If you are looking for the easiest, softest, and quickest homemade English muffin bread recipe, you are at the right place! This recipe calls for a handful of simple ingredients and baking them, and your homemade hygienic bread is ready!
The dough for this English breakfast bread is somewhat unique in that it benefits from being minimally worked. So rather than making it in a stand mixer, I always reach for my Danish dough whisk, which makes it easy to combine the ingredients without over-mixing.
There’s so much to love about homemade English muffin bread — it’s quick and easy to make, the ingredients are inexpensive, and it’s delicious to boot! The recipe makes 4 loaves of English muffin bread, so you’ll have plenty to share (or not… your secret will be safe with me!)
Table Of Contents
English Muffin Bread Ingredients
- Warm water: Warm water is added to combine and dissolve all the ingredients of the bread, including sugar, salt, and yeast, and form a dough. It helps hydrate the yeast, activates fermentation, and adds moisture to the dough.
- Instant yeast: Sometimes called “rapid rise” or “quick rise” yeast, instant yeast makes the dough rise and gives this bread its signature air pockets. (If you want to use active yeast instead, you’ll need to let the dough rise twice — once in the bowl until doubled in size, and again in the loaf pans until the dough reaches the lip of the pan.)
- Sugar: Sugar serves as a food source for the yeast and gives the bread a slightly sweet flavor.
- Salt: Salt is a crucial ingredient in bread, lending flavor and improving its structure.
- All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour makes up the bulk of this dough, yielding loaves with a tender, chewy crumb reminiscent of English muffins.
How To Make English Muffin Bread
Ingredients:
- 5 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 envelopes (3/4 oz) instant yeast
- 3 Tbsp salt
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 11 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:
Add the water, yeast, salt, sugar, and flour to a large bowl and stir just until combined.
As I mentioned, a Danish dough whisk is an ideal tool for this task, because it incorporates the ingredients more effectively than other utensils using fewer strokes. (Other types of bread need to be kneaded thoroughly, but too much mixing makes English muffin bread tough rather than tender and chewy.)
Divide the dough evenly between 4 well-greased loaf pans, then let it rise until it’s just above the top edge of the pans.
Bake the loaves at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes, or until the tops are light golden brown.
Right after you take the bread out of the oven, turn the loaves out of the pans and place them on a cooling rack. Use a pastry brush to brush softened or melted butter over the top of each loaf, then leave them to cool completely before slicing.
“I love this bread! It has become a favorite in my house and I make it at least once a month. It is great with just butter or honey, and makes for a wonderful toast for breakfast sandwiches. […] Thank you for sharing this recipe!”
– OGT Reader Robin
How to Enjoy Leftovers
To store leftover English muffin bread, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or seal it in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 2 days (or a few days longer in your fridge).
You can also tightly wrap English muffin bread in plastic wrap or seal into an airtight freezer bag and freeze it for up to 1 month.
To enjoy refrigerated or frozen English muffin bread, let it come to room temperature on your countertop or reheat individual slices in your microwave or toaster oven.
More Ideas You'll Love
Serving Suggestions
You can have English muffin bread for breakfast or as an afternoon snack with tea, coffee, or creamy hot chocolate. As a big fan of late-night toast, I can confirm that it also makes a great late-night snack! Try it with these toppings:
- Butter
- Jam
- Honey
- Honey butter
- Peanut butter
- Chocolate spread
- Cinnamon sugar
- Fresh fruit and whipped cream
This English toasting bread makes a wonderful gift too! Pair it with homemade butter for a gift the recipient won’t soon forget.
Further Reading
For more delicious bread recipes and the like, check out:
- Impress yourself and your loved ones with a loaf of No-Fail Easy Overnight Bread —no kneading required!
- Make a delicious batch of Instant Pot Strawberry Jam to enjoy with your English muffin bread.
- Take a look at my favorite bread maker and learn why you might want one for yourself.
Get The Best Whisk For English Muffin Bread
There’s no substitute for using the right tool for the job, including when you’re making English muffin bread. A Danish dough whisk is the best tool for the job, hands down!
Take it from Patty, a fellow OGT reader:
“How did I go my first 53 years of life without Jillee’s Danish Whisk? This piece is amazing. I cannot believe I waited so long to buy it. It glides smoothly through the dough and doesn’t need to be shaken or tapped against the side of the bowl when mixing eggs as a traditional whisk requires. I call it my wonder whisk!”
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make Gluten-Free English Muffin Bread?
While many baking and bread recipes are fairly easy to make gluten-free, English muffin bread isn’t one of them. Unfortunately, all my attempts to make gluten-free English muffin bread have yielded disappointing results. (I recommend trying my favorite gluten-free bread recipe instead!)
How Long Does English Muffin Bread Last?
At room temperature, English muffin bread stays fresh for about 2-3 days, or 5-7 days if you wrap it tightly and store it in the fridge. Frozen English muffin bread can last for 1-2 months.
How Can I Keep English Muffin Bread Fresh?
After baking English muffin bread, it’s important to let it cool completely before storing it. It’s also important to protect it from drying out, which you can do by wrapping it in plastic wrap or storing it in a ziplock bag or airtight container. Doing these two things will help keep your bread fresh!
More Ideas You'll Love
Conclusion
This English muffin bread recipe makes a versatile anytime snack you can pair with sweet or savory toppings. It’s also an easy way to enjoy the delights of freshly baked bread without spending all day in the kitchen!
What would you put on a slice of English muffin bread?
English Muffin Bread Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 4 loaf pans
Ingredients
- 5 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 envelopes instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 11 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Add the water, yeast, salt, sugar, and flour to a mixing bowl and stir until just combined.
- Divide the dough between four greased loaf pans.
- Let the dough rise until it reaches the top edge of the pans.
- Bake the loaves at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove the finished loaves from the pans, place them on a cooling rack, and brush the top of each loaf with melted butter.
- Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.
I just made this recipe- loved it. I didnt have that many loaf pans so I bought some at Walmart. I found out they are ‘small’ size and this recipe calls for 4 big-size loaf pans (or maybe medium) at any rate it was overfull and I had to use 6 of the small loaf pans.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Finally got my pans bought over the weekend so I made 4 loaves of this just a few minutes ago. It was so easy that I feel like I must have done something wrong. I’m still waiting for it to rise but I don’t think it’s going to take the full hour to do so. I can hardly wait to see how i9t turns out. Thanks for sharing this amazingly easy recipe for homemade bread. I can’t wait to impress my hubby when he gets home. :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Making this recipe for the 3rd time – I will have to feature you on my blog because it is AMAZING!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My Grandson and I made this today, it was wonderful. Thank You for sharing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this yesterday and omgsh! it’s AMAZING good stuff! I halved the recipe and only made 2 loaves for a couple of reasons. 1) I didn’t have a big enough bowl to hold & mix all the flour in and 2) I wanted to use our countertop bake/convection/rotisserie oven instead of my large oven to keep the heat down in the house during these hot days. They turned out perfect! I wasn’t sure if I’d like the regular loaf pan size vs the larger loaf but I do. It fits in the toaster perfectly. I kept one loaf and gave one away as a gift. I’ve been having with butter and honey, my husband had his as his favorite bacon/egg/cheese sandwich and loved it! I’ll be making 2 more loaves this week, I’m sure. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I LOVE it and I agree, won’t need to buy English muffins anymore. OoOo, & I just remembered, I make a savory breakfast bread pudding that uses English muffins…I bet it would be fantabulous using this bread instead – I’ll have to try that!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi! This looks wonderful & I would LOVE to make it, HOWEVER I do not have nice Kitchen aide mixer.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can I use a normal hand help mixer for this?
Hey Faith – I just made mine with a wooden spoon – it comes together to quickly that I don’t think you’d even have to dirty up your hand mixer!
I got the idea from the actual post: “This BARELY fit in my 5 quart KitchenAid. Probably would have been just as easy to mix with a spoon by hand in a big bowl.”
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Alls I can say is WOW!!!! Delish!!!! So good girl!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This looks so delicious! I am gluten free so I just had to convert this recipe! Here is what I came up with :
Please log in or create a free account to comment.http://angelstitchembroidery.blogspot.com/2012/08/off-topic-tuesday-gluten-free-english.html#
Of course, you get ALL of the credit for the original recipe plus a couple of links. THANK YOU! It is so delicious and easy, this is soooooooooo much better than any of the g/f breads that I find in the grocery stores. And so easy too.
Any idea what is the calorie count and serving size for this glorious looking bread?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think I’m going to have to try this in the small loaf pans. Wrap 1 or 2 in bag or basket with a small jar of jam, jelly or honey and you have a wonderful gift for neighbors, co-workers, etc.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My friend gave me a loaf of this bread and OMG wonderful. Can’t wait to make my own. I’m wondering have you ever made it in a muffin tin instead of a load pan?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Made this yesterday. It’s sooooo good!!! I only made one loaf. So sad it’s gone already.
Pinned it, shared it on FB too:D
Making more tomorrow. I won’t be buying English Muffins again. Nothing will ever compare.
Thank you for sharing!!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just made this bread and it didn’t turn out like I expected. It’s quite heavy. I tried to make only one loaf because I have only one pan so my measurements were probably off. Going to buy more pans and make a full recipe even if I have to give it away! Just for clarification, I don’t have to dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water first, right?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.No you don’t need to as long as you’re using rapid rise yeast. If you’re using regular yeast then yes you need to dissolve the yeast first. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.If you are cutting this recipe in quarters you will for sure mess it up. you cannot just cut recipes in half or more that are baking recipes. measurements will be very different. That was probably the problem.
Is there anyway you could post a recipe for only one loaf… It looks delicious but I do not have that much flour and I use regular yeast. Sorry, not great at the math thing… :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Scroll to the last comment I just posted the measurement for using regular yeast.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just made today, and it is AWESOME! I did coat the pans with corn meal as one commenter mentioned, it adds a great crunchiness. This is definitely a keeper!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just made peach preserves and this will do nicely for breakfast one morning!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh My Goodness! I just made a batch of this bread and it’s WONDERFUL!!!!! I love it, so delicious and so easy. Unbelievable. I’m going to send one loaf nicely sliced along with some butter, honey, grape jelly, and strawberry jam to a couple just home with their new baby. Also for two of the four loaves I added cinnamon and raisins and that’s scrumptious too. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Did I say it’s soooo good?
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