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Sourdough english muffins. Question!

sadkitchenkid's picture
sadkitchenkid

Sourdough english muffins. Question!

Decided to make english muffins for the first time today. I had my first english muffin last week (don't ask. I wasn't really raised eating bread). I looked through a ton of recipes online and got a basic idea of what I was gonna do. I developed the recipe around using levain. I also used shortening cause I thought it was traditional. This is where my question comes in though: why shortening? I tore into one and I could taste the shortening (maybe I'm just sensitive to it from the time I though it would be smart to make croissants using shortening cause I was out of butter), and it was all I could smell. What does shortening bring to the table in terms of texture and taste? Is it traditionally what's used and if so, why?

Here are some pictures:

 

All in all I like how these look and I like their texture. Very soft and pillowy and I lay them over eachother to steam a little to give their crust some chew. Successful attempt at sourdough english muffins but I'm a little disappointed with the light shortening taste. Maybe I'll serve some to my family and see if they can detect it.

 

 

Gentle One's picture
Gentle One

The recipe I like doesn't use any shortening in the muffins--you might want to take a look at this one: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/04/how-to-make-easy-english-muffins.html

IceDemeter's picture
IceDemeter

Honestly, that is one ingredient that I've never heard of anyone using in an english muffin.  I'll grant you that I'm not big on looking for "traditional" stuff, but most recipes that I've seen have little to no added fats, and if they do have a little then it is butter.

The skillet or grill is often buttered (and some use clarified butter, or even browned butter), but again - never seen anyone suggest shortening.

The recipe that I prefer is here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/3241/sourdough-english-muffins for the straightforward version, or search for any of dabrownman's or isand66's more complex versions, also here on the site.

Certainly no need to use shortening (especially since you don't enjoy the flavour of it)!

They do look great, by the way --- sorry to hear that you aren't overly fond of them...

clazar123's picture
clazar123

Was it butter-flavored shortening or was it old? I have never detected flavor with a vegetable shortening. On the other hand, lard  and meat-based shortening can have a smell and taste. Also, old shortening can taste rather awful.

Fat lubricates the gluten strands and generally makes the dough more extensible so that the strands glide past each other and raise higher. Butter,lard and margarine have water in them and this water turns to steam when baked to help make a flaky crumb (like a croissant). Shortening has no water and generally does a better job of this lubrication so the CO2 produced by the yeast is trapped. Since it doesn't have water, any product that depends on the micropockets of steam to develop flakiness will be more dense.

Fats also help a baked product retain moisture for keeping ability. English muffins that will be eaten in 1-2 days don't generally need that keeping ability so try the recipe without fats to see if you like it. If you want a fat, add a neutral oil (not canola-that tastes fishy to me) to another batch and see if you like the texture of that batch. It's all about taste and preference.

Nice muffins! Recipe?

 

 

sadkitchenkid's picture
sadkitchenkid

That makes sense. I'm redoing the recipe and am using ghee instead. Will see how it goes!

My recipe is (and sorry its not in weight! the reason I decided to try making english muffins in the first place is cause I left my scale at a friend's house and I'm too scared to make bread without it):

levain: 

2 tbsp of starter (I used starter right out of the fridge)

1/2 cup of flour (i used a 50/50 mix of rye and wholewheat)

1/4 cup water

--------Leave overnight-------

Remaining ingredients: 

2tbsp oil/fat

2 2/3 to 3 cups bread flour

1 cup milk

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

------leave in the fridge up to 24 hours or leave out on countertop for as long as it takes to triple in volume then use---

It should be sticky so you gotta work fast! Divide into 10-12 balls. I tightly shape the balls and set on a baking sheet thickly coated with a layer of cornmeal. I roll each ball in cornmeal then let proof until doubled (about 2 hours for me), and half way through, I'd use my hand to gently press down on the balls to flatten them a little bit. I cook these on a cast iron that is barely greased (the first batch that I fried, I used too much butter in the skillet thinking that's what I was supposed to do, but I found that they absorb too much fat, and form a too golden crust. Cook on medium heat, about 5 to 6 minutes on each side! After cooking I stack them in a plate on top of eachother so they steam a little which gives the crust some chew. 

Hope this was a cohesive explanation haha! Happy baking 

drogon's picture
drogon

However england has no history of sourdough, so I find the concept of sourdough english muffins somewhat amusing :) I use dried yeast.

Yours do look good though - just the right amount of browning. The trick after cooking is to pull them apart (never cut them!) so the rough surface can soak up mode butter/hollandaise sauce, etc.

-Gordon (in england)

sadkitchenkid's picture
sadkitchenkid

Well when I say sourdough I mean, wild yeast, which has been used all over the world to make bread since the 1500s. Wild yeast starters = sourdough. English muffins were created in 1880 which is right after commercial yeast hit the market. Maybe english muffins never had the opportunity to be made with wild yeast haha. But either way, I like the challenge of testing out starter instead of commercial yeast in almost every recipe I make. I cut the muffins using the fork method but I like the thought of just pulling them apart. Can you believe I've never had hollandaise? Cheers

cgmeyer2's picture
cgmeyer2

your english muffins are yummy.

 

BobBoule's picture
BobBoule

were invented in the US at a commercial bakery, so they aren't "traditional" in the usual sense. They are popular but only because we buy so many of them, pre-made, from bakeries, I have never met a family that actually makes their own so you are free to make them however you like to.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_muffin

 

albacore's picture
albacore

Elizabeth David in her book "English Bread and Yeast Cookery" has a whole chapter on muffins (and crumpets). The first recipe referred to, by Hannah Glasse, is dated 1747, so I think they have been around quite a while!