Swing and A Miss / Bad People
The recipe tested our boule-shaping skills, which turned out to be not so great. The dough didn't quite rise the way we expected, nor did it hold it's shape, nor did it flatten properly on the griddle, nor did it come out looking or tasting much like an english muffin. They were edible, but kinda burny.
I made some notes at M's suggestion, and we're going to try it again using milk instead of buttermilk, and using a bit more of it. I think the lack of dough sealage was due to not enough liquid.
We also realized that we didn't have anything for dinner, so I thawed some of that huge amount of leftover ground beef from the non-big-grillout on Thursday and quickly made some more burgers. Beef is so interesting to me in that I poured tons of seasonings on it and yet the flavors just didn't come through. Sometimes I think that I need to double what I THINK is the proper amount of seasoning when it comes to beef.
We stayed up late and watched Braveheart and Six Degrees of Separation, which M loved and I was kinda meh towards. M showed me a site that makes fun of the ridiculous names that people come up with for their children, which led us to wander through some baby-naming websites and we had a horribly fun time laughing at the awful names that people come up with for their babies. We also decided that we want to see someone name their boy "Shiraz" and their daughter "Zinfandel". The way I look at it, anyone who thinks these are good names was going to originally go with something much, much worse. Don't believe me? Go here.
4 comments:
More tips!!
1) The pan temp should be way lower than you think; our english muffins do best if the pan is about 2 (out of 6 on our stove). They take longer, but are much less prone to burning.
2) Cheddar cheese english muffins!! Try adding in a generous squirt of mustard and 1-2c shredded cheddar to the dough. They are the best toasted bread ever (especially with a fried egg on top).
It took us a couple of times making Peter's recipe to really get a handle on it.
From the pic, it looks like you're right about the liquid level -- you could add a bit more. Don't be afraid to make the dough slightly sticky; it'll firm up a little during the first rise.
Don't worry about making the boule shape. Just make a roll and then squish it flat with your hand.
Also, don't skimp on brushing the muffins with butter before cooking them -- they'll be much richer tasting, and the muffin will have more of a fried texture.
Eileen and Aaron - you guys rock! In my defense, I suggested that the pan was too hot AND I said we should just make a ball and squish it down by hand. :P I think this proves my instincts are good even with a lack of baking experience. :)
Thanks so much for the tips. We're definitely going to try them.
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