How To Make Perfect English Muffins
A Muffin Isn’t Always a Muffin
In the words of Gertrude Stein, “A rose is a rose, but a muffin is not always a muffin.” When you hear “muffin,” I’m assuming that your thoughts go to those cupcake-shaped cake-like treats filled with fruits or nuts and adorned with a streusel or chocolate-drizzle topping.
But that is not the shape or flavor of today’s topic. An English muffin is yeasty, flat, and heavenly! Here is their story.
Who Was the Muffin Man? (And Where Is Drury Lane?)
English muffins were not always like the breakfast bread we have come to know and love. Today’s muffins are soft on the inside with a craters-of-the-moon appearance, perfect for grasping pools of melted butter or sweet berry jam. The exterior is golden, crisp, and lightly dusted with cornmeal.
But during the Victorian era, they were nothing more than a mash of scraps for the “downstairs” servants. Leftover bread, bits of biscuits, and cold, forlorn mashed potatoes were combined to create a “dough” that was fried crisp on a griddle. Despite their humble beginnings, they were eventually “discovered” by those who dwelt upstairs and became a teatime treat.
