Cherry English Muffins

These cherry English muffins are probably the closest I've gotten to creating the "nook and cranny" English muffins for which we bakers strive. Plus they have cherries!!!

I've made English muffins before. The first ones I tried called for a really stiff dough, and the texture wasn't very airy at all. The second time I baked them, I used a much wetter dough, and was much happier with the results.

Both of the English muffin recipes call for browning them on a griddle, and then finishing them in the oven. This recipe uses an even wetter dough, and the dough is almost batter-like, kind of like crumpet batter. It is poured into English Muffin Rings on top of a griddle and never put into an oven.

These rings aren't very expensive, but they certainly are a specialty item. However, you could use them to contain fried or scrambled eggs for a breakfast sandwich, right? How about for shaping crab cakes? You could also use them on a griddle to make perfectly matched pancakes.

Now that we've justified the purchase of another kitchen gadget set, let's make some airy English muffins with cherries!

The dough for these muffins is mixed in advance and then immediately chilled. You leave it in the refrigerator for one to four days. On baking day, you fold baking soda and more water into the dough. I also added cherries, to go with our #TwelveLoaves theme.

Bottom line? These were really good, and excellent split with a fork, toasted, buttered, and spread with peach preserves. The combination of the cherries and the jam was pretty fabulous. Not your typical raisin English muffins.

Cherry English Muffins

Ingredients

2 tsp honey

1 T vegetable or olive oil

1 1/2 C lukewarm milk

12 ounces (340 g) unbleached bread flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp instant yeast
1/2 C dried cherries

1/4 tsp baking soda

3 T warm water

Corn meal or semolina flour for dusting

Instructions

1. Mix the honey, oil, milk, flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl with a dough whisk or large spoon. Mix for a few minutes, and then scrape down the bowl. Mix again for about 30 seconds, and then cover with plastic and refrigerate immediately.
2. About 2 hours before making the muffins, remove the bowl from the refrigerator.
3. When you are ready to make the muffins, mix the baking soda with the water.
4. Sprinkle the cherries over the dough.
5. Gently fold the water and soda into the dough. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. 
6. Heat a griddle over medium heat. If you are using an electric griddle, heat it to 300 degrees F. 
7. Spray the griddle and the muffin rings with spray oil.
8. Dust the inside of the rings with cornmeal or semolina. 
9. Mist a 1/3 C measuring cup with oil, add the dough, and pour it into a ring, about 2/3 full. 
10. Sprinkle cornmeal or semolina over each muffin once you've filled all of the rings. 
11. Cook for at least 12 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.
12. Flip the muffins over (including the rings), and cook for another 12 minutes. I cooked mine a bit longer just to make sure they were cooked through. 
13. The muffins are done when both sides are brown and the muffins are springy to the touch. 
14. Cool the muffins in their rings for 2 minutes, and then remove the rings. Cool the muffins on their edges to prevent shrinking for at least 30 minutes.

This recipe was adapted from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Everyday.