Honey Wheat English Muffin Bread

We’re continuing our quest to convert some of our favorite recipes to a whole grain version, and this family favorite turned out very well. I started with the Meyers family English muffin bread recipe and substituted whole wheat flour for part of the all-purpose flour, and honey for the sugar. The boys could hardly contain their excitement as I sliced it up for photos and their little hands reached out eagerly for a piece. Top Gun and Monkey Boy wanted jam on theirs and Builder Guy wanted butter, also my choice. For the rest of the afternoon they followed me from room to room, begging for more and to save my sanity I promised more slices with dinner. They finished off the first loaf for breakfast the following morning and enjoyed every bite.

It’s an easy yeast bread to start with if you haven’t made yeast breads before, just mix and plop the stiff batter into prepared loaf pans and let the loaves rise in the pan, no shaping or kneading required. You could say English muffin bread is the original no-knead bread.

HONEY WHEAT ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD

Makes 2 loaves.

Equipment

stand mixer with paddle attachment
2 loaf pans, 9-inch x 5-inch, greased and sprinkled with coarse cornmeal
sauce pan or microwave safe bowl

Ingredients

3 cups (360 g) unbleached all purpose flour (I use King Arthur All-Purpose Flour.)
2 cups (256 g) whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour.)
4-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or 2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups (480 ml) milk
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup (120 ml) water

Preparation

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer, stir 1 cup of all-purpose flour, all of the whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, and baking soda.

2. Combine milk, honey, and water in the sauce pan or microwave safe bowl and heat until warm (105-115° F/41-46° C). Add to the dry ingredients and mix well. Continue stirring and adding all-purpose flour until the dough is stiff. You may not need all of the remaining all-purpose flour.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pans. The dough will be sticky and won’t necessarily look pretty in the pans, but that’s ok. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of each loaf.

4. Lightly spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and lay sprayed side down over the loaf pans. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm draft-free location for 60 minutes.

7. During the last 15 minutes of rising, preheat oven to 375° F/190° C.

8. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden and the crust sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pans immediately and let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or toast the slices.

More Easy Yeast Breads

English Muffins From Around the Blogs

Wild Yeast – Sourdough English Muffins

Winos and Foodies – English Muffins

Kitchen Parade – No-Knead English Muffin Bread

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day – English Muffins

[An original post from Andrea Meyers: making life delicious. All images and text copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.]

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