We made some English muffins this week. First time. In the heat.

I can decide if making English muffins is a good thing to do in the heat or not … because making English muffins is a hot process.

You need warm water (so the yeast will rise), hot milk  (we made ours dairy-free) and even hot flour.

So maybe a hot kitchen is inevitable.

After we had done the mix, rise, knead, rise, shape, rise thing, plus cooked them up in a hot skillet and served them with butter and jam, I had a friend who resides in England check them via photo for authenticity.

She confirmed they looked pretty English, although she mentioned that if I had really wanted to be British, I would have tackled crumpets.

Man … I was this close …

Dairy-Free English Muffins from Scratch

(adapted from Country Living)

1/2 cup warm water

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (warmed)

2 teaspoons cornmeal

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a small bowl mix water, sugar and yeast and let stand until bubbly or foamy.

Meanwhile, in an oven-proof bowl, mix flours and salt. Heat in the oven for 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor mix flour mixture and yeast/water mixture. Pulse until combined. With the motor going, slowly pour in warm milk.

Continue to mix until thoroughly combined.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl and let rise for an hour.

Remove dough and knead for three minutes. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Divide into 8 equal pieces, and form muffin shapes. Dip both sides in cornmeal and let rest for another 30 minutes.

Warm a skillet over medium-low heat. (The original recipe says a cast iron skillet, but I don’t have one, so I used a regular skillet and it worked fine over slightly lower heat.)

Toast muffins for 8 to 10 minutes on each side or until golden brown, making sure they are done in the middle.

Split with a fork and toast, or not.

Almost authentic, dairy-free, homemade English muffins — super fun!