Homemade English Muffin Bread

4.74 from 26 votes

English Muffin bread is great for sandwiches. Toasted with butter and jam, it is pure heaven. So much better than commercial English Muffins and way cheaper.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Rising time2

Total Time3 5

Course: Baking

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 134kcal

Cost: $3

Equipment

Four 9 x 5 loaf pans

Ingredients

5 ½ cups warm water
6 ¾ teaspoons active dry or rapid-rise yeast, equal to three ¼-oz. pkgs.
2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
11 cups bread flour can use all-purpose flour

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix just until incorporated. It will turn into a very wet, sticky dough. Just leave the dough in the bowl, cover with a clean, wet dishtowel, and let it rise until double in size, about 1 hour.
Spoon this sticky dough into four well-greased loaf pans. Allow to rise in pans until dough reaches the top of the pan.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake for 35 minutes; brush tops with melted butter and return to oven for another 10 minutes.
Allow pans to cool on cooling rack 10 to 15 minutes, then remove loaves from pans, allowing bread to completely cool.
Bread will be moist at first. Best when allowed to cool completely before cutting. (Granted, it takes a lot of personal discipline to wait that long.) Store bread in a linen cloth bag (See Notes) for two to three days. Freezes well.

Notes

1. I used my stand mixer in the post's photos. However, I could have mixed this by hand with a large wooden spoon. And did you notice, no kneading!

2. Servings (40 for a full recipe) calculated at 10 slices per loaf, or 40 slices for a full recipe. Consider this an estimate, your mileage may vary

3. Bread flour is ideal as it has a higher gluten content. Substituting with all-purpose flour is absolutely acceptable, however, the rise outcome may vary slightly. Bread flour produces a more sturdy dough, which holds the bubbles allowing a "taller" and, in my opinion, better rise.

4. This recipe can be cut in half to yield two loaves.

5. Plastic bags are ideal for keeping this bread fresh for up to 3 days. (Or in the freezer for up one month.) Alternatively, wrap the cut loaf in a tea towel.

Nutrition