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
|
1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl. |
|
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). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
- Recipe comments (62) »
Reviews
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.
08/07/2009
Great recipe, very easy to follow, fast and it delivers a beautiful loaf. I used 1 cup high protein flour, 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup wholemeal flour , Australian flour. I needed an extra 1/4 cup hot water as wholewheat flour absorbs more water, added a dash more bicarb soda and an extra tea spoon of active dry yeast (don't use instant). Very happy with results, will bake again.
08/06/2009
WOW. this is easy! And absolutely delicious. It's even better than the English Toasting Bread from our local specialty bakery (which is $4 a loaf!). I would recommend this to any baker, especially beginners - it's a real confidence booster.
07/21/2009
Thank you KAF for sharing this wonderful recipe! I usually shy away from any bread that involves yeast and letting things rise. In general my experiences have not been worth the time spent. This recipe has been quite the contrary though. I've baked this bread twice and been thrilled beyond belief and even felt a bit of an ego boost from it both times. I make olallieberry jam annually and this bread has been the perfect accompaniment to it. Thank you once again!
07/15/2009
Just a quick update. I had a piece of this toasted yesterday and it was just delicious. I've always loved English muffins but after eating this yesterday I would have to say it is superior in taste and texture to any English muffin I've ever eaten. It tastes just like an English muffin, but toasts up light and crisp. There's no gumminess that you sometimes find in a commercial muffin. Too easy and so yummy!
07/14/2009
I just took a beautiful looking loaf of this bread out of the oven. I can only hope to control my urge to slice it until it is cooled off! This was so easy to make and quick to boot.
I only have one issue with it though. I don't have a stand mixer so I had to use my hand mixer. As soon as I started to mix the dough it travelled all the way up the beaters to the bottom of the mixer! I actually finished mixing this by hand. I was wondering if I could actually mix it by hand with a wooden spoon vs. the hand mixer? Does anyone have any thoughts of this?
I'm also tempted to try this with buttermilk. Has anyone else tried substituting buttermilk for the milk?
Mmmm that bread is calling me. I'm going to treat myself with a nice toasted slice, homemade strawberry jam and a cup of tea!
Happy baking all :)
Yes, if you do not have a stand mixer then, mixing by hand is the anmswer. Substituting buttermilk will work, give it a try. Frank @ KAF.
06/23/2009
This was so easy to make. I had been buying English Toasting Bread at a local store for $4/loaf, because I can't stand bad bread. I couldn't believe that I could turn out such a gorgeous and tasty loaf of bread so quickly and with no kneading! This is WAY cheaper and absolutely delicious for toast & sandwiches. I will definitely make this again.
Bookmark/share
this recipe