English muffins and mini-pizza-snacks

I've loved all of the recipes I've tried from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, in a large part because they're all so easy: mix up some dough, shove it in the fridge, bake the next day. I've been wanting to try his English muffin recipe, but unlike the recipe from BBA, in which the English muffins are shaped sort of like buns, in ABED, the muffin batter is more similar to pancake batter and thus requires muffin rings...which I didn't have. :(

Flash forward to the beginning of this year, when my friend Melanie emailed me to tell me that Santa had left her a new set of rings...but she'd just gotten herself a set. She offered to send the extra set to me, and I was just thrilled.

It didn't take me long to break them in; hubby absolutely loves English muffins!

The dough is mixed together: honey, olive oil, warm milk, bread flour, salt, and instant yeast, and then placed in the fridge.

When I pulled the dough out of the fridge the next day, it was bubbling like crazy. Right before baking, I dissolved some baking soda in warm water and gently folded into the dough. Meanwhile, I turned on my electric griddle, set to 300º.

The rings are coated with cooking spray and cornmeal, and then placed on the griddle and filled with 1/3 c of the dough/batter. It was so much fun to watch them turn into English muffins before our eyes...I think that's my favorite part of making English muffins: you get to see the bread making action up close and personal!

We used these to make mini pizzas / pizza snacks, which were staples in both hubby's and my home when we were growing up. We have very different philosophies: hubby's family used cheddar cheese, chopped ham, onion, and green peppers. My mom always made mine with a little pizza sauce and mozzarella, much more like a real pizza. Luckily English muffins are small enough that everyone can make one that fits their needs.

Hubby and I loved these muffins....the kiddos were sadly not as impressed with the pizza snacks, maybe because they're accustomed to pizza with homemade crust on a regular basis. The rest of the muffins have been used for breakfast, with eggs, and I'm sure this recipe will become a new staple around here.

Thanks, Mel! :)