English Muffin Bread

I saw a recipe for english muffin bread and I thought that it sounds like a great idea.  I love english muffins but who wants to form all of those little muffins and hope to get the big nooks and crannys.  I followed the recipe at Brown Thumb Mama with a few small changes because I wasn't strong enough to not proof the yeast.  I didn't want the bread not to rise and make it all a waste of my time but I wasn't sure if I should use the instant yeast or the other so I went with the instant.

The first step is to sift the flour which I don't normally do but I followed the recipe to the letter.  I don't have a flour sifter but I used my fine mesh strainer which is probably my most used kitchen tool.  My husband actually had to take the plyers and put part of it back together.

Here is what it looks like after the flour is sifted.  I added the salt and the baking soda to the flour into the bowl.

I mixed the milk, water, sugar and yeast to the measuring cup.

I poured the liquid into the flour mixture after the yeast was activiated and the cup was foamy.  It mixed into a perfect dough.

I split the dough into two and put them into the greased bread pan.  With a little water on my hands, I was able to smooth the top of the bread to flatten.

I heated the oven to 200 degrees and then shut off for over 10 minnutes.  I put the two loaf pans in the oven covered with a wet towel to let it rise.  I had to go pick up my son at school so it had a little longer to rise.  It looked really nice but only raised to the level of the pan because of the weight of the towel.  I am not sure if it should have gone higher but I did follow the directions.  Can you see where it stuck to the towel??

I took the bread out of the oven to preheat the oven.  After it was heated, I put the loaves in the oven to bake.  It took a little longer to make the tops browned but they came out beautifully.

Then, I cut into them and I was a little disappointed that they didn't have more nooks and crannies.  But after tasting the bread, it was full of flavor and tasted like a good sourdough bread with a crunchy exterior.

I had it hot out of the oven and later toasted for breakfast and it was very flavorful.  It was well worth the effort and I think that I will try with the other yeast next time.  I hope that you try it out and see if you like the interesting new bread!!  Make sure you check out the inspiration for me trying this bread at Brown Thumb Mama and some of the other great recipes that she has to offer!!

English Muffin Bread

4 tsp. yeast
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
5 cups flour
1 cup warm water
1 cup warm milk

Sift the flour, either with a sifter or a strainer.

Measure milk and water.  Heat shortly in the microwave.  Add yeast and sugar to milk mixture.

Add salt and baking soda to the sifted flour.  Dump milk mixture into flour mixture.  Mix everything thoroughly.

The batter might be heavy and too sticky to knead. That's OK! Spray two loaf pans with nonstick spray and put the dough in. If you like the top of the loaf smooth, get your fingers wet and smooth out the batter.

Next, the dough has to rise for about an hour in a warm humid place.  If your kitchen isn't warm enough, place the pans in the oven.  If you have a gas stove, the pilot light will keep the oven warm.  If you have an electric oven, preheat the oven to 200 degrees and shut it off for at least 10 minutes before you place the bread in the oven.  Cover with a damp tea towel.

After rising for an hour, the loaves bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. When they're dark brown, take them out and put on a wire rack to cool.

Shared at Homemade Mondays  and Creative Home Acre
and Swap and Share Sunday and Scratch Cookin' Tuesday