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Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins

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My husband is a big fan of english muffins, but I stopped buying them a while ago since they aren’t healthy. Since then I’ve been looking for good recipes for healthy english muffins. I’ve made a couple kinds in the past. One turned out very well…but it was made with white flour.

A couple weeks ago when I was searching for new sourdough recipes I found a lot of sourdough english muffin recipes. I’d never thought of that. So I did a search for whole wheat sourdough english muffins. And the first good one I came across was from GNOWFGLINS. I tried it yesterday. The verdict…awesome!!!

My daughter and I shared one with dinner last night, and we had them for breakfast this morning. Yum!! If you don’t like sourdough, you won’t like these. But if you do (like I do…can’t believe how much I love it now), you will definitely like these. And they are quite simple to make.

When I first read the directions it seemed like a long process. But really each step goes very quickly. The first day you just mix a few ingredients together. The second day you add a few more ingredients, shape the muffins, let them rest a bit and cook them. Not much hands on time at all. 

This is a keeper recipe for sure! They are light and moist. Perfect. I used bulgur flour for this batch. Any flour will do…and will produce a slightly different texture. I also added a little ground flax seed. And I used kefir for my liquid…made them even healthier! If you’re looking for a way to use your sourdough starter (or use up some kefir :), give these a try!

Whole Wheat Sourdough English Muffins

1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin)
1 cup liquid (water*, milk, fermented dairy, coconut milk…)
2 cups flour (your choice – bulgur flour, splet, kamut, einkorn, whole wheat)
Add-ins like seeds, dried fruit, or chopped nuts
1 Tbsp. raw honey (or any other sweetener)
3/4 to 1 tsp. sea salt of choice
1 tsp. baking soda

*Note: The English muffins will turn out if you use water instead of full fat or fermented dairy and if you add more flour initially for easier kneading. However, the results will not be as soft on the outside or as tender on the inside once you’ve finished the cooking.

Day 1:

Place 1/2 cup sourdough starter (thick or thin) into a medium size bowl. Pour onto that the 1 cup of liquid. This is the first place where the recipe is very flexible. Your liquid could be water, milk, any fermented dairy, coconut milk… Stir to combine starter and liquid. If your sourdough starter is very stiff, you might need an extra 1/4 cup of liquid.

Once combined, add 2 cups of flour to the mixture. This is the second place where the recipe is very flexible. Use any combination of flours. Stir well to combine. Along with the flour, I often add in a couple Tbsp. of ground flax seed or poppy and caraway seeds (when I make delicious rye sourdough english muffins). The soaking affects the seeds as well as the flour. So, great! Cover and let your dough sit overnight, even up to 24 hours.
 
Day 2:
 
On top of your soaked dough, sprinkle 1 tsp. unrefined sea salt, 1 tsp. baking soda, and 1 Tbsp. honey. Use a wooden spoon to push/cut/stir in your newly added ingredients. Don’t worry about incorporating it perfectly; you will be kneading it in just a moment.

This next part of the directions might feel a little strange, because you are kneading something that could be quite wet. Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the counter and spread it around with your hand and then rub hands together. Dump out the dough onto the oiled spot and knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes. The purpose of this kneading is to incorporate the honey, baking soda, and salt. After this, take a pizza cutter and separate the dough into 8 equal portions. (Be sure you use plenty of oil…the dough is wet and sticky.)

The dough is quite wet. At this time, it is helpful to dust hands with flour before shaping each muffin. You might prefer to use all-purpose flour for this dusting, or sprouted flour where the sprouting has done the work of soaking.

With dusted hands, pick up a portion and gently shape it into your muffin – about 1 finger thick and maybe 2-1/2 inches wide. Size and shape are not important here. Place your muffins on a lightly floured or cornmealed (greased might work if you want to stay away from newly added flour) sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Cover with a dish towel and let rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

About 5 minutes before you want to griddle/skillet your muffins, set the heat to medium. You don’t want the muffins to brown too quickly because the insides need a chance to cook. You do not need to grease the skillet/griddle.

Carefully transfer the muffins onto your heat source. Cook the muffins for about five minutes on each side. You can take a little peek every now and again to make sure the bottoms are not getting too brown. When it is time to flip, do this carefully. Your muffins will plump up beautifully, and you do not want to deflate them by being too rough. Cook for the second five minutes. Now, if you find that the outside edge of your muffin is not as done as you like, feel free to pop these into a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

They last for at least a week in a sealed container on the counter. They also freeze beautifully. Might want to slice them first. And it most definitely works to double or triple the recipe.

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