Hello all,

Now that the kids are all in school, I'm turning to stocking the freezer with some staple items.

One of the items I'd like to make is English Muffins.  Not just any old recipe, but one with lots of big nooks and crannies.

I've attempted to sift through the recipes here and have not yet stumbled on any postings that boast the best nooks and crannies, so I'm turning to you all.

If you have an English Muffin recipe that reliably produces big, holey english muffins....I'd love to have it!    If at all possible, I'd like to make one that uses at least a portion whole wheat and also sourdough starter.  

Thanks, in advance, for your advice!

MommaT

I keep reading in various recipes that splitting English muffins with the tines of a fork "creates" texture or "creates" nooks and crevices. This has never made any sense to me. As far as I can tell, the texture is already *in* the muffin, created by large, irregular air bubbles, which are encouraged by using a higher hydration dough (or batter) and by ensuring adequate proofing time right before cooking on the griddle. I have always split my muffins with a bread knife, and have no shortage of large, irregular pockets inside. Am I missing something? If this is a myth, why do people keep repeating it?

My theory is this: the original idea was that the mark of a good English muffin was one that had so many large holes inside that it COULD EVEN be split with just a fork; a knife wasn't required. For reasons unknown, this then morphed, illogically, into the current, widespread notion that English muffins SHOULD be split with a fork, and this was then retroactively justified by attempting to connect it to the texture of the nooks and crannies.  

What do you think?

Kent in Taibei