English Muffins non yeasted



English Muffins is dedicated to Michael, though he is Irish


Water

  1. -Filtered water

  2. -Mineral water

  3. -Tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate the chlorine


The Chef

The Levain

Baking the Bread

Levain Starter after baking bread

There are (4) four different steps to baking non yeasted breads. The first begins with the CHEF. The second is the LEVAIN and the third step is baking the bread. The final step is how to look after your left over LEVAIN or starter. These steps are outlined here for you. If you have questions send an email.pkdiane@mac.com


These recipes use spelt flour, rice flour, corn flour, rye flour. Some 800 years ago Hildegard von Bingen, (St. Hildegard) wrote about spelt:


"The spelt is the best of grains. It is rich and nourishing and milder than other grain. It produces a strong body and healthy blood to those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful. If someone is ill boil some spelt, mix it with egg and this will heal him like a fine ointment."

 
 

Day 1

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of spelt flour

A pinch of yeast (may omit - yeast is not necessary. For first time bakers just a pinch will assure that you produce a vibrant CHEF.

Start with the water then add 3/4th cup of flour plus 2 tablespoons and add the smallest pinch of yeast to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well to make a thick, soft dough.

The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the brand of flour. Do not add more flour or water at this point to adjust the texture. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with lid and let stand in a moderate (about 70ºF.) for 24 hours. This is the temperature in a wine cellar or basement.

The refrigerator is too cold for a beginning CHEF.  I put mine in a cool corner of the kitchen countertop. Avoid placing the CHEF on the top of the refrigerator. It is too warm from the coils within the unit.


Day 2

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of spelt flour

When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume.  You can tell this has happened by placing a rubber band to mark the volume of the CHEF from the night before.
First add the 1/2-cup water followed by 3/4th cup of flour plus 2 additional tablespoons of spelt flour. Stir vigorously to add plenty of fresh oxygen to the CHEF. Place in a 70ºF. draft-free place for 24 hours. The CHEF should have the consistency of soft dough. You might consider adding a little more flour or water to make this texture.


Day 3
1/2  cup water
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of spelt flour
The CHEF will now have the texture of a thick batter and will have doubled in volume. Let it stand at 70ºF. in a draft free place for 24 hours.


Day 4
The CHEF is now ripe. It should be very loose in texture, like a pancake batter. If you do not want to bake bread today then refrigerate the CHEF up to 3 days. Once the ripe CHEF is full of bubbles and has a batter like consistency, it is ready to turn into levain. Some have questioned about the starter not rising on day 2 or 3. For more information click here.

 

The CHEF   Step 1 - about 4 days to make

The LEVAIN   Step 2 - This can be done in the morning on your way to work. The LEVAIN can rise for 6 hours in the bread machine

Day 5

1 1/4 cups of spelt flour
Full batch of CHEF

Bring the CHEF to room temperature. If it has been placed in the refrigerator, the CHEF needs 2 hours to come to room temperature. Add the flour directly to the batter-like CHEF . Stir vigorously to add fresh oxygen to the mixture. This should make the mixture very stiff. This stiff firm texture is important for ripening the LEVAIN starter. If the batter is too water-y it becomes very sour and tangy. Scrape down the sides and let stand in a cool 70ºF draft-free place for 6-10 hours, or until it has doubled. Inside the bread machine with the machine unplugged will do nicely. Do not let it rise beyond 10 hours or there will not be enough strength in it to encourage the bread to rise.


ENGLISH MUFFIN Step 3

1 cup water
1 cup LEVAIN
1 tablespoon Himalayan pink crystal salt
2 1/4 - 4 cups of spelt flour


Allow the LEVAIN starter, the flour, the water, and the mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it a little. This meticulousness helps the bread to ferment and rise nicely. The dough behaves quite differently if brought to room temperature. Mix the LEVAIN starter and water together with a wooden spoon or a wire whip. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly frothy and the LEVAIN starter is partly dissolved. Add 1 cup of the flour and stir until it is well combined. Add the salt and just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding the water to your hands. I kneaded it within a large ceramic bowl. The muffin dough must slightly over kneaded, and much wetter than regular bread dough, so keep wetting your hands as you work and knead in as much water as you can.

RISE THE DOUGH (2 hours)
Stop when the dough is soft that it is almost runny, and before the gluten falls apart. Finally, cover and set the dough to rise for 2 hours. I put it in a deep wide bowl and cover with a huge platter to keep drafts away. The muffin dough will rise more quickly than its stiffer bread counterpart, because it is so wet.

DIVIDE THE DOUGH (30 minutes)
Divide the dough into (8) eight equal pieces and form each piece into a smooth round ball. Put the rounds on a very generously floured baking sheet, cover and set it to rise in a warm place 2 hours. The round balls of dough will have flattened down and spread out a bit.

 

HEAT GRIDDLE:
I used two cast iron griddles and heated them to low medium – medium heat, much cooler than for pancakes. With a wide pancake turner and a magician’s sleight of hand, pick up the muffins one at a time and place them flour side down on the hot griddle. Turn after about 5 minutes (when brown on the bottom). Keep turning at 5-minute intervals to prevent the crust from burning. They are done when the sides, are springy. If in doubt open one and taste it.

I was not as dexterous. I just took the little balls of dough by hand and gently placed them on the hot griddle. These tasted and looked like English muffins especially with a bit of all fruit strawberry jam. If you want more holes in your muffin, knead it more and use more water.


LEFT OVER LEVAIN STARTER  After baking  Step 4

Once you have placed the bread in the oven and measured out the LEVAIN starter, you will have a bit left over. To the left over LEVAIN add 1/3-cup water (or 5 tablespoons of water) and 1/2 cup of flour (or 8 tablespoons of flour). Mix it adding the water first, then the flour. Allow it sit out while the bread bakes. Then place it in a cool place. The refrigerator is fine. The LEVAIN has to be fed 1/3 cup of water (or 5 tablespoons of water) and fresh spelt flour 1/2 cup (or 8 tablespoons of flour) about once a week. For the best bread, fed the LEVAIN twice in a 24 hour period just before baking your next loaf. When you are ready to bake your next loaf, once again allow the LEVAIN, the flour, the water, the mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. The process for making these non-yeasted breads is indeed a long one, but once you experience biting into a savory warm slice of spelt bread fresh from your own stone lined oven, you may be handsomely rewarded through your own self realized efforts. Early on I did a taste test. I thought my first loaves were flat and I assumed the taste would also be flat. I compared a slice from a commercially made loaf of non-yeasted spelt bread to my own, and my own won hands down. There is a movie from Pacific Bakery that shows in VHS video format how to bake unyeasted spelt bread.