Sourdough English Muffins
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Homemade Sourdough English Muffins have a rich flavor. Use up your sourdough discard and deepen your English Muffin flavor with this excellent sourdough recipe.
The yogurt in these overnight Sourdough English muffins works with the sourdough starter to produce a wonderfully tender texture. And you get all the added health benefits of sourdough fermentation in this method too.
Extra Sourdough discard is produced when you feed your sourdough starter to get it active for your next bread masterpiece.
You have to discard some of that yeasty magic elixir. Sourdough discard recipes like this one use that discard in various stated of activity.
This English Muffin recipe uses up your more active sourdough discard, fed in the last few days.
Recently fed starter is not active enough to properly rise a loaf of bread but will give these muffins good lift as they cook on your griddle.
Toasted sourdough english muffins with butter are EXTREMELY tasty.
Visit Our Sourdough Recipes for MORE great sourdough bread and discard recipes!
Can you Freeze Sourdough English Muffins?
You absolutely can freeze these muffins.
Here’s the Method I Use:
- For Short Term Freezing:
- Allow the muffins to cool completely.
- Place the muffins into a plastic bag (I use recycled bread or even produce bags) and suck out the air.
- Close the top of the bag and freeze for up to a month.
- For LONGER term freezing:
- Place the sealed air tight bag of muffins into an air tight freezer container or larger ziplock bag with all the air sucked out.
- Freeze up to 6 months.
To Defrost the Muffins:
Remove the bag from freezer and allow to sit in the fridge or at room temperature until defrosted. Do NOT microwave the frozen muffins. They can be overcooked with poor results.
These muffins can go directly from the freezer into the toaster.
These Sourdough English Muffins freeze very well. It’s so nice to have a quick ‘pull it out of the freezer’ breakfast muffin or dinner side handy. Just toast them! So yum.
This easy sourdough English Muffins recipe is very straightforward. Just follow the simple instructions in the Printable Recipe card at the bottom of this post.
The tips below are offered as support. I suggest you read them over and the entire recipe before you begin.
For the Best Sourdough English Muffins:
Read this section to learn how to make great sourdough English muffins. The starter has a LOT to do with how these turn out.
You will need to start this sourdough starter recipe the night before but don’t let that scare you off. Sourdough is all about fermentation. Fermentation takes time. But the sourdough does the work. Mostly you just need patience.
A few tips on Recipes using Sourdough Starter:
- My sourdough starter is not your sourdough starter.
- Mine might be either wetter or drier than yours. I tend to go a bit drier with my starter than 100 percent hydration (which is a one to one proportion of water to flour). Mine is more a 100 percent starter to begin and then I add more flour than water to keep it fed.
- ALSO my starter might be more or less ACTIVE than yours. That’s why I included the picture of the starter just before I used it. So you can see the bubble action and the consistency. This starter was fed within 24 hours of using it for this sourdough English Muffin recipe.
SO how do you make a recipe with sourdough discard that gives consistent results?
- Learn how to feel the dough. Your dough will tell you when it’s right. Knead this dough by hand until you feel the elasticity develop. This won’t take long.
- Add more flour if the dough is extremely wet. It should feel like a baking powder biscuit dough with a bit more resilience (and stickiness) by the time you’re done.
- Add more flour if the dough is extremely wet. It should feel like a baking powder biscuit dough with a bit more resilience (and stickiness) by the time you’re done.
- Just squeeze the scraps into a dough ball and knead it a few times to get it back together.
- NOW REST the dough a few minutes to let it really form.
- NOW roll it out, cut the dough into shapes and repeat until your muffins are all on the baking sheet.
I love the way these turned out. The texture and flavor are perfect English muffin. I ALWAYS toast my english muffins. We love that extra bit of crisp and heat that melts the butter perfectly.
Pictured are the larger sized sourdough English muffin in the background stacks. The muffin split open on the plate is the smaller size.
Tips on handling sticky dough:
This dough can stick to your hands and utensils. Here is what I do to solve that.
- WET your hands and utensils as necessary. Wetting is like magic. Dough will not stick to water.
- Dust the dough with flour to make it easier to roll out if your really struggling. The dough is probably a bit too wet and needs more flour to stiffen the dough (Only a little though or the muffin will be tough).
- After you have the muffins cut out you can dust them with cornmeal as is traditionally done. I did NOT dust my muffin with cornmeal. I was out of it. But the muffins were perfectly workable with wet hands and a wet dough scraper to help place the muffins and keep the proper shape.
- Cook them as long as it takes to completely cook the middle of the muffin. Depending on how thick you make the muffin that can vary. The raising and cooking times called for in the recipe are a STARTING place. Use them as a guide but learn the dough and you will get a better result.
- Flatten the muffins top with your spatula as they cook. You can see if the dough middle tries to squeeze out the sides. Keep cooking the English muffins until the middle is firm and the bottoms are well browned.
Your Printable Recipe Card:
Sourdough English Muffins
Sourdough English Muffins have a rich flavor. Use up your sourdough discard and deepen your English Muffin flavor. The texture will also be improved. So good!
Ingredients
- 2-3/4 Cups All purpose flour (divided)-350 grams
- 1/2 cup recently fed starter-130 grams
- 1 Cup Greek Yogurt-285 grams
- 1/4 Cup water-59 grams
- 1 Tablespoon honey-20 grams
- 3/4 Tsp. salt-1.5 grams
- 1 tsp. Baking soda-4 grams
Instructions
Night Before:
- Mix starter yogurt and and water together in a large bowl
- Add 2 Cups of the flour and let sit 8 hours or overnight covered at room temperature.
In the morning:
- Add remaining ingredients including the extra 3/4 Cup flour.
- Mix by hand and then turn out onto your work surface.
- Knead lightly until the dough becomes elastic.
- Roll out on a floured board to 1/2 inch thick.
- Cut out muffin rounds with a mason jar lid or circle cutter.
- Arrange the muffins on a baking sheet lined with silicone mat or parchment paper.
Let rise 45 minutes or longer. You can put them in the fridge and let them sit all day if you like. Then pull them out an hour before cooking time. They should look like this when ready to cook.
- Heat your griddle to to medium and cook muffin 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown on the bottom.
- Turn the English muffins and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the bottom is browned to your liking and cooked thoroughly. Flatten the top with your spatula as necessary to create the flat top.
Notes
This dough is a trifle sticky. To make it easier to work with keep your hands wet and use a wet dough scraper.
If you find it necessary use cornmeal or a bit of flour to dust your english muffins to make them easier to handle.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1 english muffinAmount Per Serving Calories 121Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 1mgSodium 258mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 5g
More Sourdough Discard Recipes:
Sourdough discard makes so many delicious recipes your family will love. Here are a few of our favorites! All of these recipes are made with sourdough discard in some stage of activity. you will be surprised how much the action of the starter impacts your recipes. Sometimes low action (unfed) starters make the best recipes.
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In the sourdough English muffin recipe, what is the half cup recently fed starter? Is this the night before steps 1 & 2? Also, confirming the yogurt is okay to be out on the counter at 68 degrees F.?
First time using overnight dough, calling it starter, the comments are helpful – but I am a very beginner and need a bit more clarification. The description of starter and discard have me confused, to avoid error.,could you tell me if step 1 is 1 cup of Fage full fat yogurt, mixed with 1/4 cup water? The word starter yogurt has me confused. To step 1 add 2 cups flour, sitting overnight.
The next day add the remaining flour and all other ingredients? Thank you for your guidance.
Hi Cathy, Let me walk you through this.
If you starter has not been fed in three or more days feed it before you begin the sponge. Let me share how I feed my starter to prep a bake. I use 100 grams water to 100 grams unfed starter to 100 grams flour. stir it all together and then make your sponge.
NEXT:Technically What you are making is called a sponge. Let it sit to ferment the night before. The sponge has three ingredients. sourdough STARTER, water and Greek yogurt.
Just mix them together and let them sit out overnight. This is a fermentation process and is perfectly safe for the Greek yogurt. In the morning it will be puffy and ready to complete your English muffin recipe.
Now you add the remaining ingredients as instructed and finish the recipe.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you need further clarification. We are always happy to help.
@Diane,
Thank you for your response and explanation. I completely jumped right in leaving out the sponge stage process. I will retry making a starter then go to the overnight part, and we thought the muffins were great. Can’t wait to taste the new set in a few weeks…
Cathy
That’s good to hear Cathy. I’ve never made these English muffins without the overnight sponge but it sound like you figured it out. Happy Baking!
@Diane, you still aren’t clear here. Are you saying prepare 100 g unfed starter, 100g water and 100g flour and then leave it until it’s at the state you normally want your starter to be to bake with it, and then take 130g from that (and put the rest back in the fridge) and add 1/4 cup water and 1 cup yogurt to it and leave it overnight?
Hi Nunu, No. That is not what the instructions say. We are using a RECENTLY fed starter in this recipe. This means the starter has been fed in the last several days and is somewhat active but is not strong enough to raise bread. You do NOT have to balance the starter by feeding it as you describe. Just follow the instructions as noted in the recipe card. We also made a recipe demonstration video for you. I hope this helps.
Your recipe calls for recently fed starter, not discard which I have in my fridge. Does it matter?
Is is ok to leave the starter and yogurt mixture out without refrigeration?
Hi Princessgolfer, Yes you can use what you have in your fridge. Just bring it to room temperature before starting the recipe. Please let us know how they turn out.Have a great day!
I’m about to start these and thought I would bake them on my electric griddle. What temperature should I set it at? Pancakes cook perfectly at 350°, if that helps. Thanks for this recipe. I can’t wait to try it out. Sourdough discard is taking over my fridge!🤣🤣🤣
Hi Kathleen, Good morning. An electric griddle should work great. I’d start with 350 degrees F. That should work fine. Just be sure they are cooked through the middle. You can increase the heat as necessary to brown them. Use your spatula to give them the signature flat top. Have a great day!
Are you able to use whole wheat flour for this recipe?
Hi Paighton, I have never used whole wheat flour in this recipe. If you try it I suggest a white whole wheat flour like Montana brand Prairie gold. I have found it makes it MUCH easier to replace white flour and have a similar result. Your muffins will be heavier and denser with whole wheat but white whole wheat is a nice compromise. It is nutritionally the same as the hard red wheat flour and is not so dense. Please let us know if you choose to use whole wheat flour. I’d love to know how it turns out for you. Thanks for the question.
Hi there! I love your recipes for sourdough sandwich bread, and the cinnamon raisin bread! So I thought I’d give this one a shot so as to not waste my discard. However, I love using the recipes with ingredients listed in grams (weight) instead of volume. Do you have a version of this recipe that uses grams? Thanks!
Hi Rebekah, I made the conversion for you and put them in the recipe card. My recipe card will not do this so I went out and made my own. Please let me know if you find them off somehow. Have a wonderful day!
Hi, does anyone know if you can freeze these and if so I’d it after they are cooked? Thanks
Hi Stacy, I do freeze them after cooking. They are great toasted after freezing. Just defrost them enough to cut them and toast. Sourdough products tend to freeze every well. Double wrap them in airtight freezer bags for longer freezing (up to two months). I just wrap them tightly in old plastic grocery bags if only holding them for a week or so. Hope this helps! Have a great weekend. 🙂
I’ve made these a bunch of times and love them! I make a triple batch at a time.
Just started a new batch for tomorrow morning and used Nonfat yogurt instead of Greek by accident 😬 is it a lost cause or will they still be ok?
Hi Nicole, I’ve never used regular non fat yogurt in this recipe. However, it should still work. Since you are used to the recipe I think you can adjust the dough as it requires. Best of luck. Please let us know how it goes. And thanks for reviewing this recipe. 🙂
Have you ever noticed any greying on the muffins after a day or two? I put mine in the fridge after they cooled down since it’s like 74 in our home, but noticed they have some grey spots now. Any idea why this would happen?
Hi Lauren, I’ve never had this happen. Could it be mold? Look for the spots to be slightly fuzzy and darken with time and multiply if that is the case. In summer heat that could be what has happened here. It seems early for mold to set in though. Especially for sourdough. My sourdough baked goods will last and last without molding. Other than that I’ve got nothing.
Mine did that and I determined they were undercooked. The grey areas were slightly doughy. This might be happening for you too.
Ok that’s kinda what I was wondering. I’ll have to lower the heat next time to be sure they cook through and don’t brown too much. Thank you both for your quick responses!
You’re so welcome. Let me know if I can be of further help.
Just in the process of making these muffins, and saw your question. It could be the baking soda. Or possibly a strange reaction between the dough and the griddle, unless it’s non-stick. Then I got nothing other than the soda.
I’m new to the starter. Mine is 15 days old and I feed every morning, currently daily feeding and not stored in fridge yet. How do I time that as my discard doesn’t happen at night to make the dough? Or can I save the discard from the morning in the fridge And then use in the evening to make the dough?! Thank you!!
Hi Alicia, You can take the starter from any feeding you want for this recipe. It does not have to be strong enough to raise bread. If you are feeding daily your young starter should work in this recipe. Hope that helps. Please let us know how it goes for you.
Hi! I am trying out your recipe for the first time. I just did the first two steps (starter, yougurt, water) and my dough was super dry and there was dry flour. So I added a tad more water just until the flour was incorporated. I live at a very high elevation and I read online that that may mean more water. I am concerned about tomorrow when I need to add even more flour without really any more liquids. What do you suggest? I notice that you mentioned a few times that this is high hydration but mine really doesnt seem to be. Thank you,
Hi Cherie, I’d leave it until morning and then add about 1/3 Cup of the flour. I suggest you use WET hands to work with the dough and sprinkle drops of water in the dough when mixing if necessary. Add the remaining flour if the dough seems to need it. This will be a case of adjusting the recipe as you need it. I live at sea level so working at high elevations is not something I’m familiar with. These are pretty durable. Just don’t overwork the dough so they might get tough. Please let us know how they turn out for you. All the best!
Thank you for answering so fast! I am a very new to baking so I am not sure what consistency it should be. I know there isn’t supposed to be lots of dry flour on the bottom of the bowl and I definitely have noticed that pancake batter, cookies, bread etc all have different feels. What should biscuit dough feel like? Oh and it occurred to me that I used a half cup of starter without stirring out the bubbles first. Does that matter?
Thanks again!
Hi Cherilyn, The volume weights are tricky. The starter stirred down will have a different impact on the recipe than a fluffy starter since the actual amount of starter used changes. But I wouldn’t worry about it for these english muffins. I don’t normally stir down my starter and the recipe works fine. Please let me know how they come out. If you change the recipe for your elevation our other high elevation bakers would love to know what you do. Happy Baking!
Hello from Greece – the home of Greek yoghurt! Just reading the comments about dough being too sticky or too dry – maybe the yoghurt is to blame? Here we have yoghurt with 0% fat, 2%, etc – going right up to the rich 10% fat version, so some are creamier than others. That could change the consistency of the dough. I just put my dough aside to stand overnight. Wish me luck!
Hi Lorna, Thank you for introducing yourself. Welcome to Homemade Food Junkie. How fun that you are from Greece! 🙂 On your point to the fat consistency of the yogurt…Thanks for bringing this up. I’ve never considered that for this recipe. It could definitely affect the consistency of the dough though. I use both 0% fat and full fat yogurts in this recipe and it works both ways but the dough may indeed change. Please let us know how it goes for you.
Quick update! Muffins rose nicely, but I did have a few issues with stickiness, so they are a bit misshapen. I cooked them in my widest frying pan, and found that a dusting of flour worked better than oil to stop them sticking. It was a bit tricky to get the temperature just right – setting 6 was best on my ceramic hob. Anyway, they look OK, taste delicious, and I enjoyed learning something new! Thank you.
Hi Lorna, Thanks so much for the feedback. This is a high hydration dough. Unfortunately the stickiness goes with the territory. I use wet and hands and tools to make the dough easier to handle. You might also try cornmeal instead of flour or rice flour at the cooking stage. All the best!
I just wanted to say that I have tried several recipes on the internet. Yours is the easiest and the results are great. My family loves these.
Hi Earnshaw, Thank you SO much for letting us know. Your kinds words and great review are very encouraging. 🙂
What should the internal temperature be? I am always worried that it will be under cooked. This is the first time using your recipe.
Hi Eileen, 200 degrees F.. Have a great day!
Thank you so much. I just made them and I I really liked them. Will definitely become a go to recipe for my discard!
Thanks For the great review Eileen. Enjoy!
Well, I was nervous since my starter is only 6 days old and the muffins did not rise at all after cutting. I even left them in a warm oven to try and get more rise but nope. However, once they got in a hot skillet they rose right before my eyes and actually have a nice, though a bit dense, crumb. Great recipe and instructions especially for a beginner sourdough Baker!
Alyssa, That’s wonderful to hear. Welcome to Homemade Food Junkie. Sourdough is so fun and creative. Happy Sourdough baking
My griddle has temperature settings 200 degrees 300’ 400 and so on. Any suggestions on what temperature to set my griddle as I don’t have a mediu,
H Rebecca, Set your griddle to 300 degrees. It’s ok to adjust the heat slightly if the muffins are cooking too fast or too slow. Please let us know how they turn out for you. Have a great day.:)
Is this a sourdough discard recipe like the picture says? It seems that if it has been recently fed it is not discard.
I am new to sourdough so maybe I am just misunderstanding the recipe.
Hi Megan, Sourdough discard encompasses a large range of natural yeast activity. An unfed (hungry) starter is one that hasn’t been fed in over a week to up to a month. You won’t get much, if any, rise out of the discard but you will probably add a tangier flavor to the recipe.
For this English muffin recipe your discard should come from a starter that is somewhat active but still not active enough to raise bread. It’s been fed within the last week and was a robust starter at that time.
Your starter for these English muffins will not be active enough to rise bread but if you fed it once or twice it will quickly activate. Hope this helps!
Hi there! This is probably a dumb question but am I supposed to put any kind of oil or butter on griddle before cooking? Mine are doing final rise currently, can’t wait to try. Thanks!
Hi Michelle, Actually a good question. 🙂 I have a non stick griddle and the dough cooks fine on it. If you are worried about how your griddle will perform you can brush on or spray a light coating of oil. Just don’t get carried away. The dough will soak it up. That might cause the muffin to be heavy and oily. Don’t want that. TIP: If you get the temperature on your griddle figured out that is the real key to perfectly cooking these muffins. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for the quick reply!
Sure thing. We’d love to see a pic of your muffins. Tag us on instagram, FB or email us to show them off. 🙂
Ive made these several times and do not use any oil on my pan. This morning, used a seasoned cast iron griddle and they turned out great!
Love this recipe!
Hi Greg, That’s how I make them too. Happy to hear the recipe is working well for you. Happy Baking!
Thank you for explaining that. I was also a bit confused. I am going to try this recipe right now !
My pleasure. Please let us know how this goes for you. 🙂
Can I sub cashew yogurt for the Greek yogurt?
Hi Kylie, I’m pretty sure a plant based yogurt would work great in this recipe. Let us know how it goes for you. 🙂
Would I store these in the fridge or on the counter in an airtight container if I plan to use within the week?
Hi Lauren, I do both depending on the room temperature in my house. In room temps under 68 degrees you can leave the muffins in a container on the counter several days.
When your house is hot Just put them in an old plastic grocery or bread sack. Wrap them up and set the bag in the fridge for quick access.
You can also pop the bag in your freezer and bring out the number of muffins you want. Defrost at room temperature and use as you desire.
Question; It says knead the dough until elastic, so knead the dough like a bred dough for 6-8 minutes or just a minute or two?
Loved these last time I made them, even though I made the dough FAR too wet.
Hi Megan, I knead them lightly. They should not need more than a few minutes maximum. Your goal is to have a soft dough that resembles baking powder biscuits. It should not be heavy like a bread dough. Hope this helps. Sounds like your already heading the right direction. Just lighten the water a bit. The more you make these the easier they get. Have a great day!
Thank you so much for the clarification, and for the fantastic recipe! I cannot wait to have these again tonight. It’s actually the only thing I’ve used my starter for, once I realized how much work it was to make sourdough bread LOL
Lol! Have you tried our Beginner sourdough bread? Its VERY simple and well tested. We also have sourdough pretzels, bagels and several sourdough discard recipes. There are lots of ways to use up that starter. Don’t give up on it. Once you learn the techniques sourdough is a fun way to create with food. Enjoy!
I also had trouble kneading because it was so wet! This is the second time I’ve made them (and I went lighter on the water this time) because despite the sticky frustration they are the BEST recipe I’ve made yet! I’ll try next time with no water. So so delicious!
Hi Heather, Well hmmm. I’ll try playing around with the recipe a bit. High hydration Sourdough is sticky. But that’s why the texture is light. Thanks for your great ideas and the review.
Is the dough suppose to be crumbly before the overnight sit? I added all the ingredients except the 3/4 cup flour, honey, salt and baking soda and it is very dry.
No. I wonder if you starter is very thick? Or your flour may be very dry. Go ahead and add more water to form a thick dough. When it sits overnight it will puff up and transform into a domed very light dough that is easily stirred down. In the morning add only as much flour needed with the remaining ingredients to form a soft workable dough. You need it to be holding together but light. Do NOT overdo the water. Just what is needed.
Can I find a recipe of English muffin in which I can use yeast
Please please help me
Here is one by the Kitchn.
NY TIMES has a wonderful yeast version.