English Muffin Recipe – Bread Machine!
These English Muffins are so easy. Warm and fresh English muffins are great for breakfast. Add your ingredients to the machine and go.
🍽️ Recipe Name: Easy English Muffins for the Bread Machine
⏰ Ready In: 1 hour 35 minutes
⏳ Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
🔥 Cook Time: 15 minutes
👥 Serves: 6 muffins
🥕 Main Ingredients: Milk, butter, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, active dry yeast.
🍳 Special Equipment: Bread machine, English muffin rings, cast iron skillet or griddle, spatula, wire rack.
⭐ Why You’ll Love It: Soft, homemade English muffins with a crisp golden crust and tender interior. The bread machine does the hard work, making this an easy recipe that’s perfect for breakfast or brunch.
👇 Full measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Why You’ll Love This English Muffin Recipe
I’ve had muffin rings for ages and just never got around to trying them. So many recipes, so little time. To my great surprise, these are so very easy; I don’t know why I haven’t made them my whole life.
The texture of these muffins is nicer than the ones that we buy at the store in the US. It has a lovely texture that resembles a brioche and is nice and rich. The butter melts beautifully on a nicely toasted muffin and really soaks in, making them all soft and gooey.
Best part? The dough is made in the bread machine. Yep, no mixing, no kneading, no proofing multiple times.
Ingredient Notes
- Milk
- Unsalted butter, melted
- Active dry yeast
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Salt
- Cooking spray
- Butter for baking in the pan
How to Make English Muffins in a Bread Machine
Heat milk in the microwave or on the stove until the temperature reaches 105-115°F. This will give you lukewarm milk. I melted the butter while heating the milk.
Add ingredients, according to your bread machine manufacturer’s instructions, into your bread machine bucket. In most bread machines, the liquid is added first, then the dry, and lastly, the yeast.
Measure dry ingredients and add them to the bread machine tin.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the yeast.
Start the bread machine on ‘Dough cycle only’ mode. Mine takes an hour and 20 minutes. While the bread machine does its magic, prepare the rest of your tools.
I have 9 cm or 3″ muffin rings. So I can make six muffins. If yours are 10 cm, you can only make four muffins. You need a cast iron skillet or griddle and a spatula for flipping.
Spray the muffin rings all around with nonstick spray. Heat a dry cast iron skillet. Melt butter or spray with vegetable oil. I used a medium-low flame so that they did not burn.
When the dough is done, scoop the dough into muffin rings using a spoon. Cover with a lid and check them after about 5 minutes. If they are beautifully golden brown, flip to the other side. The rings should slide right off at this stage.
Turn the heat down to low and bake another 7-10 minutes until golden and a tester poked into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before splitting. I like to split them with a fork.
To get the true English muffin effect, sprinkle the top of the dough with a light dusting of cornmeal after loading the dough into the muffin rings.
How to Store Leftover Muffins
You can add muffins to a storage bag and store them on the counter for about three days.
For longer storage, freeze the leftover muffins for up to 3 months.
How to Make English Muffin Bread
You can also make English muffin bread with this recipe. Set your bread machine to a ‘basic white bread’ setting and light crust.
After final kneading, remove the dough from the bread machine. Prepare your work area and sprinkle cornmeal. Roll the dough in cornmeal to get that true English muffin effect. Place the dough back in the dough machine and continue the cycle.
For an oven-baked loaf, remove the dough after kneading and place it in a loaf pan. Let it rise until almost doubled in size, then sprinkle the top with cornmeal. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 35–40 minutes, or until golden brown.
What is your favorite way to enjoy English muffins? We had peanut butter and jelly, cream cheese and jam, or jelly and Eggs Benedict. Yum.
I hope you enjoy today’s recipe for Easy English Muffins! Check out Laura’s muffins here.
Pro Tips for Perfect Muffins
- Adjust the milk if needed. Use a little less milk in humid weather. In a dry climate, you may need the full amount.
- Check the dough. After the second kneading cycle, the dough should be smooth and elastic. Add a little flour or milk if needed to get the right consistency.
- Keep the heat medium-low. This gives the centers time to cook without the outsides getting too dark.
- Cover while cooking. A lid helps trap the heat so the English muffins cook all the way through.
- Skip smoothing the dough. Once you add it to the rings, leave it alone. The dough will rise and fill the rings as it cooks.
- Split with a fork. Once cooled, use a fork instead of a knife to split the muffins and create those classic nooks and crannies.
- No muffin rings? You can use clean, empty tuna cans with the tops and bottoms removed.
The original recipe for these English muffins came from my good friend Laura Tobin from Your Guardian Chef. There is nothing better than a fresh, toasted English muffin.
I can’t say enough how much we all love these muffins. Thanks for the inspiration, Laura! 🙂
Tools That Make This Recipe Work
If you don’t already have these, this is where most people struggle
- Bread Machine – Handles the mixing, kneading, and first rise for you. Without it, you’ll need to knead and proof the dough by hand.
- Muffin Rings – Keep the dough contained so the muffins rise into the right shape. Without them, the dough can spread too much in the skillet.
- Cast Iron Skillet – Provides steady, even heat for cooking the muffins without burning the outside before the centers are done.
- Spatula – Makes flipping the muffins easier without disturbing the rings or tearing the dough.
- Wire Rack – Lets the muffins cool without trapping steam underneath, which helps keep the outside from becoming soggy.
This skillet provides steady heat for cooking English muffins until golden and cooked through. The pouring spouts also make it useful for other everyday recipes.
This rack fits standard half-sheet pans for baking and roasting. The open wire design allows air to circulate around food for more even cooking.
More Delicious Bread Recipes
Easy English Muffins for the Bread Machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- cooking spray
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter for baking in pan
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Heat milk in the microwave or on the stove until the temperature reaches 105-115°F. This will give you lukewarm milk. I melted the butter while heating the milk.1 cup Milk, 1 1/2 tablespoon butter, melted
- Add ingredients, according to your bread machine manufacturer’s instructions, into the bucket of your bread machine. In most bread machines, the liquid is added first, then the dry, and lastly, the yeast.
- Add the warm milk and butter to the bread machine. Measure dry ingredients and add them to the bread machine tin. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the yeast.2 cup all-purpose flour, 2 Tbsp Sugar, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- Start the bread machine on ‘Dough cycle only’ mode. Mine takes an hour and 20 minutes. While the bread machine does its magic, prepare the rest of your tools. I have 9 cm or 3″ muffin rings. So I can make 6 muffins. if yours are 10 cm you can only make 4 muffins. You need a cast iron skillet or griddle and a spatula for flipping.
- Spray the muffin rings all around with no stick spray. Heat a dry cast iron skillet. Melt butter or spray with vegetable oil. I used a medium-low flame so that they did not burn.cooking spray
- When the dough is done, scoop the dough into muffin rings using a spoon. Cover with a lid and check them after about 5 minutes. If they are beautifully golden brown, flip to the other side. The rings should slide right off at this stage. Turn the heat down to low and bake another 7-10 minutes until golden and a tester poked into the center comes out clean.1 1/2 tbsp butter for baking in pan, cooking spray
- Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes before splitting. I like to split them with a fork.
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Notes
- If you are making these muffins in the summer, or in humid conditions, use a little less milk. If you are in a dry climate, use the whole amount of milk.
- Check the dough’s consistency after the second kneading cycle. Add additional flour or additional milk to the dough if needed to achieve a smooth, elastic dough consistency.
- Once muffins are done, split them with a fork instead of a knife to get more wholes for the butter to melt into.
- You can also make the dough with the dough hook attachment for your mixer.
- If you don’t have muffin rings, you can cut the the bottom out of an empty large tuna can for rings.
- Be sure that your heat is set to medium low so that the outside of the muffins don’t burn.
- Be sure to cover them with a lid so that they cook through in the center.
- When you add the dough to the rings, you don’t have to worry about smoothing it out. They will rise while cooking and fill in.
I wasn’t sure if I could make these English muffin but they came out great. I did make 3 and the. A seconds 3 which unfortunately I burned in the cast iron skillet. They even had holes like the store bought ones. Will definitely make them again
I’m so glad you liked them! I was intimidated at first, too, but they are so easy! Thanks for rating our recipe, Cindy.
Large mason jar lids work well in place of muffin rings in a pinch – they come out a bit smaller but they do work
Agreed. I’ve used them, too!
These are amazing 🙂
Thanks so much Amy! We’re so glad that you liked them.