Sourdough English Muffins

If you've made sourdough bread you know the conundrum of what to do with all that leftover starter. It feels wrong to throw it away. After all, you worked so hard to grow it! Well, I have found my favorite use for that extra starter; Sourdough English Muffins. The difference in taste from these Sourdough English Muffins versus store bought is staggering. I may never eat store bought again.

Let's get started. When I feed my starter, (which for me is usually weekly since I store it in the fridge when I'm not baking), I also feed the leftover to be able to make the Sourdough English Muffins the next day. The Sourdough English Muffin dough will need to sit overnight so you can bake the next morning.

I mix up 135g of starter, 1 1/4 cup of water and 400g of unbleached all purpose flour in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit on your counter overnight.

In the morning, the dough will have doubled or tripled and look like this.

Now we will add 2 t. salt, 2 t. baking soda and 35g of honey and mix well. You can start cooking right away or let the dough sit for 10-15 minutes.

Ready your cooking materials by heating a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Put 1 cup of flour on a dinner plate and have a cooling rack and spatula handy.

Take a large spoonful of the muffin dough and drop it into the flour. Roll the dough in the flour a bit and then shape into a ball with your hands. I have noticed the muffins rise better in the pan if I take the time to keep incorporating flour into the dough ball by squeezing the dough in my hands and then putting it back on the plate and rolling it in more flour. I repeat this step until the dough doesn't get sticky in my hands as I shape it. If you can't squeeze/roll it into a ball without it sticking then roll it in more flour.

Drop the ball into the hot cast iron skillet. I can fit four into my cast iron skillet and cover with a lid large enough to cover the skillet without touching the muffins. I use one of my large pot All Clad lids. Let the muffins cook covered for 4 minutes and then flip and cook covered 4 minutes on the second side. Remove the cooked muffins to a wire rack to cool.

My favorite way to eat these muffins is toasted with butter and salt or toasted with fresh homemade jam like blueberry or peach. My husband slathers peanut butter and honey on his. They don't last long in our house!