One of the reasons that English muffins are so popular is the taste derived from their uneven texture. The depressions in the muffin allows whatever toppings you use to provide an overwhelming burst of flavor. This yeast recipe duplicates the flavor and texture of English muffins while providing the larger surfavce of a bread slice. Furthermore, this tasty easy-to-prepare no-knead bread is good whether you toast the slices or slice and eat them as is.
ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD - 2 loaves
3 cups flour                                                  1/2 cup water
2 packages active dry yeast                            2 cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar                                         3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt                                             cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and soda, in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the water and the milk and heat in a small sauce pan and heat until very warm. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients.
Stir in enough of the remaining flour to the mixture to m,ake a very stiff batter.
Grease the two loaf pans, bottoms and all four sides with shortening and sprinkle all the surfaces with cornmeal. Turn the batter into the prepared pans and sprinkle the tops of each loaf with additional cornmeal. Cover the loaves and let them rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
Bake the loaves at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. When done, remove and allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing loaves from the pans.
You can enjoy this bread when it comes out of the oven, after it cools or sliced and toasted with your favorite toppings. Anoher good use for this bread is making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches as the crust provides a tasty, crunch in contrast to the creamy filling.
