The Gauntlet Was Thrown

To be honest, I threw it myself. After a few responses to my recent post about English Muffins, I looked up various recipes and decided to try making them.

I love that the Internet has so many recipes for just about anything one could want to make. 

In fact, I only have a handful of cookbooks left.

Why not? I said to myself,

and off I trotted to the grocery store. 

(Since we moved I have not done much baking, and in packing for the move I jettisoned many of my baking ingredients that had been hanging around, perhaps since our move into the previous house.)

I ran out of time to cook the muffins, so I proofed the dough overnight in the fridge

The next morning I continued with the recipe.

I "baked" the muffins in my cast iron frying pan, over medium heat, 

with cornmeal sprinkled on the bottom. 

What an interesting process! I've never done anything like this before.

I had no problem cooking the muffins throughly, 

and they looked great.

I did find it a bit tedious to cook/bake four at a time,

as recommended.

They tasted great as well.

They were light, with a bit of crispness.

I found that they didn't have as many nooks and crannies

as commercial English muffins.

Mr. Albert "I"n- stein tells me: 

"nooks and crannies" come from a balance of moisture, yeast activity, and gentle handling. Consider switching to bread flour or adding vital wheat gluten. 

• Under-proofing: If the dough doesn't rise long enough, the yeast won't have time to create enough carbon dioxide to form large bubbles.
• Low hydration: A stiff, dry dough is the most common cause of dense muffins. A higher water-to-flour ratio creates a very soft, wet, and sticky dough that allows bubbles to expand easily.

• Too much flour: If you added extra flour to make the dough easier to handle, you lowered the hydration and created a tighter, denser crumb.
• Improper measuring: Using volumetric measuring cups rather than a digital kitchen scale can lead to inaccurate flour measurements, resulting in a low-hydration dough.
• Under-proofing: If the dough doesn't rise long enough, the yeast won't have time to create enough carbon dioxide to form large bubbles.
• Inadequate yeast activity: Yeast that is old, inactive, or mixed with liquid that is too hot or cold will not rise properly.
• Deflating the dough: Over-handling the dough when shaping it can knock out the air bubbles you worked so hard to create. 

I think the problem was my proofing in the fridge overnight, 

or maybe I should use a smudge more yeast. 

Regardless, It was a fun experiment. 

 

Fountain of Youth

Perhaps the cure for my arthritis resides in the additives that Thomas uses in making English Muffins!

I think these have been in our drawer for at least two weeks. 

There is not a spot of mold on any of them,

and they still feel soft and fresh.

Have I found the Fountain of Youth?

If I eat more of these, will those additives preserve me?

 Scary.

I recently resolved to eat/serve fewer foods with additives. 

I am trying to shop using the adage that if I can't pronounce it,

I don't want to eat it.