My family loves English muffins. Of course, we all grew up eating the English muffins from the store and they are fantastic as a breakfast alone, with some eggs and bacon and are especially great with a hamburger for lunch or dinner. I have even made some Homemade English Muffins that were great and easy to make. When I came across this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for English muffin bread, I was a little skeptical myself. I didn’t really see how a simple recipe like this would turn out and taste like an English muffin, but I was very pleasantly surprised. This is one of the easiest bread recipes you will come across and it is a great one to make for any occasion. This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread so you can always freeze one for another day.

English Muffin Bread

Cornmeal

5 cups bread flour

4 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups milk, heated to 120 degrees

Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pans and dust each pan with cornmeal. Combine the bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir in the hot milk and mix until everything is combined, about 1 minute. Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until the dough is bubbly and has doubled in size.

Stir the dough and divide it evenly between the two prepared loaf pans, pushing the dough into the corners with a greased rubber spatula. The loaf pans should be about two-thirds full when you are done. Cover the loaf pans with greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until it reaches the edge of the loaf pans, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Discard the greased plastic wrap and transfer the loaf pans to the heated oven. Bake in the oven until the bread is well browned and registers 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the loaf, about 30 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through the baking process. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack and allow it to cool completely, about 1 hour. Slice the bread and toast and serve or just slice and serve.

With just a few ingredients you can get a great loaf of bread. I have to say the texture of the bread is very much like that of an English muffin and while it may not have the nooks and crannies you love in an English muffin, everything else about it is perfect. The bread has great flavor and I served it with our dinner last night and then had some toasted this morning with my coffee and it was spectacular. This would be ideal to serve with a breakfast or brunch buffet or just to have when you feel like having a simple bread with any meal.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!