Bridal Shower Bites - Mom's English Muffin Loaf

I called my mom as soon as I got the Bridal Shower invitation - apparently she knew all about it but didn't want to spill the beans. Anyway, the first thing she said was, "I have no idea what recipe to send you. You already have all of my recipes!" And I do. Mom made a cookbook for me as a college graduation present that has all of the recipes I loved from growing up, and she keeps sending me new ones that she's tried or thinks look interesting. I send her recipes, too, so we have a pretty fluid recipe sharing system already set up. Which means that it was hard for either one of us to think of a recipe that she has that I don't, and she didn't want to send just any recipe without trying it out first. I told her she didn't have to send any, since she's already given me so many, but Mom likes to play by the rules.  So she went on a mission!

Is it a muffin, or is it bread??

After many weeks of looking for the right recipe, she finally found this one. She told me about it before she sent it, so it wasn't a complete surprise when I opened the envelope (the other one, a recipe for sorbet from my dad, was a surprise. And looks delicious - stay tuned). English muffin bread - a new adventure for me! I've made English muffins before but making a loaf of bread seems easier than making (and cooking) individual muffins. Especially since it's a no-knead kind of bread and an hour later you'll be pulling it out of the oven!

Ready to rise!

Matt makes really good omelets, a skill that I have yet to acquire (but I have no incentive to learn since his are so good). Sometimes, on a lazy weekend, he will make omelets for us for breakfast and I usually make grits to go along with them. He volunteered to make omelets this weekend for breakfast (we are trying to use up the eggs since we are headed out of town) and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make the English muffin bread (also appropriate since we are heading to England). I ended up making the bread the night before so it would be ready and cooled for the morning, and to save myself the trouble when I woke up. 

Fresh out of the oven!

It's a quick recipe to pull together - you basically just mix everything together, then let it rest for about half an hour, and then pop it in the oven. Easy peasy! What comes out of the oven is a lightly browned loaf of bread full of delicious nooks and crannies that works just as well plain as it does toasted (Matt says, "Why would I toast it? Yes, please burn my bread and dry it out." I said, "You're crazy."). It tastes just like an English muffin and I think it goes without saying that it works really well with omelets! I think next time I will try the recipe using half whole-wheat flour to make it a little healthier (also, I just got a cookbook about how to bake with whole grains and am excited to try it out).

Sliced and ready for toasting - check out those nooks and crannies!

Yummy - the breakfast of champions

Mom's English Muffin Bread

Makes 1 loaf, although if you want 2, just double everything.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1 pkg (2 1/2 tsp.) yeast

1 cup milk

1/4 cup water

Cornmeal

Combine 1 1/2 cups of flour, sugar, salt, soda, and yeast. Heat liquids until very warm (125 - 130 degrees). Add to dry mixture. Beat well for 2-3 minutes (I did this by hand with a wooden spoon - easy cleanup!). Stir in the remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Grease an 8x4 or 9x5 loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal. Spoon batter into pan. Cover, let rise in warm place for 30 minutes. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from pan immediately and cool. Loaf will be lightly browned.  Can lightly sprinkle top with cornmeal before covering (I did this for the added crunch). 

Makes good toast.