Yeasted griddle-baked round dusted with cornmeal, riddled with nooks and crannies. Split with a fork, never a knife.
Samuel Bath Thomas opened his first bakery at 163 Ninth Avenue in NYC in 1880 (the West 20th Street 'Muffin House' was a later, early-1900s second location) and sold the muffin to hotels for breakfast. Marketed as 'Toaster Cakes' before settling on the English Muffin name. Kitsch British cousin: the crumpet.
Thomas's Original Nooks & Crannies recipe is still trademarked; corporate spies tried to steal it in 2010 when Bimbo Bakeries acquired Thomas's. Wolferman's (Kansas City, since 1888) makes the thick-cut hotel version. The Bay's House of Bagels does sourdough variants.
Pale top and bottom, deep cratered crumb. Toasted, the cornmeal crusts go nutty, butter and jam pool in the holes. The eggs Benedict base by default. Should crisp on the outside, stay moist inside.
Wet 80%-hydration dough proofed in muffin rings, baked on a 175°C griddle 7 min per side — no oven. The fork-split (not knife) preserves the irregular nook structure created by the high-hydration crumb. Cornmeal dust prevents sticking.
Variations
Thomas's (NYC original, the supermarket benchmark), sourdough (San Francisco bakeries — Bay Bread), whole-wheat, multigrain, cinnamon-raisin (US sweet variant), Wolferman's hotel-thick (1.5x height).
On the Palate
Where English Muffin sits in the American flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
5 steps · 29 min active + 1 hour 11 min waiting
- 15 min
Mix 500 g flour, 7 g yeast, 5 g salt, 5 g sugar, 350 ml warm milk into smooth dough.
- 268 min
Knead 8 min; cover and rise 1 hr until doubled.
Watch outLet it rise until doubled and puffy — this wet 80% dough needs a full airy proof to build the open crumb that gives the nooks.
- 38 min
Divide into 80 g rounds; dust both sides generously with cornmeal.
- 416 min
Place rounds on griddle in muffin rings; cook 8 min per side over low heat.
Watch outKeep the griddle low and give it the full time per side — you want deep even browning while the thick middle cooks through; high heat colors the outside before the center sets.
- 53 min
Cool slightly; split with a fork (not knife) to expose nooks before toasting.
Watch outSplit it with a fork, poking around the rim and pulling apart — a knife slices the nooks flat and you lose the craggy toasting surface.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
