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I've been searching for an English Muffin Bread recipe, because a friend of ours loves the loaves he buys when he or a relative travels to a bakery in Michigan. I considered the KAF recipe that was recommended, and I looked at one that Rottiedogs recently posted. On Friday, I pulled out Bernard Clayton's revised bread book, and that is the one I baked yesterday.
Notes on the English Muffin Bread. It differs from the other recipes I've considered because it adds dissolved baking soda AFTER the first rise, when it is stirred into the batter, it has two rises, and it is baked in two 7 1/2 x 3 1/2-inch loaf pans (which I just happen to have) at 375F for an hour. The rises were much quicker than specified. I probably let the first rise go a bit too long at the specified hour. It was likely ready at 40-45 minutes. The second rise was ready in under 30 minutes, but I didn't have the oven quite ready and had to wait the 30 minutes. There was a bit of sluffing over on the rim of the pan (Bernard Clayton says it won't win a beauty contest), but not too bad, and if I'd gotten it into the oven more quickly, it might not have happened. The batter is very sticky, and it is difficult to stir in the baking soda (dissolved in 1 Tbs. of water). There is a bit of brown streaking, which my breads had, if not thoroughly combined, but the recipe states it will not affect taste. I used my dough whisk. I'm not sure what might work better--perhaps putting it on a silicone mat? It was also hard to divide in half in the bowl (did not want to separate). I'm not sure such a wet dough would work in pans that are not nonstick. My pans are older, so the coating is not as good as modern coatings. One loaf came close to sticking, even though the pans were well-greased. I'm wondering if sprinkling them with farina (cream of wheat) would help. The bread bakes for an hour at 375F.
What I did differently: I used 1 cup of white whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup of bread flour in the 4-cup recipe. He does not recommend any particular brand of flour. Since KAF all-purpose is close to the strength of most regular bread flours, possibly I could have used AP, but since I was adding in the white whole wheat flour, I stuck with bread flour. The salt and yeast strike me as a bit high--2 1/4 tsp. (one packet) yeast, and 2 tsp. salt. Bernard Clayton used the instant dried yeast, while I used active dry yeast and proofed it with a bit of honey. Reducing the yeast and salt a bit might slow down the rise.
The bread has lovely holes, and the top in particular gives it a chewiness. The flavor is great when toasted. The smaller loaf pans may contribute to giving it more of the texture of an English muffin. Of course, nothing will match a true English muffin, but this recipe does come close. Bernard Clayton mentions that he got it from a small bakery on the Oregon coast.
I might try it with buttermilk next time--at least for half of the 2 cups of liquid. The recipe specified 1/2 cup powdered milk. I used 1/3 cup of the KAF special dried milk, which I note is KAF's usual adjustment.
I found a link to James Beard's English Muffin Bread which is similar to this one. I might give it a try - it doesn't look too messy and is made in a 9" pan (which I have). Thanks for the idea, BakerAunt. My one problem with the KAF recipe is that while I like the flavor, I don't think it's holes are big enough.
diaryofatomato.com/2013/02/15/james-beards-english-muffin-bread
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