Sourdough English Muffins

Sourdough English muffins are so versatile. They can be served with cream cheese for breakfast or peanut butter and jelly for lunch. Or even turned into pizzas for dinner. The possibilities are endless. 

Sourdough to the Rescue

In high school, I started breaking out in hives for no apparent reason. We had been to every doctor in town and nobody knew why I was so itchy. I eliminated foods and eventually discovered that gluten set off the hives. I changed my diet to permanently remove gluten. It was a hard breakup. Tears were shed. 

I had never enjoyed cooking, therefore I didn’t know much about it. Cooking just about anything required a research paper first. During that research I stumbled upon sourdough. I read about the benefits of fermented foods, how to make a starter, and amazing looking recipes. 

Then I found something interesting about gluten in connection to sourdough. The article stated that people who are sensitive to gluten can oftentimes handle sourdough because of the fermentation. I was immediately curious and did what any nerd would do. More research! 

That led me to creating a sourdough starter. After a week, I set out to make all things sourdough. I failed a lot. But I also learned a lot. I eventually mastered sourdough waffles. They became my breakfast staple. I kept waiting for the hives to show up or my stomach to hurt, but I never had either. So I kept practicing recipes so that everything could be sourdough. 

We are So Getting Back Together

Then something crazy happened. I was in a situation where I had to eat gluten to avoid being awkward. Going home that night, I was preparing myself for the worst. I knew that hives and a stomach ache lay ahead of me that night. I just hoped that it would wait until I was safe in my own house. The hives never came. My stomach didn’t hurt. So naturally I ate gluten again a week later. No side effects! 

That was about a year ago. I eat sourdough at least once a day, if not more. If I’m baking something at home, I always try to ferment it. I can then eat all the gluten I want without getting sick or breaking out in hives. Sourdough totally changed my life and eating habits. Despite the bad breakup, gluten and I have gotten back together and have a wonderful relationship, as long a sourdough is there.

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Why Sourdough?

Sourdough was used by people to leaven bread before they were able to go to the store and by those little yeast packets. Sourdough is the old-fashioned yeast packet. 

Grains contain phytic acid, but our bodies don’t really process it well. Phytic acid prevents our bodies from absorbing the nutrients from our food. Fermentation gets rid of most, if not all of the phytic acid, in the grains before we eat them. The fermentation process also helps break down some gluten, so although the bread isn’t gluten free it does have a lower gluten content. This allows people like me, who are sensitive to gluten, to eat sourdough. It also acts like a probiotic, which makes it great for gut health. Sourdough has prebiotic characteristics as well, which simply means that the good bacteria in your gut enjoy eating the fiber.

Sourdough English Muffin Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 cup water

½ cup sourdough starter

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Coconut oil

Instructions

1. The night before you want to make sourdough English muffins, mix 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of water, and ½ cup of sourdough starter. I use the KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook. If the dough is too dry add a bit of water. If it is too wet add a bit of flour. It may be a little sticky, but not a lot.  Cover it with plastic wrap or a beeswax wrap. Allow it to sit at room temperature.
2. After a minimum of 12 hours or maximum of 24 hours, mix in 1 tablespoon of honey, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. 
3. Start by preheating a cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Melt just enough coconut oil on it to coat the surface. 
4. Now divide the dough into 8 balls. Drop them into the pan and cook for about 10 minutes. I usually do four at a time to keep them from touching. They should double in size.
5. If they come up easily and are browned on the bottom then it is time to flip them. If not let them continue cooking. You should only flip them once.
6. Typically they will be done on the inside before they cook all the way through. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and cook for 10 to 20 minutes or until they are cooked through.

Tips for Making Sourdough English Muffins

If the English muffins run when you drop them into the pan or they turn out flat it means they need more flour. 

If they don’t cook all the way through, toss them in a 300 degree oven for 10 to 20 minutes.

Serving Sourdough English Muffins

Breakfast

I love sourdough English muffins for breakfast. I can top them with butter, honey, jam, or cream cheese. My husband likes to make a breakfast sandwich with ham, eggs, and cheese. 

Lunch

If there are leftover English muffins, which doesn’t often happen, they make great sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese are some of my favorite sourdough sandwiches. 

Dinner

An easy weeknight dinner is a sourdough English muffin pizza. A little sauce and cheese and dinner is served. They also freeze well, for those nights when you forget to thaw out any meat.

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KitchenAid

Dough Hook

Cast Iron Skillet