Baking Essentials Oven Baked English Muffins Food

BAKING ESSENTIALS: OVEN-BAKED ENGLISH MUFFINS

Steps:

• 1. PREP/PREPARE
• 2. Gather your Ingredients (mise en place).
• 3. Add the water and milk to a small saucepan, and heat up to 105f (40c).
• 4. Chef's Note: Alternately, you could use the microwave.
• 5. Remove from heat, stir in the sugar, add the yeast, and wait five minutes.
• 6. The milk/yeast mixture should begin to foam.
• 7. Chef's Note: This is called "proofing" the yeast. If the mixture fails to foam, it's dead. Give it a proper burial, get some good yeast, and start over.
• 8. Add the flour, salt, and baking powder to a food processor fitted with a dough hook, and whisk to combine.
• 9. Add the milk/yeast mixture, melted butter, and vinegar.
• 10. Allow the ingredients to mix at medium-high speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 - 2 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice to get the flour fully incorporated into the wet ingredients.
• 11. Chef's Note: This will be a slightly wet dough.
• 12. Remove the bowl from the food processor, scrape the mixture to the center of the bowl, and cover.
• 13. Place the bowl in a non-drafty area of the kitchen and allow the dough to rise for about 60 minutes.
• 14. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• 15. Add some English muffin rings, and sprinkle the interiors with the semolina.
• 16. Divide the dough into 2 ounce (56g) portions, shape into balls, add a ball to each of the muffin rings, and gently push down into the ring.
• 17. Add a piece of parchment paper to the top of the rings.
• 18. Add a flat weight, like another baking sheet to the top, and allow the dough to rise for about 90 minutes.
• 19. Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 400f (205c).
• 20. Place the baking pan, with the weight on top into the preheated oven, and allow them to bake for 15 minutes.
• 21. Remove the top weight, and the parchment paper, and then sprinkle the tops with some additional semolina.
• 22. Return to the oven, increase the heat to 420f (215c), and continue to bake until the tops turn a nice golden brown, about an addition 5 - 7 minutes.
• 23. Chef's Note: Remove from the oven, and let them cool for 10 minutes, before removing the rings.
• 24. PLATE/PRESENT
• 25. Fork split, or cut open with a serrated knife, and fill with your favorite goodies. Enjoy.
• 26. Keep the faith, and keep cooking.
• 27. Chef's Tip: These will keep quite well in the fridge for a week, or for several months, if frozen.

BASIC MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter muffin pans. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg, milk, and butter, stirring only enough to dampen the flour; the batter should not be smooth. Spoon into the muffin pans, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes each.
• Blueberry Muffins.
• Use 1/2 cup sugar. Reserve 1/4 cup of the flour, sprinkle it over 1 cup blueberries, and stir them into the batter last.
• Pecan Muffins.
• Use 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans to the batter. After filling the cups, sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and more chopped nuts.
• Whole-Wheat Muffins.
• Use 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour and 1 cup white flour.
• Date or Raisin Muffins.
• Add 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates or 1/3 cup raisins to the batter.
• Bacon Muffins.
• Add 3 strips bacon, fried crisp and crumbled, to the batter.

GRILLED CHEESE MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 and prepare your muffin tins (spray or liners).
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the white flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• add Parmesean and 3/4 cup of the cheddar cheese and set aside.
• In another bowl, combine egg and sugar, then whisk in the oil and Orange Puree (carrots and sweet potatoes).
• Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until flour is just moistened. As with all muffins, don't over mix or your muffins will be tough and over-dense.
• Scoop the batter into muffin tins, filling just over the top. Sprinkle the tops evenly with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Ideally, serve muffins warm.

BASIC MUFFIN RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 muffin trays with paper muffin cases. In a large bowl beat 2 medium eggs lightly with a handheld electric mixer for 1 min.
• Add 125ml vegetable oil and 250ml semi-skimmed milk and beat until just combined then add 250g golden caster sugar and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
• Sift in 400g self-raising flour and 1 tsp salt (or 400g plain flour and 3 tsp baking powder if using) then mix until just smooth. Be careful not to over-mix the batter as this will make the muffins tough.
• Stir in 100g chocolate chips or dried fruit if using.
• Fill muffin cases two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 mins, until risen, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the trays will not fit on 1 shelf, swap the shelves around after 15 mins of cooking.
• Leave the muffins in the tin to cool for a few mins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.