Baked English Muffins
I am happy to share with you a great recipe created by my friend and amazing baker Cambell MacFarlane. I had never tried baked English muffins before, but when Cambell sent me the book, “Knead Peace,” which includes this recipe, I couldn’t wait to give it a try. I used metal rings measuring 9cm x 4cm to achieve perfectly shaped muffins.
Additionally, I made a few adjustments by omitting the egg, increasing the sugar slightly (to 45g), and reducing the amount of salt (to 11g). The result was absolutely perfect. I highly recommend giving it a try yourself.
What makes these baked English muffins so unique is their wonderfully soft interior paired with a thin, lightly golden crust. Unlike traditional stovetop English muffins, which are cooked directly on a griddle, these oven-baked muffins develop a beautifully even texture while still maintaining those signature airy pockets that are perfect for catching melted butter, jam, or honey. They slice beautifully and toast exceptionally well, making them ideal for breakfast sandwiches or a simple morning treat with coffee or tea.
Cambell’s recipe creates a dough that is both approachable and rewarding to work with. The fermentation develops a gentle depth of flavor, while the slightly enriched dough keeps the muffins tender and flavorful without becoming heavy. My small adjustments helped create a balance that suited my own taste preferences perfectly — slightly sweeter, less salty, and still wonderfully soft and structured.
Using metal rings made a big difference in achieving tall, evenly shaped muffins with clean edges and a professional bakery-style appearance. During baking, the dough rises beautifully within the rings, creating impressive height and a light, fluffy crumb. Watching them puff up in the oven was incredibly satisfying.
One of the best things about this recipe is how versatile these English muffins are. They can be enjoyed freshly baked with butter, turned into breakfast sandwiches, topped with eggs and avocado, or simply toasted until crisp and golden. Their soft texture also makes them perfect for children and family breakfasts.
I also appreciate how this recipe combines simplicity with excellent results. Even if you’ve never made English muffins before, the process feels approachable and enjoyable from start to finish. Once you taste them homemade, warm from the oven, it becomes very difficult to go back to store-bought versions. The flavor, freshness, and texture are on an entirely different level.
| Ready in: 2 hours | Serves: 12 people |
| Yield: 12 x 80g English muffins | Units: US, E |
Ingredients
Dough
- 300g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting
- 245g bread flour
- 8g dry instant yeast
- 14g salt
- 70g sugar
- 55g unsalted butter, softened or lard
- 1 egg
- 180g full-fat (whole) milk
- 180g warm water
- oil, for greasing
- Semolina or Corn flour, for dusting
Directions
- Place the flours in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the dried yeast on one side of the flour and the salt on the other side.
- Add the sugar, butter, and milk, egg , then mix all the ingredients together to make a soft dough. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix for 10 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.
- Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size.
- Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Place the dough on the floured surface and weigh it out into 80g pieces.
- Lightly dust 2 baking trays (sheets) with semolina or corn flour. Shape each piece of dough into a ball.
- Place 6 greased metal rings on each tray and place a piece of dough into each ring.
- Cover the muffins and leave to prove until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (335°F).
- Bake the muffins in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Then carefully turn each muffin ring over and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
Baked English Muffins
Ingredients
- 300 g 300g Plain (all-purpose) flour plus extra for dusting
- 245 g 245g Bread Flour
- 8 g 8g Dry Instant Yeast
- 14 g 14g Salt
- 70 g 70g Sugar (Note: Natalya uses 45g sugar and omits the egg for her personal preference variation)
- 55 g 55g Unsalted butter (softened) or lard
- 1 1 Whole egg
- 180 g 180g Full-fat (whole) milk
- 180 g 180g Warm water
- Neutral oil (for greasing the bowl and metal rings)
- Semolina flour or corn flour (for dusting the baking sheets)
Equipment
- 12 12x Metal Muffin Rings (Ideally 9cm x 4cm)
- 2 2x Large Baking Sheets
- Stand Mixer (with dough hook attachment)
- Kitchen Scale (Essential for dividing precise 80g portions)
- Plastic Wrap or Lint-Free Kitchen Towel
Method
- Dry Setup: In your stand mixer bowl, combine the plain flour and bread flour. Sprinkle the dry instant yeast on one side of the flour and the salt on the exact opposite side.
- Combine Liquids: Add the sugar, softened butter (or lard), whole milk, egg, and warm water into the bowl.
- Knead: Attach the dough hook and mix on low speed for 10 minutes until the ingredients transition from a shaggy mass into a soft, smooth, and stretchy dough.
- Bulk Rise: Shape the dough into a ball and place it inside a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly and leave it to rise at warm room temperature for roughly 1 hour (or until completely doubled in size).
- Prep Trays: Lightly dust your two large baking sheets with a generous layer of semolina flour or corn flour. Thoroughly grease the insides of your 12 metal muffin rings with oil and place 6 rings onto each tray.
- Portion: Lightly dust your workspace with flour. Tip out the proofed dough and use a kitchen scale to cut and weigh out exact 80g pieces.
- Shape Buns: Roll each 80g piece into a tight, smooth ball. Place one dough ball directly into the center of each greased metal ring on your baking trays.
- Final Proof: Cover the trays loosely with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough proof for about 30 minutes until the muffins fill out the rings and double in volume.
- Oven Prep: Preheat your oven to 170°C (335°F).
- Bake Phase 1: Slide the trays into the oven and bake undisturbed for 20 minutes.
- Bake Phase 2 (The Flip): Carefully pull the trays out. Using tongs or oven mitts, carefully grip each hot metal ring and turn the muffin completely upside down. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes to ensure an even, flat golden crust on both sides. Let cool before slicing.
Nutrition
Notes
- Fixing the Liquid/Water Consistency: Several readers noted in the comments that combining both 180g of milk and 180g of water can make this dough feel incredibly sticky and loose. If your flour isn’t absorbing the liquids quickly, do not dump extra raw flour into the mixer. Instead, try reducing the liquid water to 100g initially, adding an extra 10g at a time only if the dough looks too dry. If it is already sticky, cover it and let it rest undisturbed for 30 minutes to naturally hydrate before shaping.
- Natalya’s Personal Recipe Adaptations: The ingredient list reflects the official Knead Peace book metrics, but you can easily use Natalya’s tested modifications for a lighter profile: completely omit the 1 whole egg, reduce the total salt down to 11g, and adjust the sugar down to 45g.
- DIY English Muffin Ring Substitutes: If you do not own professional 9cm metal muffin rings, you can easily craft homemade alternatives! Use clean, empty tuna cans with both the top and bottom lids completely cut out, or use the metal screw-bands from wide-mouth Mason canning jars. Just ensure they are thoroughly greased before use so the expanding dough doesn’t stick.
- How to Correctly Slice an English Muffin: To maximize those famous internal “nooks and crannies” that catch pools of melted butter, never cut an English muffin in half with a standard kitchen knife. A flat knife blade shears off the internal air pockets, smoothing them over. Instead, stab the perimeter of the baked muffin repeatedly with the tines of a dinner fork, then gently pull the two halves apart by hand.
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Hello… the recipe looks easy to execute, but what do I use if I don’t have the ring molds? What can I use
I’m going to try using discarded metal cans with the bottoms cut out..washed thoroughly they should work…just need to find the right size…
I have seen where people use canning jar rings or shallow tin cans (like tuna) with the top and bottom removed
This is such a great idea on its face and then I remembered most cans are lined with plastics so be mindful of which you choose! Darn!
Where can I purchase the English muffin tins?
And your recipe needs correcting.
And reply to your audience. Would be nice manners.
I believe just making balls with a bit of tension will work well, never tried before though
Same as all the other questions, not sure if adding the water is right or wrong, I added both and the dough was really sticky. Could someone answer if the water is a mistake in the recipe or not. Thanks in advance.
amazon
You can roll out the dough, cut out the muffins and proof/fry them free form. It works well, I’ve done it plenty of times like that.
Use wide mouth Quart jar rings !! I do, and it works for cooking eggs too, if you spray the ring 😊
The rings she used are linked in her post! 💚
You could use hamburger bun pans also
You could make homemaid rings by cutting 28 cms x 4 cms cardboard straps for each ring, overlapping both ends to get 9 cms of diameter and stapling them. Then wrap each piece with aluminum foil
You could make homemaid rings by cutting 28 cms x 4 cms cardboard straps for each ring, overlapping both ends to get 9 cms of diameter and stapling them. Then wrap each piece with aluminum foil.
Hi, Natasha. Thanks for the recipe.
Could I use starter instead of yeast, how do you think. And is it about 70 gr of starter, isn’t it?
I’d love to know as well.
I asked her this question on her instagram post and she said to use 30-40% starter and use a little less water. Ferment for 2-4 hrs.
I used 163g starter and they are just in the rings doubling before baking right now. fingers crossed they are as good as hers look!
How did using 163g of starter work out for you? I am trying to do the same and curious how much to use. Thank you for any advice!
You don’t need rings, I have done it without and it works great.
Can I use sourdough starter instead of yeast?
Hi did you buy the 3.5inch or 4 inch ring moulds ,
These are beautiful! Is there a way to make them with sourdough?
Thank you in advance
Hi Natasha,
You said you omitted the egg and increased the sugar, but egg is still in the recipe, and the sugar amount is not 45g as you mentioned.
I think she posted the recipe from the original author and just made the comment of the changes she made. It is up to us which one we will select.
Just a note that neither the book original or your version mentions adding the water (which I assume is added with the milk in step 2).
TLDR? Don’t forget to add water. It’s not mentioned in recipe.
Should’ve read the comments first. I didn’t add the water and my dough was very crumbly and not incorporating, added the water in an attempt to save it afterwards and then it was very sticky and I had to add more flour to get it to incorporate.
Hi Natasha !
Same question about the water : it’s mentionned in the ingredients, but not in the directions. I’ve tried the recipe with both milk and water – that makes a hydration rate of 66 %, and the dough was really sticky and demanded lots of kneading. I went through the whole process, the result was E-X-C-E-L-L-E-NT-, but I’m not sure this is the texture we want to obtain for an English muffin. I’ll try a second time without the water.
Thank you anyway for all your beautiful work !
Question is the water added to the dough mixture or do you use it in a cast iron pan in the oven for steam??
As the water is mentioned in the list of ingredients and not in the directions do we need to add?
I did add the water but it made it difficult to shape the muffins because the dough was really sticky.
Same here! I’m confused when to add it and my dough was also super sticky
Hi
Any answers on the water being added by above mentioned bakers?
So happy accident in my kitchen. I followed the recipe but for some reason my eyes skipped over the water part and I ended up completely omitting this and also ended up using active dry yeast instead of instant dry yeast. After I added the wet ingredients to the dry I noticed it was still dry. Instead of looking at the recipe again, I ended up adding a few more splashes of milk in it. I would estimate it was between 200 and 210g in total i added. I suggest you add 10g of milk until you get a not too sticky dough. After this I continued with the recipe and ended up baking them at 350 degrees for 35 min, flipping them over half way. They came out so fluffy and ended up using for meal prepping breakfast sandwiches
Baked english muffin is a different concept which looks so tasty. Making a muffin with a good quality is not easy. There is a lot of expertise that we need to do if we want to make it the perfect one. Your information is very helpful.
Thank you for your kind words! We’re glad you found the information helpful. Baking a delicious English muffin does require some expertise, but with practice and the right recipe, you can definitely achieve that perfect muffin. If you have any more questions or need further tips, feel free to ask!
Your recipe – as written has water – but it does not indicate when to incorporate it. I’m assuming it’s the same time as the milk?
Thanks for the clarification!
Hello, I came across your recipe for sourdough bread and was surprised to see that english muffins were not made with sourdough. Give them a try. They are delicious with sourdough.
Do we add the water or not . I haven’t seen a reply yet
I am currently using Chad Robertsons recipe for English muffins and it calls for a long cold ferment before baking in a cast iron on the stove top. I want to bake the muffins with my current recipe in rings. Should I divide them into 80g after the cold ferment and put in rings to rise or divide into 80g before cold ferment? Thanks. I love your recipes and tips.
I have decided not to try your muffins since you haven’t answered anyone about the decrepencies in your recipe dealing with the water, and changes to amounts of ingredients.
You really should answer the questions people have!
I added a bunch of details in comments. Feel free to reply to me if you want any help. It’s a good recipe from someone else anyway
Made this tonight and the interior is slightly different then what we are used too from an English muffin. however having said that, these where delicious.
Add the water with the milk.
No egg ( otherwise we would get more of a brioche dough bread)
And she decreased the sugar to 45g.
Hope that helps
Good recipe’ the only thing I do different is to have a bowl of cornmeal and after I roll the balls I just put them in the bowl and roll them around to get the cornmeal on. Less of a mess and saves on the cornmeal.
How do you make the wild blueberry version?
Recipe as is works fine. Dough is sticky. Not a big deal. Run mixer on high. After it rises it’ll be fine to work with a ball as long as you have a dough scraper on hand. I normally try recipes as written for a baseline.
Some hopefully helpful tips.
1) yes use the water and the milk or water and half and half or cream etc. Easy enough to just bloom the yeast in the water. Tare a scale with a 500ml glass measuring cup. Weigh the g or ml as it’s called for with water. Hit it in the micro wave for 20 seconds. Temp it. At 90-95 add the enormous amount of yeast. Add 20g of the sugar. Let go for 10 minutes or so. You can direct mix everything except the salt and the butter. Add the above bloomed yeast. The bread flour. AP flour. Rest of the sugar. Milk. Fine to go on slow. It’ll come together easy. Then add salt after a couple minutes. Then add butter in small pieces which will make the dough sticky. Increase the mixer speed for 5 minutes. Don’t add more flour. Don’t sweat it being loose. It’s fine. Use a spatula and put it on the counter. No extra flour. Grab a dough scraper. Use that to pull it in. You can use this as practice for making baguettes as a next step so don’t give in and use flour. Scrape towards the side and then come under the bottom and kinda turn it all clockwise. Do that a handful of times. I oil the mixing bowl and let the rise for an hour happen in there. Put a piece of plastic wrap on the scale. Tare it. Then weight the final ball. Divide by 12. Then use the dough cutter to cut chunks and weight them. It’s be sticky but not that bad. Have a bowl with the semolina flour. Small one is fine. Weight the balls. 80-90g. Try to shape them by stretching over the pieces and almost make a tiny ice cream cone. Drop on the counter. Twirl it with the scraper a couple times. Keep the top as the top and put both sides on the semolina. Then inside the molding. The baking temp in the recipe is pretty on target. Do the 20 and flip for 5. Rotate half way with the 2 trays inside the oven. I have a pizza steel so I finished mine on that for a couple of minutes on each side instead of the extra 5 minutes for color. Overall it’s a good recipe. I used all the sugar and the egg and I landed at about 75% bread flour and 25% AP flour. As mentioned before it’s good practice to work with a sticky dough in case you want to make bread or pizza dough in the future.
I made the English muffins using the posted recipe as it is, including the water. The result was a very sticky dough. I fixed it by adding 4 tablespoons of flour, kneading it by hand after using the mixer for 10 minutes, then letting the dough rest for 15 minutes, folding it 4 times and repeating the process of resting and folding 4 more times.
The dough became very manageable, elastic and velvety.
Next time, instead of adding more flour, I will add the water to the dough in small amounts until I get the desired texture, so maybe I won’t use all the grams mentioned in the recipe.
Just cover the dough and leave it alone for 30 minutes if it’s sticky. Adding flour is never the answer for dough. Let it rest. Then make folds coming under from the sides and lifting and folding.
Tried it for the first time and even ordered the muffin forms specifically for this recipe, so excited I was 🙂 I read through the comments and couldn’t find any truth regarding the water (if it’s needed or not), and I ended up following someone’s advice and added about 230g of liquid, but 180 of this was milk and the rest – water. I personally think that if I added more, it wouldn’t come out as a workable dough. With that, dough was easy to work with, but I still failed:
1) even though I left out the buns in the forms more than for two hours, they didn’t raise as much (just about 1,5 times), and based on the photos from the recipe I assumed it will raise in the oven more BUT I think this photo (first photo of them in the oven) is actually how they are supposed to raise before going into oven. I would appreciate details on this in the recipe 🙁
2) Apart from the obvious mistakes or typos (whatever it is) and inconsistent proportions of sugar, liquid etc in the recipe, I also find it confusing that nowhere it says that you actually need to use cornflower to cover the buns before baking, and I figured it out too late by looking at the accompanying photos. I find it very inaccessible.
To sum up, thank you for making this a free recipe, I world be mortified if I had to pay for this 😅 I will try again and experiment more.
Thank you Natasha! Can I use your recipe to bake/make a bread loaf?
Just did ! And I love it.Thank you for sharing your recipe