Sourdough English Muffins

Method

1. 1

   Stir the starter, milk, and honey. Add the flour and mix to a soft dough. Cover and rest 20 minutes, then pinch in the salt.

2. 2

   The dough should stay soft, a little sticky. Give it two stretch-and-folds in the first hour, then let it rise until doubled, often 4 to 8 hours.

3. 3

   Dust the counter and the top of the dough with cornmeal. Pat the dough out to about three-quarters of an inch thick. Cut rounds with a cutter or a drinking glass. Press the scraps together once and cut again. Do not keep reworking them.

4. 4

   Set the rounds on a cornmeal-dusted towel. Dust the tops. Cover and rest 30 to 45 minutes, until they look puffy.

5. 5

   Heat a griddle or a heavy skillet over medium-low. Cook the muffins 6 to 8 minutes on the first side, until the bottoms are golden and the sides look set, then turn and cook 6 minutes more. They should sound softly hollow. If the outsides brown before the centers set, lower the heat.

6. 6

   Cool on a rack. Split them with a fork, not a knife, so the crumb stays ragged. Toast before you butter them.

From the kitchen

• A starter that has already fallen will make dense muffins. Feed it and wait until it has just peaked.
• They freeze well, split, and toast from frozen.