English Muffin Bread
ShareA recipe for quick English muffin bread that is both crisp and tender. A perfect addition to breakfast with a slather of butter or jam.
Today the recipe Gods were against me. First, I wanted to make something with potatoes. But as luck would have it, if potatoes had dates… well… these would have been well beyond their acceptable sell by and eat by dates. So clearly that option was out. Next up was a breakfast recipe, full of seasonal flavor… and to use up some apples that are nearing their final days. But again, I ran into a snag. No softened butter! I even had a dessert in mind but for other reasons that wasn’t going to work out either.
And yes, I realize I could have gone to the store for new potatoes or any other missing ingredients but I wanted to stick with what I had on hand and do my best to not trudge out in the cold rainy weather with two kids in tow. That’ll have to wait for another day.
I guess in the end the stars had aligned for me to make something that’s been on my list for quite a while. Saved in my binder, a recipe for English muffin bread. It was the perfect and best semi-quick recipe in a pinch. Not only is this so simple to whip up but the flavor is perfect. The outside is crunchy while the inside is tender. Toast up a few slices and slather on butter or jam.
If you’ve been thinking about making English muffin bread, stop waiting and go do it. It’s so good!
English Muffin Bread
Ingredients
- Cornmeal for pan
- 2 1/2 C bread flour
- 2 1/4 tsp rapid rise yeast
- 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 C milk heated to 120°F
Instructions
- Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal.
- In a large bowl combine dry ingredients. Heat up milk to 120°F. With mixer on low, slowly pour in milk. Turn mixer up to medium speed, continuing to mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Lightly grease a rubber spatula, and your hands if necessary. Transfer dough to prepared loaf pan, spreading out into all corners. Lightly sprinkle with cornmeal and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm location for 90 minutes. Remove plastic prior to baking.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow bread to cool in pan before turning into a wire rack or cutting board.
- Toast slices and serve with butter or jam. Store remaining bread in an airtight container.
Notes
Making this! It has been on my lisy way too long. Oh I can just taste it now!
This looks awesome! My husband would love it for breakfast.
I read the title of this post and thought “what the heck is that?” then I saw the picture and was like “yep, that totally looks like an english muffin in bread form!” Nice work ;)
I make this exact recipe. It’s always a winner.
I love english muffins so why not make them into a loaf! Brilliant!
This is amazing! I love English muffins and the bread is perfect!
I’m a huuuuge homemade bread fan, and this looks just awesome! I agree – the stars must’ve been aligned to encourage you to make this bread ASAP!
I am SO making this! I just love English muffin bread {have some in my fridge!} thanks for the recipe I’ll be making this pronto!
LOVE this bread. I’ve always dreamt about making it whole wheat with a bit of pumpkin spice thrown in the mix.
I love your food. So much.
xo
Aw thanks so much Heather. That means a lot coming from you. :)
EEEEK!! I know you are totally going to laugh at me, but I’m so excited for this bread! I saw a version a long, long time ago, before pinterest, totally forgot and now it’s back in my life!! Woohoo!! I can finally make this deliciousness!
I totally get it! I love when that happens.
Am not usually a baker, but this is now “on the list” too! Thank you! Looks YUM and can almost smell the bread and butter melting too :)
I’m still waiting for the creation of taste or smell-ivision, until then… I hope you enjoy the recipe! :)
Like I said to you the other day, the most perfect pad of butter is on that bread. It’s a picture out of a magazine. I love english muffins and an english muffin turned into a loaf of bread is AWESOME
yum! i eat english muffins every morning– now i will make my own!
I just made English Muffin bread for the first time last week. Now I have it for breakfast every day! Reminded that I loved apple butter on muffins when I was a kid; I decided to make apple butter but didn’t have enough apples. I’m not one to run to the grocery store for every little ingredient either so I appreciate how you punted…and I did the same.
While I love the bread; the big love that came from that day is the cranberry apple butter that came about because I did have apples AND cranberries. I loved it so much I also made 16 jars for holiday gifts; now it is going to be hard to pry those babies out of my hands!
My recipe did not include baking soda and I was OK with that because of our altitude but I’m trying a bit of it next time…I do believe my nooks…or at least my crannies, could have been a bit bigger. It is so yummy isn’t it?
I made this bread and it is so good and hard to stop at one piece. It’s an easy recipe and the mixer does all the work for you.
That bread sounds pretty amazing and like it would be a great companion to some jam and a nice cup of tea.
Just found your blog Rachel, absolutely loving it. This muffin bread looks divine. I don’t know why us Brits don’t make our own muffins at home. I think I’ll be making this loaf and some crumpets too.
Dave.
Mmm, I think I’ve made this recipe but it wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours! I want!
I made this bread tonight and it came out great! Fast to put together, and it really does taste just like an English muffin. Toasted with butter and jam… mmm, so good with tea. :-)
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Those pictures are too tempting! i want to try this recipe soon,.,
I’m making this now (it’s rising). I used the dough hook attachment but I wasn’t sure if I should use that or the paddle one or if that even matters. Hopefully it turns out! I’m excited.
Enjoy!
I love English muffin bread! I can’tever find it! I will be definitely making this!!
I hope you do! Enjoy :)
I want to make this tonight! Will it work out OK if I don’t use the corn meal?
It helps prevent sticking to the pan and gives a nice texture to it, so I can’t be sure how it will turn out without using it.
Hi there, would you please tell me if this recipe would work for regular English muffin? Thank you so very much
I haven’t tried making individual English muffins so I can’t be sure if this would work for that. My guess is no but you’re more than welcome to give it a try and see!
Hi, Rachel! I am hooked!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it the next day! Delicious bread I ate every morning! Now, less than a week later, I got brave and attempted to make English muffins with it!
I spooned the dough out onto greased and cornmeal-ed parchment paper on a cookie sheet, let them rise for the same 90 minutes, and then baked them for 12 minutes. My oven runs a little hot, so it may take longer in someone else’s oven. My only complaint with this attempt was that they were a little flat–more like those bagel thins than English muffins, although still full of nooks and crannies! I split them with a fork after they were cool enough to handle. I think I will try it in a muffin tin next time and see what happens!
Thank you for this great recipe!!
So glad you enjoyed the bread! Such a fun experiment to try turning the same batter into English muffins! :)
PS: for Rose: I didn’t have cornmeal on hand when I made the bread (got it to do the muffins though). I did happen to have grits on hand (I live in Texas!) and that made the bottoms super crunchy! It was…interesting…not bad, but interesting….I am one of those people that just tries stuff willy-nilly in the kitchen! Grits are corn after all! I think with nothing it just wouldn’t have the same texture that you expect from an English muffin.
Hi Rachel
Just stumbled across your blog while doing the daily pinterest procrastination … I am so happy to have found your site as most beautiful looking baking I find on Pinterest is American and everybody seems to use a lot of prepackaged goods like Cresent Rolls and Yellow Box Cake that we don’t have here in Australia, and the alternatives I have researched taste pretty ordinary. So thankyou for using real ingredients which are better for my family!
Great blog… my new place to come and procrastinate instead of doing work … ;)
I’m so glad you found me! I hope you enjoy the bread (and many more recipes)! :)
Can this be baked in a bread machine?
I haven’t personally tried it that way, but it’s worth a shot! :)
I am making this fabulous bread to give away for Christmas. How does it freeze?
I haven’t tried freezing it. But, if you’re familiar with how best to freeze bread, it’s worth trying!
I have been making this with my kitchen aid mixer and the bread hook. I was telling my SIL about it and she doesn’t have a stand mixer. Do you make it with a regular hand mixer? I tried a regular hand mixer so I could tell my SIL if it would work(because I love this recipe so much!!!!)but the dough walked up the beaters and got all up in the mixer! HELP! what did I do wrong?
When making this particular bread by hand, you should a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients together or the dough hooks on your hand mixer. Once the dough starts to come together, it will be easier to mix with your hands or a spoon than the hand mixer, as they’re not as powerful as a stand mixer.
I just made this!!!!! Tastes like that ‘leading brand’ English muffins!!! Love it!
So glad you enjoyed it, Marilyn! :)
Would this work with an almond milk??
I imagine it should work just fine, but I haven’t tried it personally. Good luck! :)
This was really good. Easy to make and real yummy with peanut butter, jam or jelly. It’s a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it, Maureen!
Could this be made in a bread machine?
It’s possible. I haven’t tried though. If you’re familiar with the process, it would definitely be worth trying!
Have you ever tried with all purpose flour?
I haven’t but I imagine it would work just fine. There may be a slight texture difference in the finished product but it should otherwise work.
Can you by chance give any more detail on knead time with dough hook in mixer? 🤔 Mine is taking quite a while to pull away from the sides. Thanks!
As soon as it’s easy to handle, it can be removed from the bowl. If it’s still in a super sticky stage, you may need to add more flour, starting with a tablespoon at a time. The amount of flour used in a bread recipe can vary per house, region, time of year, weather etc.
Ok thanks! I notice that many other recipes don’t seem to knead the dough at all so I wonder what the end difference is? Will have to try… I know kneading creates structure (and gluten), but if I don’t have to knead it I won’t. Thanks!
This recipe doesn’t call for extra kneading either. Definitely only work the dough as much as needed to get it out of the bowl and into your pan. Good luck.