Sourdough English Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
• 2 cups (454g) warm water (110°F-115°F)
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
• 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, ripe (fed) or discard; ripe will give you a more vigorous rise
• 7 cups (843g) All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup (43g) nonfat dry milk
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons, 57g) butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon (20g) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sour salt (citric acid) -- optional; for enhanced sour flavor
• semolina or cornmeal, for coating

Instructions

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients, except the cornmeal/semolina, in a large bowl.
2. Mix and knead — by hand, electric mixer, or bread machine — to form a smooth dough. The dough should be soft and elastic, but not particularly sticky; add additional flour if necessary.
3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set it aside to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, or until it's noticeably puffy. For most pronounced sour flavor, cover the bowl, and immediately place it in the refrigerator (without rising first). Let the dough chill for 24 hours; this will develop its flavor.
4. Gently turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface, cover it, and let it sit for a few minutes to relax the gluten. Divide the dough in half. Working with one piece at a time, roll 1/2" thick, and cut in 3" rounds. Re-roll and cut any remaining scraps. Repeat with the remaining half of dough.
5. Place the rounds, evenly spaced, onto cornmeal- or semolina-sprinkled baking sheets (12 per sheet). Sprinkle them with additional cornmeal or semolina, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rise until light and puffy, about 45 to 60 minutes. If the dough has been refrigerated overnight, the rise time will be about 2 hours.
6. Carefully transfer the rounds (as many as a time that will fit without crowding) right-side up to a large electric griddle preheated to 350°F, or to an un-greased frying pan that has been preheated over medium-low heat (6).
7. Cook the muffins for about 5-10 minutes on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center of a muffin registers 190°F. The edges may feel a bit soft; that's OK.
8. Remove the muffins from the griddle, and cool on a rack. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature for 4 or 5 days; freeze for longer storage.

Tips

• This recipe is easily halved, if you don't want to make 2 dozen muffins. Halve all of the ingredients; for a slightly faster rise, use 2 teaspoons yeast, rather than 1 1/2 teaspoons.
• For best shape, cook muffins for about 3 minutes on their first side; then lay a cake pan, cookie sheet, or similar flat (though not overly heavy) object atop them. Continue cooking for 4 minutes or so; then remove the pan, turn muffins over, and finish cooking without the pan on top. This helps keep muffins flat across the top (rather than domed).