English Muffin Bread
A no-knead batter bread with the open, nooked crumb of an English muffin, sliced and toasted.
Makes 1 loaf (9x5 pan) · Prep 15 min · Rise 45 min · Bake 25 min
Ingredients
Batter
- 1 cup Milk, warmed
- 1/2 cup Water, warmed
- 1 2/3 tsp Yeast — Instant/quick-rise: stir straight into the dry ingredients, no proofing needed.
- 1 tbsp Granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 3 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
Pan
- 2 tbsp Cornmeal
Instructions
Batter
- Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and water and let stand until foamy.
- Whisk the baking soda, salt, and flour into the yeast mixture and beat hard with a wooden spoon for a full 2 minutes. (Tip: This beating is doing the work kneading would in a stiffer dough. Don't shortcut it — a weak beat gives a flatter, tighter crumb.)
Pan
- Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and coat it with the cornmeal. Scrape the batter in — it will look more like a thick cake batter than bread dough — and smooth the top.
Rise
- Cover and let rise until it reaches the top of the pan.
Bake
- Bake at 190°C (375°F) until deeply golden and hollow-sounding when tapped.
Cool
- Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing — it's more delicate warm than a kneaded loaf.
Tips
- This is a toasting bread: The open, nooked crumb that makes it interesting is exactly what makes it a little flimsy for sandwiches fresh. It's at its best sliced and properly toasted, the same way you'd treat a real English muffin.
- Crumb came out tight, not nooked: The batter probably wasn't beaten hard enough, or was under-risen. Both steps are building the gas structure a shaped loaf would otherwise get from kneading and a longer proof.