Love the smell of homemade bread? This whole wheat english muffin recipe is a fabulous breakfast or lunch option, one that’s surprisingly easy to prepare. Homemade english muffins have much more flavor than anything you’ll buy at the store, as well as a satisfying, crunchy exterior.
I don’t typically use a lot of bread products. I’m not exactly a low carb gal, but bread has always been a slippery slope for me.
Regardless of whether it’s a fresh artisan loaf from the local bakery or pre-sliced potato bread from the grocery store, if there’s bread around, I find myself eating more of it than I should.
There are two exceptions to this: sprouted ezekiel bread and english muffins. For whatever reason, I don’t feel compelled to binge on either of these.
When I have some extra time, I especially love making english muffins from scratch.
I enjoy making both regular and whole wheat english muffins. The whole wheat version has an added earthiness that I find irresistible with egg sandwiches, for some reason.
There’s just more flavor happening. I don’t use all whole wheat here, and I don’t recommend it. The results are too dense and dry.
Using a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour gives me exactly the results I’m seeking.
Cooking these english muffins in a skillet before baking them creates the traditional nook and cranny appearance we’re all used to, but their texture is slightly more dense than supermarket counterparts.
Feel free to play around with the ratio of whole wheat to all-purpose flour. At some point soon I plan to try creating a version of these that uses my sourdough starter instead of yeast. I think that will add even more flavor and lightness.
Baking With Yeast
This recipe uses active dry yeast. Yeast is an ingredient many novice bakers fear, and I’d like to change that! So what is yeast, and how does it work? Can you substitute one variety for another? Check out my article What is Yeast to learn more!
More Bread Recipes
If you’re looking for some other homemade bread ideas, you should check out my cheddar brioche buns and my buttery sourdough buns! I also love this Soft Whole Wheat Bread from Baking a Moment.
Whole Wheat English Muffins
Ingredients
- 10 1/4 ounces whole wheat flour (2 1/4 cups)
- 11 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 3/4 cups whole milk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting
Instructions
- Whisk together the flours, salt, sugar, baking soda and yeast.
- In a small saucepan, warm the milk and butter over medium heat until the butter has just melted. Let the milk cool for several minutes until it's lukewarm.
- In a stand mixer with the dough attachment, combine the milk and butter with the egg and dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Allow it to mix on medium speed for an additional minute. This can also be accomplished without a stand mixer, by combining the ingredients in a bowl and then kneading the dough briefly.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out to approximately 3/4-inch thickness (they will puff up while cooking). Use a round cutter (approximately 3 3/4 inches) to cut the english muffins, re-rolling the dough as needed. Place the cut dough on a baking sheet dusted with semolina flour or cornmeal. Cover the baking sheet with a towel and allow the dough to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes, up to 90 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Use a nonstick skillet on low heat to cook the muffins for 4-5 minutes per side, until crispy and brown. Finish cooking the muffins in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Before serving, fork split and toast the english muffins. These will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature, or for several months in the freezer.
Video
Notes
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Julie @ Table for Two says
I adore English muffins and your photos are knock out gorgeous!!
Jennifer Farley says
Thanks Julie! I eat them at least 3x a week for breakfast so I think this is a keeper.
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Jen I love this whole thing! First that you were able to work whole wheat flour in (it can be tricky as any breadmaker knows to get the rise and lack of density) AND that you’re making your own muffins. And the photos are stunning. I would buy that wood plank off you in a heartbeat if you ever want to sell it. Pinned!
Jennifer Farley says
Thanks Averie! I’m eager to start playing around with the flour ratio. I thought 50/50 was delicious but I’m curious to see if 70/30 or even 80/20 still works.
Leah says
Did either of the higher ratios work for you?
Elizabeth Acosta says
Well I just used 100% whole wheat flour (I was unaware that whole wheat flour can cause issues with rising – I’m new to using yeast and in several batches of bread I’ve made I did the same thing and had no issues). This time though it didn’t rise at all until I put them on the stove top to toast the sides, but even then it was just barely. I’m thinking next time I make these (and there will be a next time, they still turned out delicious even though they are flat), I’m going to let the yeast activate in the milk/butter mixture before mixing it with the rest of dry ingredients and hope that helps since that’s how I did the bread batches. Also possibly adding a touch more milk because they are a tad bit dry. But like I said, delicious, my one and a half year old just ate one plain and loved it!
Liz says
In my experience (and through a fair amount of research), you’re exactly right about it needing more liquid. Whole wheat flour absorbs more and therefore needs more to attain the said fluffy, soft consistency as baked goods made with AP flour. If you add an additional 2 tsps of liquid for each cup of whole wheat flour that you substitute, you should get closer to the original. Also, it usually helps to let the dough rest a little before you knead so that the flour absorbs some of the liquid. Otherwise, the dough will be sticky and you’ll have to add more flour, which will just defeat the purpose of adding the additional water. I plan on trying these in the next few days with all whole wheat flour; hopefully they turn out!
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite says
I eat an english muffin every morning for breakfast. These look great and better than the store bought ones.
natalie @ wee eats says
These look beyond perfect, I know you said they weren’t as “nook and cranny”-y as you’re used to, but I bet they’re still delicious!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Oh I love these, the nooks and crannies are perfect to catch every drip of butter! (or PB, if I’m trying to be slightly more nutritions ;))
Tieghan says
Jen, these are stunning! I cannot wait to give them a try. I love english muffins!
Renee @ Awesome on $20 says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. So many people, including me, have to make difficult decisions at the grocery store every day. We want to buy the best quality ingredients, but it’s just not possible. The other day, my family of three ate at Taco Bell for $10. I just went to the store to buy ingredients to make homemade tacos and spent $30. It’s crazy. I definitely need to try making my own English muffins because I can’t afford to pay five bucks for them at the store. I really appreciate this post.
Tracey says
My husband eats an English muffin every single day of the week and though I haven’t quite figured out how to keep up with his needs, I’m trying :) These look fantastic, can’t wait to try them!
Kate says
For english muffins, and for a lot of yeast breads actually, you can make up a bigger batch and refrigerate any extra dough (before shaping and letting them rise). Then bring to room temp and continue another day. Or, just make a bunch extra and freeze them, then pop them straight into the toaster!
Jennifer @ Not Your Momma's Cookie says
They came out perfect! It is nice when you can make some pantry staples from scratch :)
Grubarazzi says
This is really impressive! I love english muffins and I hear fresh muffins are 100x better. I am looking forward to hearing how they turn out with almond milk.
Erin | The Law Student's Wife says
Jen, I can totally understand where you are coming from (supporting the student husband). I’ve started baking our bread, but haven’t tacked English muffins. I love that you used whole wheat flour, and I’m sure these taste outstanding. Way to go!
Amy @ Elephant Eats says
These are so pretty!!! I would never have guessed they didn’t come out of a grocery bag…but I bet they taste so so much better. It’s so hard to budget food…supermarkets can be so expensive.
Kathryn says
These are perfect looking – what a great thing to make for scratch for breakfast or lunch!
Mackenzie {SusieFreakingHomemaker} says
Ok – I love english muffins and I never thought to just make them – duh! Beautiful photos as usual, I love the moody look!!
Erika says
These look AMAZING!! I’ve always avoided making English muffins because I thought you needed the English muffin rings or whatever to make them, but this seems like such an easy, accessible technique. I can’t wait to try them! That first photo is just gorgeous!