English Muffin Bread? Oh, yes. Everything you love about English muffins is waiting for you in this loaf of perfectly toastable English muffin bread.
Those nooks and crannies? Those little crevices that hold melting pools of butter? It’s all here. Toasted and slathered with Honey Butter, Everything Butter, Whipped Strawberry Butter, or Homemade Peach Jam, this is the breakfast of my dreams.
English Muffin Bread
This bread is so easy to make, you’re not going to believe it. There’s no kneading, no lengthy steps, truly nothing complicated is required – you don’t even need a mixer.
You can stir the ingredients for this bread together with a wooden spoon, let the dough rise, scoop it into loaf pans, let it rise once more, and then bake it. That is IT. No joke, this is crazy easy to make.
This bread is so easy in fact, I have three variations of this bread already in the works. Happy bread baking, my friends!
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE – do not slice this bread while it’s warm. Some homemade breads are more forgiving than others when you just can’t resist a warm slice, but English Muffin Bread will not work if you slice it too soon.
The spectacular texture of classic English muffins will develop while it finishes baking on the counter during the cooling process.
Easy Homemade Bread
This recipe for English Muffin Bread is an absolute win from Rebecca Lindamood’s new cookbook – Ready, Set, Dough! Beginner Breads for All Occasions.
You already know Rebecca as the author of Not Your Mama’s Canning Book and the creator of Foodie with Family. What you might not know is that she’s one heck of a bread baker – and she makes all of that bread baking look easy with her newest cookbook.
Despite the fact that I’ve done my share of bread baking, it’s been a long time since I ripped open a packet of yeast. Who could resist a beautifully toastable loaf of English muffin bread? I bookmarked this recipe within minutes of receiving a copy of this cookbook.
Guess what? When Rebecca tells you that homemade bread can be easy, trust her. This is HANDS DOWN the easiest yeast bread I have ever made.
Want a few more homemade bread recipes? This Beautiful Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread is about as dreamy as a loaf of sandwich bread can be.
Classic Honey Whole Wheat Bread is my favorite homemade bread that tastes like what I remember from childhood. I can never resist slicing the end off a loaf of this bread when it’s still warm from the oven.
English Muffin Bread Recipe
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, water, salt, sugar, and yeast with a sturdy spoon or dough whisk until it is moist with no dry pockets. The dough will be shaggy and very sticky. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place until the dough looks puffy and bubbly and has risen to about double its size, about 1 hour.
- While the dough rises, spray two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle ¼ cup of cornmeal in each pan. Tilt the pans, tapping gently, until the cornmeal coats the sides and bottom of the pan, tapping out the excess cornmeal.
- Use nonstick cooking spray to generously grease your hands, and divide the dough between the two prepared pans. The pans should be no more than halfway full. If needed, prepare one more loaf pan to hold any excess dough.
- Cover the pans loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough is once again bubbly and puffy looking and just peeking above the edges of the pans, about 30 minutes. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the pans on the center oven rack in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, brush the surface of the bread generously with about half the melted butter. Return the pans to the oven and bake 10 more minutes.
- Immediately turn the loaves onto a cooling rack and brush all surfaces generously with the remaining melted butter. Cool COMPLETELY before slicing or that spectacular English muffin texture will be compromised.
What Is Shaggy Dough?
Shaggy dough is lumpy, yet mixed well-enough that there are no dry spots of flour. It should be a cohesive but loose ball, not smooth at all.
Unlike traditional homemade bread recipes, this is a very simple, stir it together and then ignore it, kind of recipe.
Need a great gluten-free bread recipe? Tender High Rising Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread and this Honey and Oat Gluten Free Bread have been hugely popular as well. Along with this Cool Rise Whole Wheat Bread.
I made each of those recipes on repeat every week for several years, while we were dealing with gluten sensitivities. For the whole index of terrific gluten-free baking, you can see them all HERE.
Every single gluten-free recipe on this website has been tested side by side with their traditional all-purpose flour counterparts. “Good enough for gluten-free” will never be part of my baking.
English Muffin Bread
Ingredients
- 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 ½ teaspoons white sugar
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1 ¼ teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
- nonstick spray, butter, or oil
- cornmeal, for flouring pans
- 1/3 cup melted butter, divided
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, water, salt, sugar, and yeast with a sturdy spoon or dough whisk until it is moist with no dry pockets. The dough will be shaggy and very sticky. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place until the dough looks puffy and bubbly and has risen to about double its size, about 1 hour.
- While the dough rises, spray two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle ¼ cup of cornmeal in each pan. Tilt the pans, tapping gently, until the cornmeal coats the sides and bottom of the pan, tapping out the excess cornmeal.
- Use nonstick cooking spray to generously grease your hands, and divide the dough between the two prepared pans. The pans should be no more than halfway full. If needed, prepare one more loaf pan to hold any excess dough.
- Cover the pans loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough is once again bubbly and puffy looking and just peeking above the edges of the pans, about 30 minutes. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the pans on the center oven rack in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, brush the surface of the bread generously with about half the melted butter. Return the pans to the oven and bake 10 more minutes.
- Immediately turn the loaves onto a cooling rack and brush all surfaces generously with the remaining melted butter. Cool COMPLETELY before slicing or that spectacular English muffin texture will be compromised.
Notes
Nutrition
{originally published 12/31/19 – recipe notes and photos updated 2/11/22}
Angela says
Thanks for sharing this excellent recipe; it is just like the bread we used to buy from the local bakery when I was a kid. I subbed 2 tsp table salt for the kosher salt and skipped the step of buttering the bread in the oven; i just rubbed all surfaces with butter once it was fully baked, and the crust softened well. My family enjoyed this bread so much that I have made 3 batches of it this week. One batch fits perfectly in a 13-inch pullman pan (I leave the lid off and give the bread about 10 extra minutes of baking time), and the resulting bread is just the right size for our toaster.
Mary Younkin says
This is awesome, Angela! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the bread.
Marie says
I first made this when I had a jar of yeast but now only have packets. How many packets of yeast do I need? I’m happy to open what I need and dump it into a bowl to measure it but don’t want to open more than I need. Thanks!
Mary Younkin says
I don’t know how many that will be, Marie. I’d just open them one at a time and measure it.
Amy Hough says
I just made this recipe with a bread machine, and it is soooooo delicious!! I used instant yeast with the amount called for in the recipe, put the ingredients in the pan in the order my machine calls for and set it for Quick (2 hours), which is what my machine calls for when using instant yeast. I was worried that the loaf might be too big for the machine, but it was perfect. My family has eaten almost the entire loaf in just a couple of hours… I’m going to have to pace myself! I highly recommend!!
Mary Younkin says
I’m so happy to hear that, Amy!
Nick Metzger says
Everyone loves this bread. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad you like it, Nick.
Shawna Lee says
My mom is nearing the end of her life from cancer and she absolutely LOVES this bread!!! It’s one if the few things that is actually appetizing to her. Thank you for sharing this recipe 💗
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad to hear that she’s enjoying the bread. Thank you for taking the time to tell me. My prayers are with you both tonight.
Ti says
Yum. I used ½ whole wheat and substituted brown sugar for white. Let it rise in my Kitchenaid bowl and then a second rise in the two cornmeal prepped pans in a warm oven.
So easy, so good. Have been baking this for over 25 years and find it so much easier than conventional recipes.
Ti
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad that you like the bread, Ti!
kim says
I would love to try this! Can you offer up weight measures? I don’t like to bake bread (or anything with flour in it) by volume. Or just tell me how you measure your flour so I can attempt to have the same amount (scoop and sweep, or spoon and sweep, etc.). Thanks!
Mary Younkin says
I lightly scoop or spoon flour into the cup and then level with a knife. ( I rarely bake by weight.) I hope that helps and that you LOVE the bread!
Tricia says
This recipe is so good. Could freeze the second loaf but decided to “share” with my neighbor. I did the irst proofing in my Instant Pot and it only took about 12 minutes.
Mary Younkin says
I’m glad to hear it was a hit, Tricia.
Linda says
Wow…just googled proofing in Instant Pot. Thanks for posting! I’ll certainly be more encouraged to bake bread again with this simplifying step!
Trina says
I followed your recipe to the letter and it’s probably the best bread I’ve ever made. And, super easy with no kneading! Thank you for sharing this!
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad that you are enjoying the bread, Trina!
Josie says
Perfect recipe. Wouldn’t change a thing. I use a Danish dough whisk to mix the dough with great success. Thanks for sharing.
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad you like the bread, Josie.
Margaret Neher says
I would like to try this recipe but I have spectacular failures when I try to make bread (my last loaf you could use in a brick wall). For the last two English Muffin Bread attempts I split the recipe in half so that I waste less ingredients if it doesn’t turn out. Is there a reason that would be a bad idea here? Should I just bite the bullet and make the full two loaves? Thanks!
Mary Younkin says
You should be able to halve it without any issues. Hopefully this one will work perfectly for you!
Vicki Kirkland says
Can I use mini loaf pans? How. long should they bake?
Mary Younkin says
Yes, you can, Vicki. You’ll just need to watch and test for doneness though, as I don’t have the precise times for that size pan.
Kathy Harding says
I have made this bread about a dozen times. It is AMAZING! I love to share it with friends and coworkers since it makes two loaves. Wonderful recipe!!
Maureen Steinbach says
Just made this, and I loved it! So easy and absolutely delicious. I did what your note recommended and switched 3 Cups of the flour to bread flour. Amazing. Thank you for this new family favorite.
Mary Younkin says
Yay! I’m so glad you liked the bread, Maureen.
Karen Hutchinson says
I made this yesterday for the first time. It’s absolutely delicious! I put the dough to rise in the laundry room with the dryer on and the door closed. That worked great. It was hard to wait for it to cool to cut it. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have all of your cookbooks!
Donna says
Wow! I converted your recipe from instant yeast to sourdough starter! And WOW! It is amazing. Pretty and delicious. Thank you for this recipe. It is a keeper!
P.S. My New Year’s resolution was to make 52 loaves of bread this year. This recipe will definitely be on my repeat list.
Rose says
Donna, could you share this recipe using sourdough starter, PLEASE. I have substituted sourdough instant yeast package, but I can no longer find it and it took this recipe to a new level😋😋 which is delicious to begin with!
Christina says
Wonderful recipe! I’ve made this several times. I used my kitchenaid stand up mixer with the bread attachment and found that it comes out even more perfect than mixing it by hand. Also weighed the flour and made sure the water was between 100-115 degrees. This recipe is a keeper. Our family loves it and it makes a wonderful gift.
Donna Struthers says
Thank you for this recipe! We have a local coffee shop that serves English Muffin Bread and I wanted to find a copycat. This is even better! This is my second time making this bread. I use sourdough starter instead of rapid yeast and it turns out beautifully! This is a keeper!
Judith says
I decided to start making my own bread more now after reading about the additives in food these days. I’ve found homemade bread must be eaten or else frozen within a couple of days or it will mold, yet store bought bread lasts forever! So what’s in it keeping the mold away? Thanks for this great recipe! I raised the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees the last 5” and the bread browned up nicely. I also used bread flour as suggested. This will be my go to recipe for English Muffin bread!
Mary Younkin says
I’m so glad you like the bread, Judith!
Geralyn A Smith says
With the price of groceries iIhave resorted to making all of my own breads and buns. This recipe is the best english muffin bread. This and a wheat honey bread are in my weekly rotations.
Mary Younkin says
I’m thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying the recipes, Geralyn.