For some reason one of my photos won't post (tried several times). If it doesn't show up soon, I'll post it as a reply.

I tried once back when tuna cans could be opened from both ends and although beautiful the insides were not cooked. Somewhere I have rings to make those layered salads that were popular at one time which are very close to this size. Not certain if they would work.

Years ago my friend and i took some cooking classes...and I bought the English muffin rounds.

You inspired me to make some tomorrow. Thanks.

Yesterday I made bread from a recipe from one of the classes. I had forgotten how tasty it was.

I think the classes were on 1983.

They look great!

They look very good. I'll take some with cinnamon and raisins please! :)

For some reason lately I only see the plain ones in the store where I grocery shop. Maybe they run out of them faster . Meijer or Wal-Mart should carry them too and I need to check.

What a nice gift from your husband, he was paying attention :-) The muffins look great, better than store bought! I can imagine the nooks and crannies catching lots of melted butter and a dollop of honey. Yum!!

It never occurred to me that people made their own English muffins! We eat enough that I buy the bulk pack of Thomas's at Costco and freeze half. I may not cook much, but I am very good at tearing these apart with my thumbs so that toast nicely with the famous 'nooks and crannies'.

I made some here while back. I had no idea they made rings for them! Mine turned out very good but tasted like bread not English muffins... lol.

G'morning!

Thank you everyone for your comments.

We love English muffins and eat a lot of them. I like nooks and crannies full of butter and sometimes honey if I really want to treat myself. Because I watch my carbs, I usually limit myself to half of a muffin. Hubby likes his with strawberry jam.

Sherry, the set came with four rings. Hubby bought two sets, so a total of eight rings. The recipe made enough dough to make two batches of muffins. Later today, I will post the recipe that came with the set as well as one for whole wheat muffins which is the recipe I used back in the tuna can days. I didn't make the WW ones this time because I didn't have a couple of needed ingredients.

Yours looks delicious!

Thanks, Glenda!

I have crumpet rings that I bought at a restaurant supply store, but I decided that I do not like crumpets. I do like English muffins a bit better, but I've never made them. Crumpets are made with something like a batter, and so the rings are necessary to hold the batter in place. The rings I bought were sold separately, and so I bought three, as I did not think I could get more than that onto my griddle at one time.

Wow those look very yummy! I don't know why but I too never thought of making your own English muffins! I am not much of a baker unfortunately or maybe that's a good thing since I tend to be in love with all forms of bread!

I love good English muffins. I prefer mine as a savory meal, served with a slice of ham or turkey and a soft egg on top. Then again, my favorite fast food item is an Egg McMuffin.

Nice! I've never made them but always thought it would be fun to try...though I know I'd never get the 'nooks & crannies' which apparently is a closely guarded secret.

Yes, please post your recipe. I have three sets of four rings, they were my mother's. I used to make muffins every week from the recipe on the back, but they were more like bread than yours. They really didn't have nooks and crannies. I usually made whole wheat, I would like to try again!

You won't get nooks and crannies if you *slice* English muffins in half. Thomas' come with fork 'scorings' around the perimeter; I *pull* the muffins apart, using the sides of my thumbs.

Such a simple thing to be so loved! My FBF (from age 3) told me she'd first tasted these at my house, and that she thought of my mom when she made them for her family over the years.

I've enjoyed reading all of you comments this morning - thank you!

maifleur, I don't see why your rings wouldn't work. You could give it a try and see what happens.

A couple of things I figured out as I went along. The recipe says to remove the rings when putting the muffins on the griddle. I found they wanted to stick if I tried to remove before putting them on the griddle, but if I left the rings on, the muffins pulled away from the rings enough when they hit the heat that the rings slid right off. I didn't grease the rings as there were no instructions to do that.

Be sure your griddle isn't too hot. If it is too hot, the bottoms will get dark before the inside of the muffins are fully cooked.

Regarding the nooks and crannies. I split these with a fork rather than cutting with a knife. They aren't full of nooks the way Thomas's are, but they aren't like bread either. Maybe somewhere in between.

My apologies for not posting the recipes yesterday; the day got away from me. Recipes will be coming up shortly. Breakfast and shower first though. :-)

As promised, here are the recipes. It's been a long time since I've had the WW muffins, but if memory serves me correctly, I would prefer them over the recipe that came with the rings. They have more flavor due to the WW flour, the wheat germ and the honey. I think the texture also has more substance to it; not quite as fluffy.I

If any of you end up making English muffins, please let us know how they turn out. As always, we love photos too!

Thank you so much! It will be a little while, I am going to have to order them from Amazon. No one has them in the stores, not even the kitchen stores.

The ones I had been buying premade taste stale to me now.

Those look so good, Dawn! I don’t eat much bread anymore, but I would eat those in a minute. Especially with an egg on top.

Having lived in the Bay Area my entire life the Foster's English Muffins set the standard for me. They were a sourdough English muffin that were the served in Foster's Cafeteria in San Francisco and sold locally.

All the different flours used today, flavored and fruited versions simply don't say English Muffin to me.

I also dislike toasted toasted muffin that are then topped with butter etc. A real muffin (to me) is covered with pats of butter and broiled until the edges are crisp and the nooks and crannies are browned with sizzling butter. Nothing more added. Just like you wouldn't need anything more than butter to enjoy a good loaf of sourdough bread.

The closest store bought item I can find are Bay's Sourdough Muffins in the dairy case.

The closest recipe I've found is this one posted in this lady's blog. No rings needed. It's a wet dough that ferments overnight and they are cast iron skillet cooked. I've only made them a few times but these are, to me at least, "real" English muffins in flavor and texture.

Here is a link to the blog and recipe.

http://sherylcanter.com/wordpress/2010/02/recipe-for-authentic-english-muffins-with-natural-nooks-and-crannies/

Thanks, Outside!

Interesting, watchme. I've bookmarked your link and will try that technique next time I make English muffins. Thank you for posting it!

It might be later in January, but I'm going to try your WW recipe. It's different than the one I used, I'm anxious to see how they come out.

I make them without the rings using a recipe I found online. They hold their shape just fine.

I have made English muffins since I was a young bride and never used rings. I just cut them like I do biscuits.

I don't think you need rings for the English muffins, but you definitely do for crumpets, and crumpets seem to have more nooks and crannies.

How does the taste of homemade ones compare to the basic ones I like once in awhile, Thomas' English Muffins (Original, not sourdough)?

Elmer, it is hard to say but it is comparable to anything homemade that seems so much better. Even plain bread when home made beats bakery bread. At least I think so, but I am apt to purchase for convenience

I hear what you're suggesting Ava but I can't join you in the thought "anything homemade seems so much better." I think that can be true at times but not always and maybe not even usually, in my experience.

Which is why I asked - how does the flavor or texture of homemade English muffins differ from the better store bought ones?

Heck if I know. I just like to bake stuff. Hubby likes cakes from grocery store bakeries over homemade cuz he likes frosting that tastes like chemicals. Go figure.

Okay, true confession time. I have never, to my knowledge, eaten an English muffin. (Yes, I am a real 'country hick'). How do they differ from other forms of bread, like a bagel, for example? Other than form, obviously. The ingredients seem pretty basic bread ingredients, is it the cooking method that makes them different?

Rusty

Yes, rusty, they have a different texture and a little different taste...you have to try thomas' english muffins toasted some time. There are other english muffins available but they don't taste the same. There's something about all the nooks and crannies and how they capture butter and jelly if you want it that makes them different from all the rest.

Years and years ago we visited a friend who moved to Seattle from the east coast. At that time she complained that she couldn't find thomas' so as a thank you, we sent her a whole bunch. Don't know how widely available they are now.

To me they are kinda a cross between pizza dough and french bread, that also is toast. Chewy, yeasty, soft with a crunch. I want to try making them, because lately the store bought are okay, but they have an off taste and don't get a crunch even after being toasted. They have been like the bread that never molds, no matter how old it is.

For those that like the nooks and crannies buy two angel food cutters/braker and use them to separate. First press one through the muffin and wiggle then slide the second one down the tines of the first an move the handles apart. First couple will break into pieces but with practice all the nice craters will be there.

Some types of muffins are much too fine grained for good craters but those are good for things like Benedicts. https://www.amazon.com/International-5651-Angel-Food-Braker/dp/B000FRUNXM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1545159100&sr=8-3&keywords=angel+food+cake+cutter

Thanks, Annie. I have Thomas' English muffins on my list for my next trip to the store. Thomas' Bagels are the only brand I will buy, so I figure their English muffins would be good, too.

Rusty

I use a 10 inch serrated bread knife, it seems to work fine with Thomas muffins.

I find the way to maximize the nooks and crannies is to fork split...dig the tines of the fork in around the outside edges toward the center until you can pull it apart. Yum!

Rusty, do make sure it's the original...I've tried some of their others and for me they're way too sweet. Also be sure to toast them...I don't think I've ever seen anyone eat them untoasted....

I'll try Annie's approach next time we get some.