English Muffins and Sauce Hollandaise

I was surprised that these turned out pretty well. It was my first time making english muffins and so I was totally unsure as to how the dough was supposed to be during the entire time. It was very wet and pretty much batter-like up until cutting them out into circles. These were a bit of a pain since it required about 3 different waiting times but I do think they were well worth it. The muffins were very tender, soft, and chewy. They even looked like those Thomas English Muffins you buy at the supermarket! :)

Note: Try saving up your tuna cans and cutting both ends off to use as the muffin rings. They tend to spread a bit if you don't have the rings in place. Also, I used a baking stone instead of a baking sheet and this proved to make the crust extra crispy as I like them. I highly recommend getting a baking stone if you do a lot of baking.

I made eggs benedict this morning just for these muffins so please see recipe for sauce hollandaise at end.


English Muffins
(from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)

11 ounces (about 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp instant yeast
1 cup warm water (about 110F)
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp nonfat dry milk
3 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt, plus more for sprinkling

Other Essentials:
Vegetable Oil for bowl, plastic wrap, parchment, and rings
Semolina flour, for pan
Anise seeds, for sprinkling (optional)
Unhulled sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine 5 ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon yeast, the warm water, and the honey; whisk vigorously until mixture is thick and slightly foamy, about 1 minute.

In another medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 6 ounces (1 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon yeast, and the dry milk. Sprinkle over the wet flour mixture, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.

Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on medium-low speed until all dry ingredients have been incorporated into the dough, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and salt, and continue to mix on medium speed until combined (the dough should be smooth but slightly tack), about 5 minutes. If the dough is too dry, add a little room-temperature water, 1 teaspoon at a time; if the dough is too wet, add more flour, 1 teaspoon at a time.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover bowl with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

With lightly oiled hands, gently knead dough in the bowl, covering all sides with oil. Turn out dough onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form dough into a flattened rectangle; wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Line a baking sheet with parchment, brush with oil, and lightly dust with semolina flour. Lightly oil eight English muffin rings, and place on prepared sheet. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and roll out to 3/4 inch thick. using a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut out right rounds; place each round in one of the oiled rings. (Dough can be rerolled in order to cut all eight muffins.) Set aside in a warm place until rounds have risen slightly, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F.

Sprinkle rounds with seeds or salt, as desired (about 1 teaspoon per muffin). In a large skillet over medium heat, melt enough additional butter to coat the bottom of the pan. When the butter is bubbling, carefully transfer rounds to the skillet with a wide spatula, leaving muffin rings in place. Do not crowd the pan; rounds should fit comfortably without touching. Cook muffins until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Flip them over, and cook until golden, about 4 minutes more. Return muffins to the baking sheet, and remove muffin rings. Bake until muffins are cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (They should reach and internal temperature of 190F.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Muffins can be eaten warm, or allowed to cool and then split open with a fork and toasted. The muffins can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.


Eggs Benedict

Did you know the McDonald's Egg McMuffin was modeled after Eggs Benedict? They replaced the hollandaise sauce with the piece of cheese though. The eggs benedict I made this morning tastes similar to the Egg McMuffin... not sure if that's a good thing but it was definitely yummy. :) Basically you just toast a split english muffin, add a poached egg and slice of canadian bacon (back bacon), and then spoon over the hollandaise sauce on top.

I have to say that it took me 5 tries to make the sauce (I wasted quite a bit of butter and eggs this morning lol.) You have to be really careful not heat the mixture too much or the sauce will curdle or separate. Some ideas for troubleshooting after recipe.

Sauce Hollandaise

2 sticks (1 cup) butter (Note: You may not use all of this)
3 egg yolks
juice of half lemon
salt and pepper to taste

First, clarify the butter (Note: I personally think this step is optional but I've read that the hollandaise sauce is a lot thinner if you don't.) Melt the butter on low medium heat in a small saucepan. Remove the white scum that has floated to the top and then strain the butter. Set aside.

Fill a medium saucepan half with water and bring to a simmer. Put the egg yolks into a heatproof bowl (stainless steel) and spoon about 3 tablespoons of the hot water into it. Start whisking immediately over the heat until the egg yolks turned into the consistency of thick cream (ribbon stage). Immediately take pan off the heat (Note: This is quite important. I didn't do this the first four tries and my sauce split.)

Slowly pour the clarified butter into the egg yolks. Do not put it in all at once nor pour too slowly. Your sauce should start becoming the consistency of mayonaise. You don't have to use all your butter and please be aware that if you add too much butter, the egg yolk-butter emulsion will no longer hold and it will curdle. Add your lemon juice, mix, and taste with salt and pepper.

Hollandaise sauce doesn't store very well so try and use it the same day.

Please see an excellent video of this recipe here.

Troubleshooting:
If your sauce curdles, try several of the following methods:

• If your sauce is too thin or has separated, try spooning a tablespoon of cold water into it. If that doesn't work, try the next tip.


• Take a teaspoon of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of the sauce and whisk together until thick. You'll have to pour the curdled sauce into this mixture slowly.


• I've read in one book that you can mix 1 egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and combine your mixture into that. I haven't tried it though.