Easy Sourdough English Muffins

You only need a few ingredients for this sourdough English muffin recipe:

• Warm water: using warm water always jumpstarts your sourdough
• Flour: for consistent results, I like using regular all-purpose flour
• Butter: adding melted butter gives it a nice flavor
• Honey: this adds a bit of sweetness and increases the activity of your sourdough starter
• Salt: I always love using sea salt for my recipes
• Sourdough starter: if you don’t already have an active sourdough starter, you can learn more about my super simple way to make one
• Cornmeal: I use cornmeal to prevent the muffins from sticking to the cookie sheet and to give them their distinct appearance
• Cooking oil: you only need a small amount of a heat-proof oil such as avocado oil, coconut oil, or canola oil

Here are my favorite tools to make this recipe:

• Large mixing bowl: I love having a big bowl to mix the dough
• Danish dough hook: this recipe is quick enough that a Danish dough hook is perfect
• Rolling pin: using a wooden rolling pin ensures that the muffins have a nice smooth surface and the same height
• Round cutter: you can either use a biscuit cutter, round cookie cutter, or English muffin rings to create their round shape
• Cookie sheets: these are helpful for the second rise
• Cast iron skillet: I love using a 12″ cast iron pan but any large frying pan with a lid works
• Spatula: this tool makes flipping your muffins a breeze
• Wire rack: with a cooling rack, these muffins can cool down without getting soggy

Here are a few ideas for substitutions and variations for this recipe:

• Flour: While white flour produces light and fluffy muffins, you can also use spelt, einkorn, bread flour, or whole wheat flour.
• Honey: You can substitute regular sugar for the honey if you’d like to make these sourdough English muffins vegan
• Butter: Same here. You can use any oil with a neutral flavor instead of butter.
• Water: you can also use water or buttermilk instead of water
• Baking soda: I don’t think this is necessary but you could add 1 tsp of baking soda to get even fluffier English muffins (add this after the bulk fermentation)

We love having these sourdough English muffins for breakfast. Sometimes, we just add some homemade butter and jam. Or peanut butter and jelly. You can also make your favorite eggs benedict with them.

However, they are also perfect for sandwiches or as burger buns.

There are a lot more ways you can serve and enjoy your homemade sourdough English muffins.

You can make the dough and let it sit in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

I think these sourdough English muffins taste best fresh. What we don’t eat right away, we store in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days at room temperature. If they get too dry, you can crisp them up in the toaster.

For longer storage, you can also freeze them while they’re still slightly warm for 3-4 months. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving or warm them up in the toaster.

Easy Soft Sourdough Pretzels

Rustic Sourdough Cornbread

Sourdough Focaccia

Cast Iron Sourdough Waffles

Sourdough Crackers

Large Mixing Bowl

Danish Dough Hook

Biscuit cutter

12″ cast iron skillet

Organic corn meal

Here are the step-by-step instructions to make these English sourdough muffins:

Add your active starter, warm water, and honey to a large bowl. Mix until all the ingredients are well combined. Add the melted butter, salt, and flour. Mix into a shaggy, sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a beeswax wrap or plastic wrap and transfer the bowl to the refrigerator overnight for the first rise.

2. Roll and cut the dough:

The next day, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out to about ¾ inch thick. Using cookie cutters or English muffin rings, cut out as many dough circles as you can. I always like to roll up the remaining dough and cut out more muffins. Just know that those may not look quite as nice but will still taste great!

3. Second rise:

Sprinkle a cookie sheet with some corn meal or semolina flour. Place the muffins on the baking tray. You can sprinkle them with some more corn meal. Cover them with a tea towel (if you can keep them in a very warm place) or with some plastic wrap (if you need to let them rise longer at a lower temperature and to keep them from drying out). Let them rise until they look pillowy.

Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.

Depending on your stove, you may want to turn the heat to low. Add a small amount of a neutral oil to the skillet, add 3-5 muffins, and cover the skillet with a lid. Cook them for about 4 minutes, flip them, put the lid back on, and bake them for another 4 minutes or until golden brown on both sides. Cook them in batches until they are all done.

Transfer the muffins to a wire rack until completely cooled.

TIP: Split the sourdough muffins with a fork for all those distinct nooks and crannies. Simply stick a fork in the side of the muffin in about 4 places around the muffin and gently pull it apart with your fingers.

Yes, you can absolutely mix the dough in your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. I recommend mixing it on low speed. Just know that this is a bit of a wet dough.

If your muffins are not fully cooked on the inside, you can always finish them in a 350˚F oven or until done on the inside.

​Yes! You can easily cook the sourdough English muffins on a hot griddle.

Every stove is a little bit different. You may have to play with the heat settings until the muffins cook evenly without getting black on the outside.

Yes, you can use a neutral oil instead of butter and cane sugar instead of honey to make them completely vegan.