These honey wheat English muffins are completely homemade from a simple 8 ingredient dough. The sticky dough does not require kneading and you can skip the rolling pin entirely. Some homemade English muffin recipes call for a round biscuit/cookie cutter, but you don’t need it for these—your hands sprinkled with cornmeal or semolina flour are your best tool.
Though the dough rises and is ready in about 2 hours, I strongly recommend refrigerating it for at least 6 hours so your English muffins have better flavor.
This post is lengthy because I want you prepped for the best success possible. If you’ve never made homemade English muffins before, I encourage you to review the entire post as well as the video and step-by-step photos below the recipe. Are you a yeast beginner? This Baking with Yeast Guide is helpful.
English muffins are a breakfast staple in the US, inspired by the traditional English crumpet. You can enjoy them plain, but they taste divine toasted with butter, honey butter, jam, or even raspberry sauce. English muffins are essential for eggs Benedict and as the bread for breakfast sandwiches. If you’ve never heard of English muffins before, imagine a homemade yeasted bread patty with plenty of airy pockets inside—much denser and flatter than dinner rolls. The craggy, airy goodness inside is branded as “nooks and crannies” by the company Thomas’.
Today’s recipe is a variation of English muffins, which are traditionally made with all white flour and very little sugar. I like to use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flours here and sweeten them with honey. They’re NOT sweet like regular quick bread-style muffins—just a little touch of honey goodness to pair with the whole wheat flavor.
By the way, if you enjoy baking with whole wheat flour, try this hearty, yet soft whole wheat pizza dough. It’s a whole grain favorite!
Are English Muffins… Bread?
Yes, a yeast bread. I learned they’re called English muffins so they aren’t confused with sweeter cupcake-like muffins such as blueberry muffins.
Let me brief you on today’s recipe.
These Homemade English Muffins Are:
- Made with a simple 8 ingredient no-knead dough
- Fresher-tasting than store-bought
- Perfect if you’re looking for a fun baking project
- Started on the stove and finished in the oven
- Heartier than white flour English muffins
- Super soft and filled with their signature jagged texture aka “nooks & crannies”
- Begging you to slice & toast them and slather with butter!
- An intermediate baking recipe
They don’t have the same exact texture as store-bought, but the flavor is out-of-this-world especially if you let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (and up to 24 hours). Your kitchen will smell like a bakery and it’s just so satisfying.
Start on the stove: Homemade English muffins can be cooked entirely on the stove, but it depends on your stove and griddle/skillet situation. I have a large griddle, but it doesn’t heat evenly so the batch is never consistent. I also find that English muffins solely cooked on the stove end up doughy inside. For best (and most uniform) results, I recommend starting the muffins on the stove and finishing them in the oven.
Recipe Testing: What Worked & What Didn’t
After making homemade English muffins from King Arthur Baking, I decided to try my hand at a honey wheat version. This recipe went through 6 rounds of dough variations.
Here’s What Works:
- Use melted butter because recipe tests made with softened butter weren’t as flavorful.
- Embrace a sticky dough made with *some* whole wheat flour and *some* all-purpose or bread flour.
- You will be tempted to add more flour, but don’t. The high hydration level is key to obtaining that shaggy & airy texture inside.
- Let the dough rise on the counter until doubled, about 2 hours. Then let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. This time gives the muffins extra flavor, plus cold dough is MUCH EASIER to work with. (We do the same when making artisan bread and olive bread.)
- Start the muffins on the stove in a skillet or on a griddle and finish them in the oven. Cook until an instant read thermometer reads the center as 200°F (93°C). If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, cut a muffin open and if it’s still extra doughy in the center, return to the oven.
Here’s What Doesn’t Work:
- A firm, dry dough will not produce an airy center.
- Avoid using ALL whole wheat flour because you may end up with bread hockey pucks.
- Do not punch down the dough after it rises.
- Do not skip the cornmeal or semolina flour because it’s needed to coat the dough and your hands.
- Do not flatten the shaped muffins with force because they will deflate.
Step-by-step photos are found below the printable recipe.
9 Ingredients You Need
There are 8 ingredients in the dough, plus cornmeal for hands + cooking surface.
- Milk: Some recipes call for using some milk and some water, but I found using all milk ideal especially when using whole wheat flour because it’s so drying. Whole milk is great, but you can use any milk—non dairy or dairy + any milk fat.
- Yeast: Use active-dry or instant yeast.
- Honey: Honey adds flavor. Feel free to replace with regular granulated sugar, but I would reduce down to 2 Tablespoons.
- Egg: Do not skip the egg because the muffins lacked structure and flavor.
- Melted Butter: Some fat adds flavor and melted butter is ideal.
- Salt: A scant 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of regular table salt gives the bread nice flavor and balances out the 3 Tablespoons of honey.
- Whole Wheat Flour: Use 1 cup of whole wheat flour.
- Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour: The remaining flour should be bread flour or all-purpose flour. This amount *slightly* varies based on humidity, weather, brand of flour, and so many other little factors that are imperative to yeast dough’s performance. However, 2 cups + 3 Tablespoons was the perfect amount each time I tested.
- Cornmeal or Semolina: You need either for coating the dough and your hands. Using regular flour instead will dry out the dough—you want something coarse that the dough can’t really absorb. As a bonus, this adds a lovely little crunch on the muffin’s exterior.
Quick Test Recipe Comparison
Once I landed on the perfect dough, it’s all a matter of shaping and cooking the muffins. Use your hands to gently shape the dough into 1-inch thick discs. The next photo shows 3 columns of cooked English muffins. Let me explain each.
- Below Left: As the muffins cook on the stove, avoid flattening them too much with a spatula. A little is fine, but don’t overdo it or you’ll end up squeezing all the air out and eating hockey pucks. The heat was also a little high on my stove and I cooked them too long, so they burned.
- Below Center: It’s best to cook the muffins over medium or medium-low heat. Anything lower may not properly cook the muffins as you can see.
- Below Right: Perfectly cooked English muffins are browned with oodles of crumbly air pockets inside. These are cooked over medium heat on a griddle (medium low heat for a skillet) for 7-8 minutes on each side and finished in the oven.
Can I Skip the Stove?
I do not recommend it. Cooking them entirely or briefly on the stove browns and sets the exterior, preventing them from puffing up too much. If cooked entirely in the oven, you’ll have rounded dense dinner rolls, not English muffins.
Cutting Into Your English Muffins
To preserve the craggy texture, I recommend slicing the honey wheat English muffins in half using a serrated knife. Or you can slice around the edges with a regular sharp knife and then pry the two halves apart with a fork.
How to Store & Freeze English Muffins
This recipe yields 12 muffins. The shelf life of homemade English muffins is shorter than store-bought. Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 2 days and then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 3 days. After that, it’s best to freeze them. Freeze for up to 3 months and then thaw by defrosting in the microwave or setting out on the counter. For best taste and texture, slice and toast them.
See Your Homemade English Muffins
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
PrintHomemade English Muffins
- Prep Time: 8 hours, 45 minutes (includes dough rise)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 9 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These honey wheat English muffins are completely homemade from a simple no-knead 8 ingredient dough. Though the dough rises and is ready in about 2 hours, I strongly recommend refrigerating it for at least 6 hours so your English muffins have better flavor. For best success, review recipe notes, video tutorial, and step-by-step photos (below) before starting.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) milk, warmed to about 100°F (38°C)*
- 2 teaspoons (6g) instant or active dry yeast*
- 3 Tablespoons (64g) honey*
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup (130g) whole wheat flour (spooned & leveled)*
- 2 cups + 3 Tablespoons (280g) bread flour or all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)*
- cornmeal or semolina flour for handling dough (at least 1/2 cup (60g))
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the warm milk, yeast, and honey together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow mixture to sit for about 5 minutes or until foamy on top. *If you do not own a mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the butter, egg, salt, whole wheat flour, and 1 cup (about 130g) of the bread flour. Whisk to combine. Add 1 more cup (130g) bread flour and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Dough will be extremely sticky and like a loose batter. Add remaining flour, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, and then beat on low speed for 1 minute to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and then fold the dough together a few times with your silicone spatula. Do not be tempted to add more flour. It’s supposed to be very sticky.
- Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and set on the counter at room temperature. Allow to rise until double in size, about 2 hours. The dough will be sticking to the sides of the bowl and have a lot of air bubbles. You can continue with step 4 immediately, but for absolute best flavor and texture, I strongly recommend letting this risen dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours and up to 24 hours. Place covered dough in the refrigerator for 6-24 hours. The dough will very slightly puff up during this time, but may begin to deflate after 24 hours.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. One is for the shaped uncooked muffins and the 2nd is for baking the muffins.
- Shape the muffins: Remove cold dough from the refrigerator—no need to bring it to room temperature. Sprinkle a little cornmeal/semolina on the surface of the dough and all over your hands. Have more nearby and use whenever things begin getting super sticky. Grab a small handful of dough, about 1/3 cup of dough or 2.5-3 ounces if you have a kitchen scale, and gently form into a 1-inch thick disc that’s about 3.5 inches in diameter—doesn’t need to be perfect—and place onto lined baking sheet. You’re basically shaping them as you’d shape hamburger patties. Repeat with remaining dough for a total of about 12. Sprinkle the tops of the shaped discs lightly with more cornmeal and cover to rest for 20 minutes. (Do not extend this time or the muffins will puff too much.)
- Meanwhile, as the shaped muffins rest, get your stove ready. Heat a griddle to medium heat or about 325°F (163°C) or use a large skillet or cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. If your griddle/skillet/cast iron is nonstick or seasoned, there’s no need to grease it. If not nonstick, grease with a little butter. Once greased pan/griddle is heated, sprinkle lightly with cornmeal/semolina flour and begin to cook the muffins in the next step.
- Read this entire step before starting to cook the muffins. Using a flat spatula, carefully transfer however many muffins can fit on your pan/griddle with at least 2 inches between each because muffins will puff up as they cook. Gently flatten them around the edges with the back of your spatula, being careful to not flatten too hard which would deflate them. Cook for 7-8 minutes and then flip over, gently flatten again, and cook for another 7-8 minutes. (No need to grease or sprinkle more cornmeal/semolina when flipping.) This cook time is a general guideline because griddles/stoves/pans can heat differently and/or unevenly. You want to cook until golden brown on each side and edges seem set. If muffins seem to be over-browning quickly, slightly turn down the stove’s heat. And, as the muffins cook, you can start preheating the oven (next step). Transfer cooked muffins to the unused prepared baking sheet.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake for 8-11 minutes or until an instant read thermometer reads the center as 200°F (93°C). If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, cut a muffin open after 8 minutes and if it’s still extra doughy in the center, return to the oven until baked through. I usually bake them for at least 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before slicing and handling. To preserve the craggy texture, slice the honey wheat English muffins in half using a serrated knife. Or you can slice around the edges with a regular sharp knife and then pry the two halves apart with a fork. Toast halves in the toaster if desired (taste best that way!) and serve warm with desired toppings such as butter, honey butter, jam, apple butter, or other topping of choice. Muffins can also be used for breakfast sandwiches or eggs Benedict.
- Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 2 days and then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 3 days. After that, it’s best to freeze them. Freezing instructions in notes.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare the dough through step 3 and let the dough rest in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before continuing with step 4. No need to bring dough to room temperature before you begin to shape the muffins—cold dough is easier to work with!
- Make Ahead Instructions – Freezing: Baked English muffins freeze well up to 3 months. You can freeze in a large container or freezer bag or wrap individually in plastic wrap. Thaw by defrosting in the microwave or setting out on the counter to come to room temperature. For best taste and texture, slice and toast them after thawing. You can also freeze the English muffins after they come off the stove (after step 7). Cool completely and then freeze in a large container or freezer bag or wrap individually in plastic wrap for up to 3 months. Thaw and then continue with step 8.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Mixing Bowl with Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Griddle or Skillet | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Flat Spatula | Instant Read Thermometer
- Milk: Whole milk is great, but you can use any milk—non dairy or dairy + any milk fat.
- Yeast: You can use active-dry or instant yeast. The instructions are the same no matter which you use. Note that 2 teaspoons (6g) is less than 1 standard packet.
- Honey: You can substitute the honey with granulated sugar, but reduce it down to 2 Tablespoons (25g).
- Flour: This ratio of whole wheat to white flour is best. I do not recommend using more whole wheat flour because the texture of the English muffins will change. For the white flour, you can use bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend bread flour for the best texture.
- Adapted from King Arthur Baking. I reduced the flour, reduced the butter and switched to melted, used some whole wheat flour, swapped sugar for honey, and reduced the milk.
Let Me Show You a Few Steps
Here is the yeast proofing mixture that you prepare in step 1 above. The foamy top proves the yeast is ready and active.
After the dough comes together, use a silicone spatula to fold the dough a few times and scrape down the sides of the bowl. The dough is very, very sticky:
Below left: Let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled.
Below right: Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. The dough doesn’t rise that much in the refrigeration period—just a little. Cold dough does, however, produce a more flavorful English muffin and it’s a lot easier to work with than room temperature dough.
Unlike most yeasted bread recipes, do not punch the dough down—you do not want this dough to collapse or release air. With cornmeal or semolina dusted hands, begin pulling sections of dough and gently shaping into discs. The dough is very sticky, but manageable since it’s cold.
Arrange on a lined baking sheet and then cover and let rest for 20 minutes as you prepare the stove for cooking.
After cooking the muffins on both sides on the stove—a photo you can find above as well as shown in the video tutorial—bake until the centers are 200°F (93°C) or no longer doughy.
The Honey whole wheat muffin challenge was so much fun. I never baked using yeast until these last two years and have never made muffins. I never thought I could make them but the directions are so easy and the muffins are delicious. They are so good toasted with butter and jam or as a breakfast sandwich. This recipe is a keeper.
I’ve been using Sally’s recipes for a while but never taken part in the baking challenge, decided this year I was going to start! When she announced this one as the first I was thinking “this is going to be a disaster and I’ll probs never do another baking challenge” ha, I was so intimidated. Turns out I absolutely loved it! As I say to my Husband every time we use a Sally recipe “Sally never leads you wrong”… this was no different. Easy to follow and turned out brilliant if I do say so myself! I’m not an expert, more a beginner really and as long as you follow all the steps, read, watch the video, you’ll be fine. I was concerned because I forgot to buy bread flour but plain flour plus the wholemeal flour worked great. I was also worried because I’ve not got a griddle, I used 2 frying pans on med-high heat, worked fine 🙂 we made a McMuffin rip off with them for brunch today (perfection), and I can’t wait to try them with honey butter for breakfast tomorrow. Looking forward to next months challenge!!
These are delicious and were so easy to make. Could blueberries be added to this recipe, and if so, any changes needed? My kids used to love blueberry English muffins that seem to have been discontinued, and I’d love to recreate them for my family.
These honey wheat English muffins were SO easy to put together and SO easy to make, that I’m pretty sure I’ll never need to purchase store-bought again! Seriously!
I used local honey and KA whole wheat flour, lactose free 2% milk, and allowed to proof in the fridge for the full 24 hours. (It turned out to be closer to 26 hours because my schedule got hijacked.) They turned out perfect!
I had been baking them during our usual dinner time and the smell was so intoxicating that my husband asked if he could have one with his dinner. I said, “Honey, they’re still in the oven.” His response, “That’s okay. Are they done?” Since the internal temp was spot on I gave him one right from the oven…yes, right from the oven. They were hot and delicious! A nice slather of butter was perfect. He said he’ll have one for breakfast, and might even take the time to toast it.
I’ll for sure be making these again. And, since the recipe makes a nice amount, I’ll be able to store the extras in the freezer.
They were pretty easy to make and really good. I think next time I will use my electric griddle.
The best English muffins I have ever tasted!! Perfection again!!
These muffins are very good and fairly simple to make. I did need to turn my burner way down, because the first couple got darker than I would’ve liked. I also found that they took quite a bit longer to cook. In the oven and the inside of some are still little doughy even though it said that they were at 200° with my thermometer. That said, once they are in the toaster and toasted up they’re yummy!
They turned out great. I really under estimated how sticky the dough was, I had trouble forming it for cooking. I ended up dredging in a bowl of cornmeal and then shaping the pieces. I will definitely make these again.
I’ve made English muffins before (KA recipe) so I’m looking forward to trying these. One question, can I use white whole wheat flour (KA) instead of regular whole wheat flour? If so, are there any additional changes to make? Protein content is about the same for the 2 types of whole wheat.
Thanks Sally for all the amazing recipes.
Hi Shelly, You can use the same amount of white whole wheat flour with no other changes. Enjoy!
These are so fun to make and I feel so accomplished! I let the dough rest in the fridge for a full 24 hours. Although COVID has taken my taste and smell, I could tell the texture was perfect for an English Muffin. My family loved them! This will be new favorite for sure!
These are so good! I’ve tried to make English muffins before and it was an absolute disaster, so it was nice to have a recipe turn out perfectly. They have the perfect amount of sweetness, just enough to enhance the flavour of the whole wheat. Thank you for the recipe and the very helpful instructions!
These are (we’re ) SO good. The instructions were easy to follow and produced a wonderful make-again English muffin. ❤️
Hey Sally!
I made this today and it turned out perfect! I used a special kind of whole wheat flour that our family likes and it made them look like they were made out of white flour :))). Thanks for the recipe! I love that they are whole wheat! They’re delicious!
These were amazing! I’ve been wanting to try to make English muffins for years, but have been so intimidated by them. The recipe explains all of the steps well. I didn’t do the rest time in the fridge because I didn’t have space, but they turned out wonderful anyway.
I can’t believe how easy these were! I never would have attempted them if it weren’t for the January challenge. I was very intimidated, but they turned out so well! They take awhile, but are not hard. I am happy with how they turned out.
first try at making english muffins and they came our perfectly! Love the detailed instructions and videos.
These turned out delicious. I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour.
I loved making this recipe! Easy to follow. And, while it takes a lot of time, the results are well worth it! So tasty, way better than store bought. Definitely will make these over and over!
Delicious! Texture and taste are better than anything in the grocery! This will be in the regular rotation.
The first bread I ever made was honey wheat, with my grandparents. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it.
It was easy to throw together, the directions are clear and the blog explains everything. I just finished them and immediately sliced into it and slathered butter on. The flavor is amazing! You can taste the honey, but it’s not overpowering. The texture is better than store-bought English muffins, too. Definitely saving this one!
For some reason my youngest son has been on an English muffin kick. At the store they are kind of expensive! I have been wanting to make English muffins for weeks. I was so glad to see this as January’s baking challenge. These turned out amazing. I loved that the dough went in the fridge. Made it easy for me to make them this morning when I had time. The flavor is definitely better than store bought! I will be making these again and often.
Easy to follow recipe with delicious results. The step by step directions and pictures definitely help. Good out of the oven but even better toasted.
I think the recipe directions were easy to follow and I appreciated the extra tips. I wanted to see which was better for the prebaking toasting, so I used my electric griddle and a cast iron skillet. I preferred the skillet because they browned a little more. I will make this recipe again and again.
Really tasty. I’ll definitely make this one again. I used KAF white whole wheat because that’s what I had on hand.
Made these today and my husband says they are delish. I am unable to taste or smell due to possible COVID but they look great! The recipe was easy and my hubby says they smell amazing as well!
I was so intimidated by this but actually had so much fun! I will be using this recipe from now on instead of the store bought ones. 🙂
These are wonderfully delicious! My two year old thinks they’re cookies. Be sure to use your thermometer to make sure they’re cooked all the way through in the middle. We will definitely e making these again soon!
These are not only easier to make than I expected, but they are delicious!
These were delicious! Great step by step directions! Thanks for a new treat!
These muffins are yummy. It’s a easy recipe to follow, but I may have had a bit of trouble executing it to perfection. My griddle got a little hot, so some have a darker side, but fortunately not burned. I also had trouble getting them to cook all the way. I tested every 2 minutes after 7 minutes, but at 13 minutes I stopped. The interior of the one I cut was a little doughy. My quick read thermometer did not ever reach 200 degrees. Toasted and buttered though, it was delicious. I’ll try again.