English Muffins - Great British Bake Off Technical Challenge #1

At the beginning of the year I decided that when the 2013 series of the Great British Bake Off (GBBO) was aired, that I would attempt the technical challenge each week.  The series is two weeks in and I started with the challenge shown in week two; English Muffins.

Yes, I know I'm doing them out of order but me being me, I just can't make their Angel Food Cake until the new tin arrives.  Yes, I'm a perfectionist, and yes I promise I'll use the tin for other bakes too.  I promise!

For the moment, though, English Muffins are on the menu.

I can say hand on heart that I've never made muffins before.  Bread, yes.  Muffins, nope.  So this was going to be a learning curve for me just as much as the actual contestants, but at least I had the full instructions to work from and the benefit of learning from their mishaps on the telebox!

The technical challenge recipes are posted on the BBC website after each programme has been aired, and the English Muffins recipe is here.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly or who knows me personally will perhaps realise that these technical challenges are an additional challenge for one reason; I don't like following recipes to the letter.  I play with them.  I experiment and try different flavours.  This is how I keep baking more interesting for me, and I like it when people try a cake, buns or bread they've never tried before and like them!

But stick to the recipe I did, and thank goodness.

Dough pre-prove

I made double quantity, and I made them in one big batch.  My reasoning behind this was so that I could test a couple and make sure they were properly cooked before auctioning them off for a worthwhile, local cause (more information later).  In hindsight this was a slight mistake.  It meant that because my griddle could only hold a maximum of four muffins, the time they sat proving on the trays before cooking was too long for the last four (being that the cooking time for each muffin was 10-12 mins), and consequently they were over-proved and therefore a little thinner than the others.  What I'll remember for next time is to stagger single batches to allow for over-proving and any additional mishaps or delays.

This dough was very sticky and it took some time to knead it into submission.  It's fair to say I was knackered, but I'm told it helps with the bingo wings!  Perhaps I should make more.  A lot more.

Dough post prove

Now, the recipe does say that after the first prove that the dough should be tipped out onto a work surface, rolled out and then left to rest for 15 mins.  What I discovered was that the following process of cutting out the muffins and placing them on trays sprinkled with semolina is made much easier if you sprinkle semolina onto the work surface too, prior to turning out the dough from its bowl.  I guarantee that you'll find it significantly easier to remove the muffins from the work surface, and they're less likely to stretch out of shape.

Oh, my muffins are going all toasty!

Oh, another thing to mention is that between batches you might want to wipe the excess semolina from the griddle; toasty is tasty, burnt is not!

I have to say that this recipe is very simple to follow and it produces great results.  It's a shame I didn't think ahead this time and stagger the double quantity of dough, but I won't ever forget that in future.  The slightly thinner muffins were no less tasty than the normal sized ones, though.  I had to test them.  They were being sold on to lovely people, and I had to be sure they were fit for human consumption.  That's my excuse, anyway.

Ten lovely muffins, ready for the winning bidder

My only issue with completing these technical challenges each week was that I would then have a lot of food in the house that I shouldn't be eating (barring one or two muffins!).  So a plan was formed.  A silent auction on Facebook to local bidders, to raise a little money for a fabulous local cause, Matty's Bistro.

I won't go into detail here, but I do suggest you take a look at this post here.  It explains beautifully, enthusiastically and passionately what Matty's Bistro does for young people in our area.  There's no way I could put it any better.

I've been reliably informed that the muffins have and are being enjoyed by numerous people.  I asked for constructive criticism but they had none to offer, and I'm told my muffins are the best in town.  I feel ever so chuffed and humbled!

I can't wait to get my teeth into the next challenge; Angel Food Cake.  I only hope that others want to get their teeth into it, too, and raise as much money as we can for Matty and his dedicated students.