The BEST Sourdough English Muffins
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English muffins make the BEST breakfast sandwich and sourdough english muffins take breakfast sandwiches to a whole new sophisticated level. Sourdough english muffins can be tricky and not give us those signature bubbles we all know and love but I’ve got just the trick for that, resulting in bubbly, airy, soft, sweet and sour english muffins!
Bubbly, airy, and soft, English muffins are the perfect vehicle for butter. They also make amazing breakfast sandwiches or soup dippers.
Sourdough English muffins, however, can sometimes be less predictable. They often don’t achieve the same level of fluffiness as conventional muffins because wild yeast can be less resilient than commercial yeast, resulting in a denser texture after shaping.
But with this method, you’ll preserve all the gas and bubbles your natural yeast has worked so hard to create, ensuring your sourdough English muffins are as delightfully light and airy as you’d hope for!
The Secret to Bubbly Sourdough English Muffins
The secret to bubbly sourdough English muffins is to interfere with the gas production as little as possible!
Sourdough’s wild yeast has to work harder and longer than commercial yeast to create those perfect air pockets. Once the dough has become airy and bubbly, it’s important to handle it with care.
Gently dump the dough onto your surface and cut out the muffin circles, being mindful to preserve as many of those precious air pockets as possible. This delicate handling ensures your English muffins stay light and fluffy!
Why I Love Sourdough English Muffins
Sourdough English muffins are so easy to make and versatile to use. They are a great form of bread to make if you’re short on time or need something on-the-go.
All you need is the stovetop! If you don’t have an oven or your oven is broken, you can still have homemade bread by making sourdough English muffins!
They’re a perfect vessel for butter or any of your favourite breakfast ingredients.
They’re also an easy form of bread to make if you’re camping or living in an RV!
3 Ways To Serve English Muffins
- Using English muffins for breakfast sandwiches is hands down my favourite way to enjoy them. Add a little pesto, cheese, tomato, and a perfectly cooked egg, and you’ve got the perfect breakfast sandwich to serve to friends and family!
2. Simply drenched in butter is another great way to enjoy english muffins. Those airy pockets were practically made for soaking up butter and it’s absolutely delicious.
3. And of course, the classic peanut butter and jam combo is always a winner—simple, comforting, and satisfying.
Can I make these English Muffins with only All-Purpose Flour?
Yes! However, I would suggest lowering the water amount slightly as there will be no bran to hydrate in only all-purpose flour.
Using the full water amount with only all-purpose flour would result in a slightly wetter dough than you’d want.
More Sourdough Recipes You’ll Love
Simple Sourdough Bread for Beginner’s
The Best Seedy Sourdough Bread
Light Rye & Caraway Sourdough Bread
Soft Honey Wheat Sourdough Bread
Addictive Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers
Whole Wheat Sourdough Sticky Buns
Honey-Sweetened Sourdough Banana Bread
What You’ll Need To Make Sourdough English Muffins
Sourdough english muffins can be just as easy as making a loaf of sourdough bread.
Tools You’ll Need
Mixing Bowl: For mixing all your ingredients together.
Wooden Spoon: Perfect for mixing the dough without making a huge mess at the start.
Medium-Large Pan: A non-stick or well-seasoned cast-iron pan works best for cooking the English muffins.
Large Silicone Spatula: A large silicone spatula will help flip the muffins without damaging your pan or the dough.
Circle Cookie Cutter: Choose a 3-5 inch cutter, or get creative with a wide-mouth mason jar lid or an old yogurt container rim.
Ingredients You’ll Need
White Flour: All-purpose flour works great here.
Whole Wheat Flour: You can use conventional or freshly-milled, depending on your preference.
Water: Clean, drinking water is all you need.
Salt: Pink sea salt is my go-to, but any salt will work. Avoid ultra-processed, iodized salt if possible.
Sourdough Starter: Ensure it’s active, bubbly, and healthy! Learn how to tell if it’s ready here.
Cornmeal: This adds the classic signature coating to your English muffins.
How To Make Sourdough English Muffins
Prepare the Dough: In a medium mixing bowl, combine warm water, sourdough starter, white flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
Rest the Dough: Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for one hour.
Stretch and Fold: After resting, do a single round of stretch and folds around the dough to develop structure. Once smooth, cover the dough and let it rest until doubled in size (3-6 hours if in a warm spot, 6-12 hours if cooler).
Shape the Dough: Once the dough has doubled, generously sprinkle cornmeal on your work surface. Gently pour out the dough and spread it out with your hands. Once it’s large enough for 8 English muffin cut-outs, sprinkle more cornmeal on top, ensuring both sides of the dough are coated.
Cut the Muffins: Using a cookie cutter or similar object, cut out 8 circles and transfer them gently to a cutting board. If the dough starts to stick, add a bit more cornmeal. Cover the muffins with a cotton towel while you preheat your pan.
Preheat the Pan: Heat your non-stick or cast-iron pan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Cook the Muffins: Place as many dough circles as will fit in the pan, ensuring they aren’t touching. Cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. They should bubble up and develop a golden brown crust. If they’re burning, lower the heat and let the pan cool before continuing.
Cool and Serve: Once cooked, place the muffins on a cooling rack or back onto the cutting board with the cotton towel. Let them cool, then slice and enjoy, filled with a generous amount of butter to fill those perfect air pockets!
Storage
Let your muffins cool completely before storing to prevent moisture buildup and sogginess.
Store in an airtight container or resealable bag to keep them fresh.
For longer storage (up to a week), refrigerate in a sealed container or bag to prevent mold.
You can also freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. Wrap each muffin individually in plastic or foil to avoid freezer burn.
Pro-Tip
Pre-slice your English muffins before freezing for easy toasting straight from the freezer!
Sourdough English Muffins
Ingredients
- 1½ cups All-Purpose Flour 250g
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour 125g
- 1¼ cup Water 250g
- 2 tsp Salt 10g
- 1 cup Active Sourdough Starter 150g
- 1/4 cup Cornmeal more or less for coating
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a medium mixing bowl, combine warm water, sourdough starter, white flour, whole wheat flour, and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- Rest the Dough: Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for one hour.
- Stretch and Fold: After resting, do a single round of stretch and folds around the dough to develop structure. Once smooth, cover the dough and let it rest until doubled in size (3-6 hours if in a warm spot, 6-12 hours if cooler).
- Shape the Dough: Once the dough has doubled, generously sprinkle cornmeal on your work surface. Gently pour out the dough and spread it out with your hands. Once it's large enough for 8 English muffin cut-outs, sprinkle more cornmeal on top, ensuring both sides of the dough are coated.
- Cut the Muffins: Using a cookie cutter or similar object, cut out 8 circles and transfer them gently to a cutting board. If the dough starts to stick, add a bit more cornmeal. Cover the muffins with a cotton towel while you preheat your pan.
- Preheat the Pan: Heat your non-stick or cast-iron pan on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
- Cook the Muffins: Place as many dough circles as will fit in the pan, ensuring they aren't touching. Cover with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. They should bubble up and develop a golden brown crust. If they’re burning, lower the heat and let the pan cool before continuing.
- Cool and Serve: Once cooked, place the muffins on a cooling rack or back onto the cutting board with the cotton towel. Let them cool, then slice and enjoy, filled with a generous amount of butter to fill those perfect air pockets!
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Would this recipe work without whole wheat flour, just the all purpose? I don’t have any on hand and would still like to make this recipe!
Yes! I’d reduce the water amount a little to 3/4 cup (225g) just to be safe. Since there isn’t any bran to hydrate in only all-purpose flour, you’ll need a little less water to get the right dough texture 🙂
These are perfect! So simple to make and nailed it on the first go, will definitely be a staple as we love eggs Benny on the weekends!
Ahh, I’m so happy you had success! Perfect for eggs benny, delicious!
I’m assuming that I use active bubbly starter?
Yes! I’ll make that clear in the post, thanks:) Goodluck!
Would it be possible to prep the dough and set them in the fridge overnight?
Prep the muffins or the dough? I would let the dough sit in the fridge overnight and then let it come to room temp in the morning before cutting out the muffins. The key is to have the dough very gassy and jiggly when it’s baking time so you have the large air pockets!
I am confused about your measurments. For example: 1 1/2 cups of flour is actually 175 grams not 250 as in your recipe. 1 1/4 cup of water is actually equal to 300 grams, not 250. Did you use the right conversions for this recipe?
Do you personally bake with the cup measurements or the gram measurements? My muffins came out very different than what is shown.
Hey, sorry it didn’t work out for you! I just double checked my cup to gram measurements and they were fairly accurate. I personally measure in grams as it’s more accurate and consistent but try to accommodate those that don’t have a kitchen scale. However, there can be quite the variation when cup measuring so perhaps I should just stick with grams. Thanks for your input! Hope you were able to make bread crumbs or french toast with your attempt 🙂
These were the best!!! And my new favorite! I have tried so many recipes and yours was the easiest. Same day. Excellent flavor. I used some as hamburger buns and they worked wonderfully. I read the previous comments so I was careful to gently stretch the dough. And since I only had white flour, I reduced the water. I was also amazed at how quickly they cooked.
WAAHHOOOO! Soo glad you liked them! Using for burger buns is genius.. lots of pockets for condiments and burger juices!
This is the second time I have made this recipe. Love that there is whole wheat flour in them! Couldn’t be better!!!!
Wahooo! So glad you love them!
Love this recipe! I’ve made them many times now. The last few times I’ve actually shaped into discs after the stretch and fold and a 30 minute rest period. Makes more than 8 muffins with no waste!
Soo glad you like it! And love that, the less waste the better!
I am. new to SD cooking.
I have started the process up to and including the stretch and folds. which would be better because of lack of time, put in frig now and let it rise in the .morning or let it rise to night then put in the frig until tomorrow morning?
Depends on how much time you have tmrw! Could take some hours in the morning to reach rising temperature if you put in the fridge now. If you let it rise until night then place in the fridge, might only need to come to room temperature before proceeding with the next steps 🙂
Hard to say though! Don’t know what time zone you’re in or temperature haha but I’d let it rise until night and place in the fridge 🙂
Goodluck!
my dough is pulling apart when I try to stretch it to cut the muffins. what am I doing wrong? I refrigerated the d p ugh last night and let it rise today, or so o thought. what do I do now?
hey! it’s hard to say since I can’t see it or know the conditions you’re in but it could be that the dough is too tight and needs some time on the counter to relax before stretching and cutting. Or, if it is very sticky and falling apart, it may have over-fermented. Check out the youtube video attached to the post if you haven’t already and see if there’s something in there that can help answer your question.
Don’t be discouraged if they don’t work out, learning sourdough is a long game but very worth it. Stick to it!
I don’t see a you tube video. what is it titled?
https://youtu.be/Utt3gpUDHLk?si=ijGCbiV_AAnPRmDI hope it helps!
First time with the recipe I made as written using AP and WW flour. Came out good but didn’t puff as much as I would have liked. Taste was great, though. Second batch made today with all AP flour (and the reduced amout of water as suggested). Dough proofed fabulously and was quite bubbly. As suggested I again used low heat but it was taking awhile for the muffins to cook (and brown) and they weren’t puffing up much. For the second batch I turned the heat up just a bit. Bingo!! First side ready in 3 minutes and this time the bottoms were very nicely browned and the muffins were a bit bubbly and at least double in height!!! Cooked another 3 minutes and temp was 200. Perfect. All I needed was little more heat! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. Guess I didn’t want them to burn. Really love this “done in a day” recipe and also the simple ingredients. Thank you!!!
Wow! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, so glad you stuck to it and figured out how to make it work in your kitchen, love that!
Perhaps I should make a note to add more heat if need be. I’ve gotten the puff and crisp on higher heat but it got too dark before the inside was baked all the way through, it was tragic! Lol
Hi, I’m makinf SD first time. Can I use yeast, instead of active sourdough starter? Then how? Also, I’m going to use all purpose flour with less water instead of whole wheat flower, as you mentioned in other comments! I would appreciate your recommendation for it. Thanks!