Salt Free Sourdough English Muffins
Submitted by bivs99 on July 13, 2004 at 12:19 pm

DESCRIPTION
Salt-Free Sourdough English Muffins

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under sourdough

INSTRUCTIONS
This recipe was inspired by chard's wonderful Sourdough English Muffins. As well as omitting the salt, I have doubled the amount of sourdough starter, made the dough wetter, and added my own preparation instructions.

The key to getting that holey English muffin texture is a very wet dough and a long kneading time, so follow recipe directions carefully for best results.

Makes 12 standard-size muffins (about 2 oz each)

224 g (8 oz; 1 cup) active sourdough starter
240 g (8 oz; 1 cup) milk--soy milk may be substituted
224 g (8 oz; 2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus 84 g (3 oz; 3/4 cup) additional
12 g (1 tablespoon) sugar--or use 1 tablespoon Splenda
1 1/2 teaspoons sodium-free baking soda (or 2 teaspoons regular)

Combine starter, milk and the first 224g flour in the bowl of a standing mixer. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and ferment in a warm place for a couple of hours, until light and bubbly. (If you wish to leave it overnight, ferment for an hour at room temperature and then refrigerate. In the morning, allow to warm up before proceeding.)

When the starter is ready, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the bowl. Mix well. Knead with the dough hook at medium speed (#4 on the Kitchen Aid), or by hand, for 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky, but DO NOT ADD ANY ADDITIONAL FLOUR. If kneading by hand, spray the dough, your hands and work surface liberally with Pam, respraying as needed to prevent sticking.

When ready to remove the dough from the bowl (if machine kneaded), spray it, your hands, work surface with Pam. Using a flexible dough scraper or stiff spatula (also sprayed with Pam), scrape the dough out of the bowl and knead by hand a few turns to "finish" it. Sprinkle the top and bottom of the dough generously with flour. Have a pile of flour nearby on your work surface as well.

Prepare 2 half-sheet pans by lining with parchment and spraying generously with Pam. Using a metal dough scraper or sharp knife, cut off pieces of dough about 63 g (2.2 oz) in weight. Roll each piece of dough in the pile of flour as you cut it off, weigh it, form it into a ball and place on the parchment. Gently flatten into a disk 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Allow several inches of space, minimum, between muffins to allow for expansion.

When each pan is filled up (you can fit 6-8 on a half sheet), cover with plastic sprayed VERY GENEROUSLY with Pam. (You don't want to skimp because otherwise the muffins will rip when the plastic is removed.) Leave to proof in a warm place 30-45 minutes, until doubled and puffy looking. When you see small air bubbles begin to form between the plastic and the muffins, they are ready. Do not over-proof, as the muffins will spread sideways and not rise as much on the griddle. If in doubt, go with less time.

Near the end of the proofing time, heat a griddle to medium-low. Spray with Pam. When done proofing, carefully peel the plastic from the muffins. Using scissors, cut the parchment paper apart so each muffin is sitting on its own individual square of paper. Bring the paper over to the griddle, turn upside down and dump onto the griddle. Gently peel the paper off the top of the muffin. Work quickly to avoid over-proofing the muffins that are waiting.

Cover the griddle and cook 8-10 minutes per side, until the bottoms are deep golden brown. Remove and cool on a rack.

Note: due to the lack of salt, these muffins do not keep as long as the salted kind and are best stored in the freezer. "Fork split" (but do not separate) before freezing.