Momofuku English Muffins

Not counting pizza dough, I’ve made bread three times. That includes these Momofuku english muffins. You can google the recipe. They could be considered a pain in the ass to make, but I found it therapeutic on a weekend afternoon, the quiet mixing and comforting repetition.

The toughest part may have been dipping each side into the corn meal, as the dough tends to lose it’s shape, so you have to be very gentle with each one.

Then in they go to the cast iron skillet, mine could fit six at a time. The heat is almost as low as possible, to avoid burning the corn meal as each side of the muffin is gently cooked. This helps produce the famous “nooks ‘n crannies” of an English muffin, allegedly.

Eventually they will take on this color, and you can gently flip them. I use a thin pallet knife, ala Thomas Keller.

A fork is used to repeatedly pierce the equator of the muffin, until the muffin can be split into two with your hands. Again, this is for the integrity of the nooks.

I made a sandwich with my first batch. Some cured, smoked pork jowl that I had recently made, layered with pork tenderloin, and a few slices of chorizo. Finished with mayo and basil. All the pork is from Caw Caw Creek.

The muffins do take some time, but I was very pleased with them. Writing about them now, I think I need to make another batch.

Tagged as: bread, momofuku, muffins, pork