My Muffins

allrecipes.com to the rescue! I found an easy recipe for english muffins with 4.5 stars and some suggested recipe alterations in the comments. Here it is: 1 cup milk, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 1 package active dry yeast, 1 cup warm water (110˚F), 1/4 cup melted shortening, 6 cups all purpose flour, and 1 teaspoon salt.

I decided to go ultra local: 1 cup high lawn farm 100% Jersey milk from Lee, MA; 2 tablespoons Vegan Cane Sugar (fair trade from Whole Foods, made in Malawi, in a re-closable plastic bag); 1 package yeast (all yeast is from Canada!!); 1/4 cup unsalted european style butter from Vermont; 6 cups King Arthur Flour (Vermont); and salt (from the moon...actually I don't know where). I bought the cornmeal in bulk from Harvest Co-Op.

Directions

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
3. Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
4. Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast. Great with orange butter, or cream cheese and jam.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 190 | Total Fat: 3.5g | Cholesterol: 1mg

from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/English-Muffins/Detail.aspx

First batch didn't rise probably because I turned the Cuisinart Mixer on too high when I put the flour in.

Second batch did rise. Charlie punched down the dough and helped roll out and cut the muffins with a glass. I let the muffins rise an hour and put them on the griddle, about 8 minutes per side.

These are so yummy! They are creamy and smooth, not to mention beyond awesome fresh from the oven with muenster cheese. Pictures to follow ...