Islay - I'm wondering how "our" English Muffins compare to "English" Muffins. I only buy Thomas' brand because of the "nooks and crannies" but you make it sound like the real deal is perhaps a denser consistency, something that I equate with store-brand EMs or those McDonald's uses for their Egg McMuffin sandwiches. Personally I only buy Thomas', and if I went through the effort of making some from scratch I'd be disappointed if they were dense. So, how does an authentic English Muffin compare to what's pictured here? Sorry for the hijack - I'm also very interested in an English Muffin Bread and will be researching that as well.

I've converted my favorite English muffin recipe to the bread machine. Let it do the work. Going back in time a few years ago... Hubby, who thinks food appears by magic around here (well, almost), helped me make English muffins one Christmas Eve morning - by hand, from scratch. We delivered them, freshly made, to friends/neighbors/family. When his much impressed sister asked how they were made, he said "Don't ask. You're not equiped for the job." hehehe If you like English muffins, you may also like crumpets. Yet one more use for those English muffin/crumpet rings. Crumpets are a cross between English muffins and pancakes. Cooked more like a formed pancake, but you need to toast it before eating it. The easiest ones I make are a King Arthur recipe for sourdough crumpets. Take 1 c. sourdough starter. Put it in a 4-cup measuring cup (for easy pouring) and add 1 t. sugar and 1/2 t. each salt and baking soda. Whisk these in thoroughly. Watch the chemistry... the baking soda "explodes" forming millions of carbon dioxide bubbles to leaven the crumpets (which is why you need a 4-cup measuring cup). Spray your crumpet rings with Pam. Set them on a preheated griddle. Fill the rings with about 1/4-inch of batter and cook it over low heat until the tops are set and full of holes. The tops will also lose their glossy wet look. Remove the rings and flip the crumpets over for a minute or two. When they are done, place on a rack to cool. DO NOT stack them like pancakes because they tend to stick together. This recipe makes 8 crumpets. To serve, pop the crumpets into a toaster or toaster oven to brown and get slightly crisp. Serve with butter and jam. You can also add flavorings to give the crumpets a different flavor. I also add finely chopped deli ham to the crumpet batter for brunch crumpets. Never toss another cup of sourdough starter.... -Grainlady

Well, you can "remake" jelly that doesn't jell, but I always find it to have a kind of "gummy bear" consistency that I don't like, I usually just use the unset jelly as a glaze for chicken or pork, or serve it over a savory cheesecake. There is no reason you can't mix the two batches and reprocess but I am not optimistic that you're going to accomplish making a double batch of perfect jelly out of two imperfect single batches. If only it were that easy... I'd probably thin the thick stuff with a bit of water or juice and add a few seconds in the microwave when I wanted to use it but I'm interested to see if you try it and what your results are. Annie

I have a glut of strawberry jam I inherited from my mom that I am trying to clear out to make room for this year's batches. I have two jars to go . . . I also wondered about just making "jam cake" which mixes the jam into the whole batter. I love it, but the classic recipe is for blackberry jam . . .This bread recipe had a ribbon of jam down the middle. Would be just as easy to just make banana bread and top it with jam though . . . Maybe I should do mini muffins with a jam blob and streusel topping . . . one big yummy bite! Perhaps a small coffee cake with a jam streusel swirl on top. I have seen a few breads with a pinwheel of jam in them, but then that's pretty much a waste of time, IMHO. Just make toast and spread the jam on it!