English Muffin Morning

What is better than an English muffin, smoothered in butter and jam?  Or made up as a little brekky sandwhich with bacon and some nice cheddar cheese. 
I've never even attempted to make English muffins at home.  I usually just buy Bay's brand.  They are by far the best commercial English muffins you can buy.
But since I've been on a baking kick lately, I thought, "What the heck?  Let's try to see what madness we can create."
I actually tried several recipes.  I was looking for an English muffin that was light and had lots of nooks and crannies.  The first one I tried came out WAY to dense.  The flavor was good, and the family devoured them, but I knew something was missing.
Searching the internet, I stumbled across Michael Ruhlman's web site and his recipe.  He practically guaranteed light and nooky muffins.  If you are unfamiliar with Ruhlman, he appears on several of Anthony Bourdain's episodes.  If you don't know, I adore Anothony Bourdain.  His wise cracking sarcasm and witty ways entertain me.  Ruhlman is also a noted chef and author in his own right.  Here is a link to his web site if  you want to check it out:  http://ruhlman.com/2010/12/english-muffins-recipe/
The only odd thing about this recipe is the wierd mesurements.  If you look at the orginal it calls for 16 oz of flour or "four fluffy cups".  Like many home cooks, I don't have a scale.  I also don't really know what "four fluffy cups" would equal.  I split the difference and used three cups of flour, and that seemed about right.  Here is Ruhlman's recipe with some of my tweaks to make it easier to understand.


Homemade English Muffin Recipe
This should look like a very thick pancake batter.

• 4 Tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3 cups flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water
• cornmeal for dusting

1. Combine the butter and sugar in a small sauce pan, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Add the milk, stir it and remove it from the heat.  Stir in the yeast and the egg.
2. Combine the flour and salt in mixing bowl.  Add the milk mixture and stir till it’s all well combined.  Cover and set aside for 1-1/2 hours, or refrigerate overnight (removing it from the fridge an hour before cooking).
3. Heat a griddle or a skillet over medium heat.  If you’re using rings, butter them.  Stir the dissolved baking powder into the batter.  Dust the griddle or skillet with corn meal.  Scoop-pour about 1/4-cup portions onto the griddle, free form or in rings.  Cook for about seven minutes.  Flip them and continue cooking till done, 7 to 10 more minutes.
4. Allow them to rest for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Yield: 8 to 12 muffins