I'm a member of your club, dragon ...

Once the muffin is baked it doesn't matter what you split it with, the crumb is going to be the same whether you use a knife or a fork.  And it would be absurd to suggest splitting them with a fork then reassembling the prior to baking.

But the myth (that's what I believe it is) persists.  I think the myth grew out of a commercial ad that touted how their muffins could be fork split (because they're sliced while still warm and allowed to finish cooling in a controlled environment after being reassembled) and the concept became distorted over time.  At least that's my theory; admittedly one that I can't support with any solid data.

Even Reinhart (BBA p.157) regurgitates this one: "Instead of cutting open the finished muffins with a knife, use a fork. The commercial brands like to trumpet this as 'fork-split' English muffins. The advantage is that by running the tines of the fork into and around the edge of the bread, the famous nooks and crevices that are so much a part of the English muffin mystique are created." (emphasis added)

To me, the holey landscape of the proper english muffin is accentuated by fork splitting, while cutting with a nife leaves a smoother surface which doesn't show off the large holes as well.

So it's both.  You need to have the texture there to begin with.

Isn't there an easy way to test whether this is a myth or not?

Why not get a few people to rustle a batch of English muffins, split half with a fork and half with a sharp knife, then post the photos here and we can compare them...

I can sort of believe that if you pull something apart with a fork you get a different, more jagged, rough texture on the torn open surface, than if you cut it open with a knife and get a smooth, flat surface.

.....but despite being born and bred in England, I don't really know what an English Muffin is!  Do we call it something different over here, does anyone know?

I can see that fork-split might be preferrable. We rarely have English muffins (I tried making them once but they weren't entirely successful.)

However, I always break open rolls rather than cut them. I'm not a big fan of the smooth surface. There are larger wells created to catch the butter AND leave some sections unbuttered and I prefer that. My husband always slices open rolls though. When the roll is cut open with a knife the butter goes on and soaks in evenly.

Claire, my recollection is that the English muffins sold here are very similar to a crumpet I had eons ago in England.

-Elizabeth

my first (and only so far) try at English Muffins (2006)

yes, fork-splitting an English muffin does create a more irregular surface.  If you slice through the muffin with a knife and then look across the cut surface, it will essentially be a smooth plane, like so: -------------- .  If, instead, you split or tear the muffin and then look across the split or torn surface, it will be very irregular with lots of high and low points, like so: /\/\/\/\/\/\/\.  The high points will tend to toast up nice and brown faster than the low points and the irregularties in the surface will trap lots of butter or jam.

Neither splitting or slicing will change the internal structure of the crumb; that's already there.  If the muffin has larger, irregular bubbles making up the crumb, it will have more of a "nooks and crannies" appearance to the viewer than will a muffin with a tighter, smoother crumb.  And that will be true no matter which method is used to open the muffin.

Since they taste good either way, use whichever method suits your esthetic preferences.

Paul

The "Nooks and Crannies" description is really Thomas' English Muffin marketing hype, but I do agree with those above that it's really nicest to have the jagged, uneven fork-split surface to brown (sort of like hundreds of miniature gringes) and to catch the butter and jam.  Nothing quite like buttering a well toasted, fork-split English Muffin.  Yum!

Now, can someone please explain to me why they shrink?????  None of my other breads and rolls seem to do that. 

I made the KAF recipe for sourdough EM's the other day and they are very good, but they tend to shrink in the toaster. 

I have made these a few times and never had much luck getting the Nooks and Crannies as they say. I hope I don't offend any Englishmen by drawing a parallel to Crumpets but I think that's a similar product across the pond.

Eric

Are similar but different, too. 

My understanding is that crumpets are made with a wetter and more batter-like dough (you need "english muffin rings" to hold their shape while cooking them on the griddle). The holes in crumpets are clearly from large bubbles in the batter which are everywhere, even in the crust.  The texture is very different from english muffins--more like a crisped pancake than a bready muffin. 

Crumpets seem just slightly sweeter to me than english muffins--that sweetness is barely perceptible.  I really like them--I've purchased an Aussie brand a few times, but haven't tried making them yet.