All you need is a few simple ingredients to make these delicious and soft sourdough discard English muffins. Delightfully chewy, this recipe makes the perfect breakfast, brunch, or even use them in place of bread in sandwiches.
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The original version of my sourdough English muffins were one of my very first sourdough recipes on the blog. They are a staple in our house. They are super simple to make, they come together quickly, and you can use them in just about a thousand ways.
Most of the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, and if you are new to sourdough baking, this is for you.
Sourdough bread can be intimidating. You worry about the timing, and about feeding your starter so it is active when you are ready to start the dough. It’s one reason many people don’t even try. They are overwhelmed with all the new things they may have to learn.
If that is you, I want to encourage you to keep going. Start with sourdough discard recipes, like double chocolate sourdough bread, and once you get your feel for it, move on to some active starter fermentations.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Great way to use discard: No, you don’t need an active sourdough starter for this recipe (although that will work). Discard will work just fine because the dough is risen by baking soda rather than the wild yeast in the active starter.
Versatile: English muffins can be used in a variety of ways– no need to stick to just breakfast. I use them for sandwiches or even as a side instead of biscuits. Slather on some homemade strawberry jam or cream cheese and everyone will be happy.
Super simple: They can be made quickly or long-fermented for the added health benefits.
Ingredients
Sourdough discard: The star of the show. This is an unfed sourdough starter. Active starter will also work, but it’s not a requirement. Discard also adds a lovely tanginess to the dough. Learn how to make a sourdough starter.
Honey: You could also use maple syrup or even sugar. You may need to add a little water if using sugar.
Baking soda: This gives the dough its rise.
Tools You May Need
Cast iron skillet
English muffin rings, biscuit cutter, round cookie cutter, or even just a mason jar ring
How to Make Sourdough Discard English Muffins
The Quick Version
Step 1: Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Add flour, salt, and baking soda to a large bowl. Whisk together well.
Step 2: Add in water and sourdough starter discard. Mix until it comes together. You could use a stand mixer if you prefer.
Step 3: Knead the dough for a few minutes to help develop the gluten strands.
Step 4: Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface about 1/2 inch thick with a rolling pin. Use an English muffin cutter and cut out the dough. Continue rolling out and cutting dough until all the dough is used up.
Step 5: Add a little oil to the cast iron skillet. Place English muffins in the pan. Allow to cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side.
Step 6: Flip and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool, then serve. If they have not cooked all the way through, place them in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes.
The Long-Fermented Version
Step 1: In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients minus the baking soda. Knead together for a few minutes. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
Step 2: The next day, add baking soda to the fermented dough and knead well, making sure it’s all incorporated. Roll the dough and cut out. Preheat the skillet on medium-low heat.
Step 3: Add the English muffins to the cast iron skillet. Cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool, then serve.
Tips
- If your dough is too dry, you may need to add a little more water. The hydration of your starter will play a big part in this.
- If you find that the homemade English muffins are not cooking all the way through, you may need to pop them into a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven and allow them to finish cooking.
- Make sure to use fresh baking soda for best results. Old baking soda may not give these muffins the desired rise.
- If making the long-fermented version, the dough may not rise at all during the fermentation period and that is totally fine. Nothing to worry about!
Recipe FAQ
Yes. They are made with a few basic ingredients and can be a healthy part of your diet. Long-ferment them for even more health benefits.
Yes. It is an active living food with fermented grains and healthy yeasts and bacteria.
Using sourdough discard can be a great way to reduce food waste rather than just tossing it out. It can also ferment grains just like an active starter, it just may not rise the dough.
Once your sourdough starter is established and you are using it frequently, you don’t need to discard every time. But if you find that you have too much starter, I would recommend discarding it to keep it a healthy and manageable size.
Storage
Store in an air-tight container for up to five days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Pair this recipe with:
- Zucchini Frittata
- Over-hard Eggs
- Peach Preserves
- Homemade Ricotta or Kefir Cheese
- Ham and Cheese Frittata
- Or turn them into Sourdough Breakfast Sandwiches
- Sourdough Beignets
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone with your delicious creation.
Sourdough Discard English Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour, 350 g
- 1 cup water, 236 g
- 1/2 cup sourdough discard, 125 g
- 1 tablespoon honey, 21 g
- 1 teaspoon salt, 5 g
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.
- Add flour, salt, and baking soda to a large bowl. Whisk together well.
- Add in water, sourdough starter discard, and honey. Mix until it comes together. You could use a stand mixer if you prefer.
- Knead the dough for a few minutes to help develop the gluten strands.
- Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface about 1/2 inch thick with a rolling pin.
- Use an English muffin cutter and cut out the dough. Continue rolling out and cutting dough until all the dough is used up.
- Add a little oil to the cast iron skillet. Place English muffins in the pan. Allow to cook for about 5-6 minutes on one side, then flip and continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes. Allow to cool, then serve.
Notes
- If your dough is too dry, you may need to add a little more water. The hydration of your starter will play a big part in this.
- If the English muffins are not cooking all the way through, you may need to pop them into a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven and allow them to finish cooking.
- Make sure to use fresh baking soda for best results. Old baking soda may not give these muffins the desired rise.
- If making the long-fermented version, the dough may not rise at all during the fermentation period and that is totally fine. Nothing to worry about!
- See post for long fermentation directions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made your discard English muffin recipe several times now and have even used the ratios (long fermented) to make sourdough “muffin rolls” in a muffin pan. I appreciate you adding the gram measurements – it helped with measuring out the grains to mill flour for it – and per one of your other videos, when I used fresh ground whole wheat, I just added about 1/4 cup or so more water. The dough was sticky, but I’m used to that by now with healthier flours! Looking at all these other comments complaining, I’m guessing they are expecting everything to be easier, but I am happy with the results I’ve gotten with your English muffin recipe. I need to keep practicing my skills and probably purchase an English muffin cutter before I get the reliable, perfectly round results you do in your pictures…but I’d also need drier, more kneaded dough to roll these out, and I like the moistness, flavor, and nurtrition of the fresh ground wheat (albeit sticky!). Do you fresh mill your wheat and still roll out your dough with a rolling pin? (I’m not married to the idea at all. I’m fine kind of messily pressing and stretching a roughly shaped muffin with sticky hands and watching it puff up and toast!
People, if you keep at it, you’ll get it.
Delicious and easy to make. Definitely worth doubling to use up extra discard
I spent quite a bit of time mixing this in my mixer and then kneading it on the counter to no avail….it was so very sticky. I added flour to the counter and the rolling pin and sprinkled it on top of the dough. I was able to get it cut but it was not coming off the counter very well. And then they did not rise while cooking and did not cook through, even when rather flat. They are very dense and currently cooking in the oven to try to cook through. I don’t know what went wrong. I did the short version and I used a mature starters discard. My baking soda is no more than 2 weeks old.
I saw another version of discard English muffins somewhere that required yeast and more discard. I didn’t have that much discard so I chose this recipe, but I wonder if yeast would have helped?
Super dense, sticky, no nooks and crannies and these never cooked through. These definitely need proofing time and more finesse.
I am sorry you had some troubles with this recipe!
I made these per the recipe and they were definitely wet. I had to add about 1/4 cup of flour to make the dough workable. Cooked them in the cast iron COVERED and they cooked through no problem. They turned out nice and puffy but pretty dense and the flavor was similar to soft pretzels in my opinion. Overall, it was a useful recipe – I was able to make sandwiches in 30 minutes when I had run out of bread so I’ll definitely keep it on hand!
I thought I was the only one who had trouble, but I guess not. My dough was very sticky, but after a lot of added flour it didn’t stick to anything anymore. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give these for breakfast as the never finished cooking even after placing them in an oven.
Absolutely amazing! I made mine with hard red wheat freshly milled and they were great. I did have to finish them in the oven for a while. The long ferment worked great!
Really liked the recipe. Flavor is great. I need to keep trying it. Some of them were perfect. Some not. I have a glass top electric range so I did’nt use the cast iron skillet. I would love to see how they would turn out if I used the range on our grill outside with a cast iron skillet. Also made five batches at once. That was a bit difficult. Great recipe. We used the long fermentation version.
Water flour ratio seems off, resulting in dense crumb
The dough never came together and was very sticky. I added a lot of flour before it could be kneaded and rolled out. After cooking in cast iron skillet they were not done in the middle. I baked them for 15 minutes to get them cooked. They taste very dense and doughy.
My dough was super sticky, I lightly added flour to help w the sticky-ness. The muffins came out heavy and dense. Suggestions?