I’m excited to share this recipe for Amish Friendship Bread English Muffins, submitted by Kitchen Friend Tes Jolly. This is a great way to use your starter while making a breakfast staple we all love.
You’ll want to start preparing the dough the night before you plan to bake. It’s important to have an active Amish Friendship Bread starter to help the dough rise.
Prepping: the day before
Mix all ingredients other than the cornmeal by hand or use a dough whisk until well combined. If you don’t want it too sweet, omit the honey or sugar. If using a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, then hand-knead on a floured surface for a couple of minutes.
The dough will be sticky. Let it rest for an hour and then turn it onto a floured surface. Knead for five minutes.
A quick note on kneading your dough: If you’re not a regular bread baker and familiar with kneading dough, I recommend timing yourself (just set the kitchen timer). Most people tend to stop kneading their dough too early, which means the dough won’t have a chance to develop the gluten strands that help your dough become elastic (think about a lump of dense dough versus one that springs back when you touch it). Check out the RESOURCES area below to learn more about the importance of kneading dough and how to do it properly.
Let the dough stand in a greased bowl overnight (drape it loosely with a dishtowel or greased plastic wrap), about 10-14 hours. Cool kitchens will affect the rising of your dough, so if your kitchen is below 75° F, consider placing in a draft-free area like an oven or microwave.
Baking: the next day
The next day, turn the dough onto a floured surface and use your fingertips to work the dough to a ½-inch thickness. Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Use a 3″-round biscuit cutter (I love this dual-sided set) to cut the rounds, then place on the baking sheet. Dust the tops with more cornmeal, then cover with a towel and let it rise for an hour at room temperature.
Place a non-stick skillet on the stove over low heat. Place the English muffins 2 inches apart and cook each side for about 4-6 minutes, 8-12 minutes total. You can also use an electric skillet as Tes did, set at 300° F — you may need to bake each side a little longer. An electric thermometer (I own and recommend this one) will help make sure the center reaches 200° F.
Store at room temperature for up to a week. Enjoy!
A few tips
- Consider adding spices, raisins, or nuts.
- If using a cast-iron pan, add a little butter to help prevent the dough rounds from sticking to the pan.
- Let the English muffins cool completely before slicing, or the centers might appear gummy and undercooked. Keep it old school and use a fork to split them open.
Amish Friendship Bread English Muffins
Ingredients
Instructions
- The evening before baking, mix all the ingredients by hand or use a dough whisk until well combined. If using a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, then hand-knead on a floured surface for a couple of minutes.
- Cover and let rest for an hour.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let stand at room temperature (75° F) for 10-14 hours.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough and press it out using your fingertips to a ½-inch thickness.
- Use a 3-inch biscuit cutter to cut the rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on a parchment-lined baking sheet and place the rounds. Sprinkle cornmeal on the tops. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for an hour at room temperature.
- Preheat a non-stick electric skillet to 300° F or a non-stick skillet on the stove on low heat.
- Place muffins in the skillet spaced 2 inches apart. Cover and cook for about 4 minutes.
- Turn them over and cook for an additional 4 minutes or until the center temperature reaches 200° F.
- ENJOY!
Notes
- Consider adding spices, raisins, or nuts.
- If using a cast-iron pan, add a little butter to help prevent the dough rounds from sticking to the pan.
- Let the English muffins cool completely before slicing, or the centers might appear gummy and undercooked. Keep it old school and use a fork to split them open.
Resources
- Bon Apetit: How to Knead Dough and Why It’s Important
- The Spruce Eats: The Science Behind Kneading Dough
- The Kitchn: 5 Ways to Tell When Dough is Kneaded
- Tutorial: How to Get an Active, Bubbly Amish Friendship Bread Starter
- Tutorial: Maintaining a Healthy Amish Friendship Bread Starter
>> Have you tried this recipe? Give it some stars and leave a comment below letting us know how it worked for you!
Can these English muffins be frozen?
Can I use whole wheat flour?
I’m having some trouble with this one. My english muffin batter was completely flat in the morning and had a thick crust. I’m not sure if the dough dried out or if the starter wasn’t active enough (I did feed it about 8 hours prior and it had bubbles). So I’m thinking it dried out? Am I supposed to be using plastic wrap over the bowl for overnight on the counter top?
Recipe turned out AMAZING!! And I’d never even thought about making home made English muffins.
The only thing I’ll have to figure out how to combat is my dough formed a dry crust on top by the time I uncovered it in the morning which made it harder to press flat. I covered with a towel in my oven. Should I use like plastic wrap to keep it from drying out? Wish I knew how to attach a picture because they’re still beautiful!
We’re so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Amanda! We’d love to see pictures, too. The easiest way is probably to post them on one of our facebook pages: https://www.facebook.com/fbkitchen or https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread
Why are all the images of the food blurry when I go to print them? Is it just me? I tried printing out a recipe from my laptop and it was blurry and so I decided to try to print a recipe out from my cell and it’s doing the same thing.
Hi Tammy! What internet browser are you using? We have found that Google Chrome is the most compatible browser with Friendship Bread Kitchen, whereas Safari, Internet Explorer, and Firefox all seem have some glitches, such as the blurry photos in the printing page. Let us know if that helps, Tammy!
May I suggest you add a comma between honey and sugar in your ingredient list? I was searching all over looking for “honey sugar” thinking that was some sort of crystalized honey or honey flavored sugar (like vanilla sugar is vanilla infused/flavored sugar)
I finally googled it to find a store that carried it and it turns out it’s not a thing. 🤣
Thank you for the tip! That’s helpful to know.
Made these this morning! THEY ARE SO DELICIOUS!! I will never buy them from the store again.
We love to hear this, Kae! So glad they turned out for you!
Thanks so much for featuring this recipe. The AFB starter gives the muffins a wonderful sourdough tang.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Tes!