, and honey in a large bowl. Whisk for a few seconds until combined.
- Add the flour and mix with your whisk until a shaggy dough forms. This is a high-hydration dough and will be sticky. If the dough is not holding form or is too wet, add 30 g of flour and mix. Make sure not to add too much flour, as the dough should remain shaggy/ sticky at this stage.
- Cover the dough and wait 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, perform a set of stretches and folds by pulling up the side of the dough and folding it over the center. Turn the bowl and continue for the rest of the dough ball.
- Wait another 30 minutes and perform one more set of stretches and folds. After this step is complete, cover the dough with an airtight wrap and let it ferment for 12 hours at room temperature.
- The dough will have grown substantially overnight or after 12 hours. At this point, grease a bread pan and sprinkle cornmeal on the bottom and sides. Transfer the dough to the bread pan. To keep those bubbles, do not punch out too much air as you transfer the dough.
- Cover the loaf and let it rise for 2–4 hours. This time depends on your house's temperature, but at around 67℉ (19℃) room temperature, it took 3 hours to rise.
- Set your oven to 425° (218℃), and sprinkle cornmeal on the top of the loaf while the oven is heating. Bake for 25–28 minutes until golden brown.
- Serve with butter or jam, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Other Sourdough Recipes
Our other sourdough recipes are divided between sourdough discard recipes and active starter sourdough recipes. We also have a recipe and tutorial for making your sourdough starter.
Sourdough Discard Recipes
Sourdough discard is the portion of sourdough starter removed during feeding to maintain a healthy and active culture. When you feed a sourdough starter, you typically add fresh flour and water, but before doing so, a portion of the existing starter is discarded to prevent it from growing too large and to maintain the right balance of yeast and bacteria.
Sourdough Recipe
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