This sourdough English muffin bread makes THE perfect toast. It’s also a superb companion to salted butter and homemade jam or preserves!
English muffins, though worth the effort, can be a bit time-consuming to make. On the other hand, sourdough English muffin bread is a one-shot bake! It’s a springy, coarse-textured loaf perfect for slicing and toasting. All of the English muffin glory with none of the fuss!
About Some Of The Ingredients For Sourdough English Muffin Bread:
- Milk – You can use cow’s milk or plant-based milk. Both work well in this recipe.
- Bubbly, active sourdough starter – To make English muffin bread you need sourdough starter that has been recently fed. You’re looking for bubbles and the texture of melted marshmallows when you stir. We recommend feeding your starter 8-12 hours before you want to bake this bread. To learn more about sourdough starter visit this post called How To Make A Sourdough Starter. For the loaf you see in these photos, we used a rye sourdough starter. If you are using a regular all-purpose flour starter, your bread will look more like a light whole wheat bread than ours.
- Flour – White flour gives the bread springiness, while whole wheat flour adds texture and depth of flavour. You can make the recipe with all white flour for a lighter bread. If you use all whole wheat flour the bread will be more heavy and dense.
- Baking Powder – Baking powder adds a little extra lightness to the batter, and helps develop the classic nooks and crannies similar to an English muffin. Please note, the baking powder DOES NOT go in to the bread dough when initially mixing. It goes into the dough JUST BEFORE the final rise. Just work the dough a bit to mix it in. It will deflate, that’s ok.
The Importance Of Using A Scale
We can’t stress enough the importance of using a scale for this recipe. We’ve measured sourdough starter by both weight and volume on several different occasions and have gotten completely different results each time. For sourdough English muffin bread the level of hydration matters. Weighing your ingredients on a scale ensures that exactly 245 grams of sourdough starter is added to the dough.
An Easy Way To Proof Sourdough English Muffin Bread
To create a makeshift proofer for your sourdough English muffin bread (or any other bread), place the dough inside the oven inside its covered bowl or loaf tin. Turn the oven on to 400ºF / 205ºC, close the door, and preheat the oven for 1 minute. When the time is up, immediately turn the oven off. The initial heat produced will create a perfect temperature and environment for proofing bread. Don’t open the door unless you need to!
How To Store And Reheat This Bread
- If you make your bread with plant milk, it will store well at room temperature cut-side down on a cutting board for a couple of days. You can also keep it in a clay römertopf on the counter, or in a ziploc bag in the fridge for a few days. (affiliate link)
- If you make your bread with dairy, it will only keep for one day on the counter (same storage method as plant-based milk), or in the fridge for a few days.
- To freeze, slice the bread and store it in a ziploc bag in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.
- To reheat your bread we recommend toasting. Toasted and slathered with butter or homemade jam is our favourite way to eat this bread!
Homemade Jam And Preserves That Would Be Perfect On Toasted English Muffin Bread!
Small Batch Maple Rhubarb Cardamom Jam
Recipe
Sourdough English Muffin Bread
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- 8 x 4 inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan
- Tea towel
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Small saucepan
- Wire rack
- Instant-read thermometer optional
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk, cow or plant milk both work, gently warmed until lukewarm
- 1 + ¼ cups active sourdough starter
- 1 + ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 + ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon water
Instructions
- On the stove top or in a microwave, warm the milk until lukewarm to the touch. Transfer it into a large mixing bowl and add the starter. Stir to combine.
- To the same bowl, add the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and sugar and, using a dough whisk or your hands, mix to form a sticky, wet dough.
- Cover with a lid and set aside in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size, about 2-3 hours. See notes.
- Once doubled, mix the baking powder and water together and stir the mixture into the dough until thoroughly combined. This will be a require a sturdy hand and the dough will get deflated, which is okay.
- Transfer dough to a greased 8 x 4 inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan and smooth it out as best as possible with the back of a spoon.
- Cover with a tea towel and place back in a warm, draft-free environment to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Bake until golden brown and bread begins to pull away from the pan, approximately 35-40 minutes. Alternatively, an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre of the loaf should read 200°F (95°C) when ready.
- Cool in the pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into it. Bread is best served toasted, warm, and slathered with your favourite spread.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.
Holly says
Hi, This recipe sound so good, but I can’t have wheat! Can I make this just with AP flour?
Thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Holly, you can use all white flour.
Liz says
Can I use unfed starter for this recipe?
Alexandra Daum says
No, the starter needs to be active for the dough to rise properly.
Cindy says
Hi Alexandra. Is it possible to mix all the ingredients and bake the bread in a bread machine? Basic cycle, light crust (2hr 40min). Thanx to you and anyone who has tried this.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Cindy, I don’t think it would work for this recipe, as it has a longer rising time and the baking powder is added at a later stage. Sorry!
Cindy says
Thanx for letting me know. I will be trying this recipe soon, like how it can be done the same day.
Luke says
Trying this now. Been semi actively working with my starter for a couple years now. Wanted to make english muffins without the kneading and cutting. Wondering if I should still stretch every 30 minutes or so during the fermentation…..
Glad this recipe was out there for me to find.
Sadie says
Excellent toasting bread. Loved the flavour with the whole wheat flour. Added a bit of orange zest. Both rises were longer than noted in the recipe. The proofed loaf was fragile/wobbly but domed nicely in the oven. The nooks and crannies in my loaf weren’t quite as deep as those in the recipe photo. Was great for grilled cheese sandwiches and French toast.
Linda says
I made this today and it was awesome!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I will surely make this again!
Diana says
I make regular English Muffin bead and also sourdough English Muffins that I let set for 24 hours or more. Would like to know if I can make this and let ferment for 24 hours? If so, how would I incorporate the baking soda. Thank you for your time.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Diana, I would use room temperature milk instead of warm, and then refrigerate the dough after it has doubled in size. When you’re ready to bake, bring the dough back up to room temperature, mix in the baking soda, and follow the remaining steps as written. I haven’t actually tested that method but don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Diana says
Hi. Is it baking soda or baking powder. I see baking powder in the recipe but see baking soda in one of the comments. Thanks.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Diana, please use baking powder.
Diana Paul says
Hi Alexandra. Thank you for your quick response on questions. How much sourdough in grams would this recipe be.
Alexandra Daum says
If you click the button that says ‘Metric’ above the ingredients, it will switch to gram measurements for you. Some of the older recipes on Baked include cup measurements for sourdough, but it can always be changed to see the metric amounts this way :)
Cathy says
This bread is absolutely delicious. I’ve been trying to make English muffins but this bread will be my new go to. Much less work than muffins. It has great taste and lots on nooks and crannies. I have to tell you that I did make a few mistakes when putting this together. I only put in 1 cup of starter and I accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder. I let the 2nd rise proof overnight which probably made it over proof slightly but my house is cold at night 64 degrees. Because of the longer proof, the loaf has a great sourdough sourness taste, that my husband and I loved. I can’t wait to try it again without my mistakes.