Why Are English Muffins Cooked on a Griddle?
When we first started making English muffins back in 2017, we were surprised to learn that they aren't traditionally baked like most bread products -- they're cooked on a flat top griddle!
At the time, the only thing we knew a flat top griddle for was to make pancakes. Needless to say, we had a lot to learn. In those early days, we started small -- griddling our English muffins on our stove in our home kitchen on cast iron skillets. Fast forward to today in our bakery, and we're still using the same traditional cooking method, only now we're griddling hundreds of English muffins a a time on large commercial flat-top griddles.
Interestingly enough, we came to understand that the griddle is one of the defining characteristics that separates an English muffin from other types of bread. It is also part of what makes making them a true labor of love.
So, Why a Griddle?
The dry heat, direct contact with the griddle and gradual cooking on both sides give English muffins their signature texture:
- Those peaks & valleys: Slowly cooking each side of the English muffin allows the gas bubbles in the dough to expand, creating the unique texture full of holes and crevices.
-
That golden crust: Direct contact with the hot griddle creates the golden crust on the top and bottom.
- A soft, moist center: Griddling helps retain the moisture inside the English muffin, keeping the center soft and chewy without drying it out.
In other words, the griddle isn't just how an English muffin is cooked, it's part of what makes an English muffin an English muffin.
Why We Oil the Griddle
A little oil on the griddle helps prevent the dough from sticking as the English muffins cook and flip. Since we're cooking at high heat, it's important to use an oil that can handle those temperatures.
There are several oils commonly used for high-heat cooking, including canola, sunflower, grapeseed, and avocado oil. We choose avocado oil because it has a high smoke point, a mild flavor and is seed-oil free.
The Traditional Method, Done by Hand
Even many conventional, mass-produced English muffin manufacturers still follow the basic principal of cooking the product between hot, griddle-like surfaces rather than baking it like a loaf of bread. The major difference is automation -- at our bakery, there is no automated line loading and flipping our English muffins for us.
Our team places each sourdough English muffin onto our flat top griddles by hand. As they cook, they're individually flipped and checked for color and doneness before being removed from the griddle and transferred to cooling trays.
It's a hands-on process, especially when you're making thousands of English muffins in a day, but it's one of the many parts of our process that makes our product what it is.
Three Days in the Making
Griddling may be one of the most visually unique and interesting parts of our process, but it's actually one of the final steps in making a Dam Good® English Muffin. Before one ever reached the griddle, our sourdough English muffin dough has already been through a slow, three-day fermentation process designed to develop the flavor and texture we're looking for. Then comes the griddle!
Each English muffin is cooked gradually on both sides until it develops that characteristic golden exterior crust while staying soft and chewy on the inside. From there, they're cooled, packaged and then make their way to your plate!
So, the next time you split open one of our sourdough English muffins and see all of the peaks and valleys ready to catch your butter, jam or whatever else you're piling on top, remember:
That texture didn't happen overnight or in an oven -- it happened over the course of several days and on a griddle, one flip at a time!
