English Muffin Toasting Bread
This yeasty, coarse-textured bread makes the best toast ever, a perfect partner to fresh summer jam or preserves. A purely mix-it-slap-in-the-pan-bake-and-eat-it loaf, it's earned a place of honor in our King Arthur test kitchen Hall of Fame. Read our blog about this bread, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.
- 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
- cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan
Directions
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1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl. |
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2) Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat to between 120°F and 130°F. The liquid will feel very hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would scald you. As a reference point, the hottest water from your kitchen tap is probably around 120°F (unless your tap water is so hot that it burns you). |
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Recipe summary
- Hands-on time:
- 8 mins. to 12 mins.
- Baking time:
- 20 mins. to 22 mins.
- Total time:
- 1 hrs 28 mins. to 1 hrs 34 mins.
- Yield:
- 1 loaf
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- Recipe comments (68) »
Reviews
01/30/2010
I had tried this recipe several times and was never totally satisfied till now. I don't have a dough hook so beating with a mixer didn't work it climbed up the beaters. Mixing by hand I could never get the gluten to work right. So I decided to mix in my Zo and bake in the oven. I was worried because this way was not reccommended. I put the ingredients in the bread machine and got it through the slow cycle before adding the milk so it would be at its fastest speed I then kept an eye on it so I could see when it just started coming together. I then removed it and put it in the pan and followed the remaining directions. It turned out wonderful. I believe this bread is failproof. Thanks Kaf for the great recipes.
01/28/2010
This is fantastic!! I've tried many English Muffin Bread recipes and this one is the BEST!!! Since my loaf pan is a bit smaller than mentioned, I let the dough rise to about 1/2" above the edge. Less is great too, just a denser bread. I've made it three times now and it has come out great each time. What I love is how easy this recipe is...first, it's mixed with a mixer, not by hand. Next, NO KNEADING by hand! Last, only ONE rise. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe!! Perfect for beginners. I also think it's best prepared with olive oil instead of vegetable oil and when I heat the milk and oil, I have found 120-125 F give the best result. OH - almost forgot - this bread makes AMAZING French Toast! Yep, I LOVE this recipe!
01/21/2010
I've tried lots of different English Muffin Bread recipe's. The texture of this one is just what I'm looking for! I don't think it has much flavor though. I think it's probably the 1tbsp of yeast. Most recipes with this much flour call for 1/2 to 1/3 that amount. I'm going to try a sourdough version and see how it goes.
01/17/2010
Made this as a "thank-you" gift for a friend. Turned out so well, that I am heading to the kitchen to make another for dinner tonight. Will probably make excellent French Toast with all of those holes in the crumb to hold the custard!
01/07/2010
My wife (and everyone I a loaf to) loves this bread, it immediately becomes their favorite. I'm not the best baker, still learning, and I've made this 6 times, and I usually make 3 to 4 loaves at a time, and they just come out wonderful. Just a great recipe perfect for everything. Thanks KAF!
12/06/2009
I genuinely don't understand this! I've made it five times, using a thermometer to check temperatures, etc., and it hasn't come out at ALL! It's a dense, dense hockey puck of a loaf. Is this how it's supposed to be?
The only thing I can think of is that I'm using a slightly larger pan than is called for (9 1/2" x 4 1/2"), but that seems like it would just result in a shorter loaf.
Give us a call at the Baker's Hotline so we can help you trouble shoot this recipe. 800-827-6838 .
09/20/2009
Absolutely delicious AND oh so easy. I would highly recommend this recipe.
08/21/2009
This recipe is fantastic - I've been looking around the site for awhile, trying out different recipes and this one sounded really good. Let me just tell you, I -love- this bread. My fiancee is Vegan, and I'm transitioning to Vegetarianism, so I swapped out the milk with rice milk, and it worked just fine. I've made this recipe three times now, (loaf number three is cooling as we speak) and the only time I've had problems with it is when I decided to add about 1/4 cup more flour than the recipe called for. The loaf still tasted fine, but it only rose to about 1/2 the height it should have, and the crumb was noticeably closer and more dense than the usual end result. In short, if you're looking for a hearty, delicious, and super-simple loaf of bread, give this one a try. Definitely a winner
08/20/2009
My friend referred me to this recipe. I am a novice baker, so I'm not sure exactly how to know the temperature of the water that the yeast must be soaked in (I don't own a thermometer). Is there a way to test the water, perhaps by feeling with a finger?
Carmen, I do not recommend trusting your finger to judge water temperature, as you are a novice. In my opinion an instant read thermometer is a required kitchen tool. With it you will be able to double check your finger for accuracy and see if your judgement improves over time. Right now, our Digital Thermometer, item 8439, has free shipping. Frank @ KAF.
08/14/2009
I made it yesterday. This morning, I sliced, toasted it and spread butter on it. Love it. Will make it again and again.
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