I love an English muffin for breakfast and for most of my life the Thomas' variety suited me just fine, thank you very much. But then I tasted The Model Bakery's English Muffins and all the sudden I was like, "Thomas' who?" You may recall that many years ago these muffins were included in Oprah's Favorite Things and with one taste you'll understand what all the hype is about. There are two bakery locations in the Napa Valley and it just so happened that I recently had a business meeting up the road from the downtown Napa shop. How could I not stop by and try some for myself?
The first things I noticed about these English muffins: they were big and soft with the heavenly aroma of butter. What a combination! I toasted one straight away and slathered it with salted butter. One bite and I was hooked. The light and airy texture was unreal, something I'd never tasted before. They were without a doubt the best English muffins I'd ever eaten in my life.
At $14 for a bag of six muffins they weren't cheap, nor was it super convenient to drive an hour north of San Francisco whenever I got a craving. Then I remembered that The Model Bakery had a cookbook and sure enough the English muffin recipe was included. I found my next baking project!
Prior to testing the recipe I had watched a YouTube video that showed the bakery's process for making the muffins. Unfortunately my first attempt had less than stellar results. The
muffins were alright but lacked the light and airy
texture I was looking for. Back to the drawing board it was.
In my second attempt I switched to King Arthur's flour (higher in
gluten) and kneaded the dough longer. Straight away I could tell that this dough was different from the one before because it was so light! Also, after the dough balls had their second rise I didn't pat them down, which was a
mistake I made in the first attempt. Frying the muffins in a skillet with clarified butter is key and you can't skip this step. That's what makes these muffins so delicious.
I'm happy to report that the second batch of muffins was pretty darn close to Model's, if I do say so myself. Not 100%, but perhaps 90%? Either way, it's close enough for me that it saves a drive up north and keeps cash in my wallet!
