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 taste is excellent. They are so much softer than store bought. I don’t typically love English muffins but this recipe is an exception.
Even though I made mine a little to big, they are amazing! I love how filling they are and how much healthier than those without whole wheat flour and honey! These English muffins are so good, and well worth the long hours of making them if you don’t have any form of English muffins where you live (like me)!
Great recipe for a first time English muffin maker! Love that I can watch the video then read the directions and feel confident. Great flavor and smells fantastic while baking (which is always a plus!)
Made this on the January baking challenge! It was very easy and turned out great, even though I am impatient and didn’t wait the full amount of time to bake 🙂
Awesome recipe! I have tried English muffins in the past & they were a flop. As anticipated, these were delicious. I used canned coconut milk (the only thing I had), and everything else, as written. They toasted up wonderfully & we’re absolutely delicious. I can’t wait for breakfast tomorrow!
Mine were a little browner and denser than I’d like, but were tasty!
I made these to use for breakfast sandwiches and they were so good! Mine didn’t quite have the “nooks and crannies” but they tasted really good and had a good texture still. I’ll definitely be making them again!
I have not tried making these yet, but in reading the instructions, I couldn’t quite figure out the logistics. Under #5 Shape the Muffins you state, “…………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.)” However, in the video, you do the stovetop step in 2 batches which means the first batch rested 20 minutes, but the second batch would have rested for 35+ minutes. If I’m not to extend the 20 minute rest time, how do I accomplish that if I’m doing them in 2 batches?
Hi Trent, you’re right and I’m happy to clarify. Unless you have enough space to cook them all at the same time, the 2nd batch will expand slightly more than the 1st. That’s a given since they’re waiting to be cooked. Another 15-20 minutes for batch #2 is fine, you just really don’t want to extend the time too long for example, forgetting about them for 3+ hours.
Thanks for the fun recipe, Sally!
I made these using unsweetened almond milk because that’s all I had on hand. They turned out great! I prepared the dough through the rise and left them to rest in the fridge overnight before completing the next steps to bake in the morning.
The dough was very sticky but manageable with some durum semolina. I was able to gently nudge them back into shape after a bit of difficulty transferring to the stove.
I had to adjust my baking time upwards by a few minutes to have the muffins reach 200*.
My family loved them!
Wonderful! I could smell the honey as they baked. I weighed flour and ended up needing to add a spot of milk to get consistency in video. Perhaps measure instead. Barely got 12 and baked for 12 mins. Fun and easy!
Thank you for yet another amazing recipe! With your step-by-step instructions, photos, and video, I felt confident throw out the whole process. They turned out amazing and delicious!
Delicious English muffins! I was hesitant at first to make this recipe since I’m not comfortable working with yeast but by following the instructions, it was a breeze to make. Sally’s detailed recipe and video make the whole process doable and they turned out great!
I don’t have a lot of experience working with yeast and was a little worried these wouldn’t turn out well for me, but thankfully they turned out great in both appearance and taste! The recipe was easy to follow, and the detailed directions and photos were very helpful. I used my kitchen scale to weigh the dough and ended up with nine muffins, each around three ounces.
The recipe was great! Easy to follow and the video was so helpful to show how to shape and cook on the griddle!
So delicious and I appreciate the thorough instructions. I made these entirely with bread flour, and although the dough was sticky as mentioned, they came out fabulously!
These are delicious! Totally worth the effort. Follow Sally’s instructions carefully.
This was such a fun recipe to make! I’ve never even thought to attempt English Muffins and had no idea how they would turn out. As always, Sally’s recipe was perfection! They turned out so great and inspired me to make some more recipes using the Whole Wheat Flour!
I’ve made english muffins before using rings but this will be my go to recipe in the future. They tasted great and I love the fact they are a little healthier using wheat flour for a portion of the flour. By doing the dough the night before there is more flavor and it speeds up the process in the morning.
So good! I’ve made them twice and both times they were delicious. The first time I did burn a couple when I did it on my stove top but found that my panini press that opens up to a griddle works perfectly.
I have never loved an English muffin before in my whole life, and here you are bringing me into the light.
Just made these with my two kids and they are DELICIOUS! We didn’t have cornmeal so we used some cornflake crumbs on the bottom and top- and was perfect! Some of us had them with egg and cheese, some had with peanut butter and jelly. Thank you sally!
Very tasty! My dough rose beautifully and I refrigerated overnight. I weighed out the dough and ended up with 10 English muffins. My dough was far more sticky than what I observed in the video and I got worried because the dough balls were difficult to shape. No need to worry! They came out just right. My advice to other bakers is to watch the time when browning the outside. Mine took 4 minutes/side (instead of 7-8).
These were a hit! We decided that with all whole wheat flour we would want to add a little bit of extra honey next time, but these were perfectly fluffy and crisp outside!
Delicious and nutritious! I made two batches. I am not well practiced with whole wheat and wasn’t paying close attention (new puppy in the house). I made a few mishaps (missed the 20 min rise and mixed the butter in with the milk mixture), BUT they still came out great. Actually, they came out just as good. A solid recipe. I froze the second batch for easy weekday breakfast prep. Tasty!
The recipe was very easy to follow with the in-depth explanations. The muffins turned out great and tasted wonderful. They did brown very fast for me even with the stove on low however.
I’d tried and failed to make English muffins before so I was scared to try this time, but these directions were great and these turned out great! My family loved them and they were tons of fun to make!
These were fun and delicious! Mine did come out a bit browner than I would have liked on the stove so I’ll turn the heat down next time. I loved the cornmeal and the subtle complexity of the whole wheat and honey, not to mention that wonderful fresh bread smell!
I’ve never baked with yeast before, so I was a little nervous how things would turn out, but your directions were great. You weren’t kidding when you said it was a sticky dough! Because of the stickiness, I had trouble holding the shape when transferring them to the griddle, so they aren’t perfectly round, but you can tell they’re english muffins. I did weigh the dough as suggested, but only ended up with 8 muffins, not 12. However, they taste great, and we will be using them for breakfast sandwiches tomorrow. Thank you!
I had so much fun making these. The photos and instructions were perfect. They turned out delicious and will be a breakfast treat for the coming week.
First time ever making English muffins and they were perfect, so much better than store bought. Easy instructions to follow along. Delicious!
Turned out great! Very thorough instructions made it easy for my first try of English muffins!