Bread Machine English Muffin Bread

English muffin bread is one of the cleverest bread machine recipes ever invented. All the chewy, holey, tangy character of an English muffin (without the fussy griddle work) baked into a sliceable loaf you can pop in the toaster every morning.

The secret to the signature nooks and crannies is a wetter-than-usual dough plus a small dose of baking soda. The soda reacts with the slight acidity of the dough and the milk to create extra carbon dioxide bubbles. Combined with the high hydration, you get that famously irregular, hole-pocketed crumb.

Three cups of bread flour to one and a quarter cups of water is a deliberately loose ratio. The dough will look almost batter-like when the machine starts kneading. Don’t add more flour to firm it up. The wet dough is the entire point of the texture.

Low sugar (just two teaspoons) keeps this bread on the savory side. The nonfat dry milk adds richness and helps the crust brown without overwhelming the muffin’s neutral, breakfast-friendly flavor.

Use the basic white bread cycle, light crust. Cool fully before slicing. Toast slices well-done and slather with butter and jam.

Pro Tips

• Don’t substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour. The lower protein won’t hold up the wet dough and you’ll get a dense, gummy loaf.
• Sprinkle a generous handful of cornmeal in the bread machine pan before adding ingredients, mimicking the bottom of a real English muffin.
• Toast slices darker than you think you need. The crannies brown up beautifully at the deeper setting.
• This bread freezes great. Slice first, then freeze, and toast straight from frozen.

Variations

• Add 1 tablespoon of honey for a slightly sweet breakfast version that pairs with peanut butter.
• Stir in ½ cup of raisins and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon at the mix-in beep for cinnamon-raisin English muffin bread.
• Swap water for buttermilk for a tangier, more authentic English muffin flavor.