Mornings couldn’t be easier with these overnight, no-knead English muffins with freshly milled flour. Just mix up the night before and bake in the morning for a delicious and healthy breakfast.
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I love using fresh milled flour in all of our baking. Bread is just the start. Sheet pan pancakes. Crackers. Croutons. Danishes. They are all made with wheat berries milled in my electric grain mill.
So much baking in todays day and age is made with all purpose flour. If you are on the beginning of your journey of transferring from all purpose flour to fresh milled flour, it may be intimidating. But never, fear! There are plenty of easy recipes for you to being with.
English muffins with fresh milled flour is a great place to start. Simply mix up the ingredients the night before, then shape and bake in the morning. No kneading. No complicated instructions. And you are likely to have everything you need to make these easy English muffins recipe stocked in your pantry.
Is Fresh Milled Flour Really Better?
In the last decade or so, bread and grains have really been deemed bad. Gluten is evil. Bread makes you fat. And you should just really avoid carbs altogether. Or this is what the world declares. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Repeatedly throughout the gospels Jesus is seen eating bread. He even says “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). He has given us homemade bread to fill our bellies and nourish our bodies.
The bread sold in grocery stores today is made with bleached white flour and filled with all sorts of added, unnecessary ingredients. This is not real bread. Nor is it nourishing and I believe this commodity bread is what has given grains a bad rep.
Bread made with freshly milled flour is truly a health food. All parts of the grain — bran, germ and endosperm are left in tact when you mill your own flour, giving you a product that is truly full of life as well as fiber, vitamins, minerals and oils.
Tips
- Set the dough in a warm spot in your home for these English muffins to double in size overnight. I like to set mine on the kitchen counter since it is always toasty in that room.
- A biscuit cutter, cookie cutter or a mason jar ring (band) can be used to cut the muffins.
- I like to use a 3-inch cutter to shape the muffins, but you can use a smaller size biscuit cutter for more mini sized English muffins with fresh milled flour.
- Try not to twist the biscuit cutter when cutting the muffins. This will help to preserve the nooks and crannies inside the muffin as well as give it that traditional puffed look an English muffin has.
- Preheat the cast iron skillet so that it is nice and hot. Then reduce the temperature so that the English muffins cook through and rise properly instead of just burning the outside. I find a medium-low setting works well on my gas stovetop.
- Leftover English muffins are delicious when popped into the toaster.
What are the Ingredients in English Muffins?
Water – Warm water is best to help the muffins rise. But do not overheat the water as this will kill the yeast.
Honey – A tablespoon of honey feeds the yeast as well as acts as a preservative to help keep the English muffins from scratch, fresh and soft for a couple of days.
Yeast – Just a small amount helps the overnight English muffin recipe to rise and become puffy.
Oil – Organic extra virgin olive oil is a nice choice.
Fresh Milled Flour – What type of flour for English muffins? I recommend using either hard white wheat or hard red wheat. You can also use freshly milled spelt flour for these English muffins.
Salt
Tools You May Need
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Mixing bowl
Grain mill
Biscuit cutter
Rolling pin
How to Make English Muffins From Scratch
Makes: 12 muffins
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups warm water
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon oil
4 cups freshly milled hard white wheat flour
1 teaspoons salt
Directions
In a bowl, combine warm water, honey and yeast until creamy looking. Stir in the oil. Add flour and salt and mix until combined. The dough should be slightly moist and soft but not soggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise overnight, approximately 12 hours.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough to 3/4-inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut into disks. Place muffins on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with any remaining dough. Cover with a kitchen towel or loose plastic wrap and allow English muffins to rise at room temperature for 45 minutes.
Preheat a cast iron skillet. Transfer a couple English muffins to the hot pan. Bake for 4-6 minutes per side or until golden brown and puffed up. Using a spatula flip the muffin over and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes. If you find the muffins brown faster than expected, turn down the heat. The center should be cooked while the outsides should be brown but not burnt.
Place cooked muffins on a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter, jam or eggs and cheese.
FAQ
What to Cut English Muffins With?
While a knife does work to cut an English muffin open, the best option is a fork! This helps to keep the nooks and crannies in tact. To use a fork to split an English muffin, start by using the prongs on the fork to make holes around the center of the muffin. Then gently pull the muffin open with your hands.
What are You Supposed to Put on English Muffins?
English muffins make for a delicious vessel to add sweet or savory toppings. Grass fed butter, homemade jam, apple butter or raw honey is just the start. You can also spread on cream cheese like you would a bagel or top it with peanut butter and jelly. To turn your English muffins into a sandwich, add eggs, cheese, bacon or sausage between the top and bottom pieces of the muffins. Avocado would also make a nice addition.
Where is the Best Place to Store English Muffins?
When sealed in an airtight container, these healthy English muffins with fresh milled flour will last for 2 days at room temperature on the kitchen counter. To keep the muffins fresh you can store any leftovers in the freezer for a couple of months.
More Fresh Milled Flour Breakfast Recipes
Free Wheat Conversion Chart Printable
Easily convert a cup of wheat berries to fresh ground flour with this free printable chart. Click on the image above or on this link right here to instantly download and print. Great for hanging up on your fridge or attaching to the inside of a cabinet!
English Muffins with Fresh Milled Flour
Mornings couldn’t be easier with these overnight, no-knead English muffins with freshly milled flour. Just mix up the night before and bake in the morning for a delicious and healthy breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 4 cups freshly milled hard white wheat flour
- 1 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine warm water, honey and yeast until creamy looking. Stir in the oil. Add flour and salt and mix until combined. The dough should be slightly moist and soft but not soggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise overnight, approximately 12 hours.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough to 3/4-inch thick. Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut into disks. Place muffins on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with any remaining dough. Cover with a kitchen towel or loose plastic wrap and allow English muffins to rise at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet. Transfer a couple English muffins to the hot pan. Bake for 4-6 minutes per side or until golden brown and puffed up. Using a spatula flip the muffin over and cook for an additional 4-6 minutes. If you find the muffins brown faster than expected, turn down the heat. The center should be cooked while the outsides should be brown but not burnt.
- Place cooked muffins on a wire rack to cool. Serve with butter, jam or eggs and cheese.
Notes
- Set the dough in a warm spot in your home for these English muffins to double in size overnight. I like to set mine on the kitchen counter since it is always toasty in that room.
- A biscuit cutter, cookie cutter or a mason jar ring (band) can be used to cut the muffins.
- I like to use a 3-inch cutter to shape the muffins, but you can use a smaller size biscuit cutter for more mini sized English muffins with fresh milled flour.
- Try not to twist the biscuit cutter when cutting the muffins. This will help to preserve the nooks and crannies inside the muffin as well as give it that traditional puffed look an English muffin has.
- Preheat the cast iron skillet so that it is nice and hot. Then reduce the temperature so that the English muffins cook through and rise properly instead of just burning the outside. I find a medium-low setting works well on my gas stovetop.
