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’m sooo glad you shared this! I just made it and it turned out great! I halved the recipe, using 4 cups of wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups of white flour. For about $3 I now have 20 days of English muffin bread versus the 6 I would have for $3 if I bought them from the store. :D Also, for everyone wondering if you could use muffin pans, I only had 1 loaf pan, and 1 pan with the 8 mini loaves, and it worked perfectly. So, I would imagine it would work with the muffin pans if you wanted them round. I’m definitely going to make this again (I’m a college kid so easy+portable+cheap=GREAT for me!) and I think next time I’ll try the muffin thing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks again!!
(I don’t have a mixer, so I did it by hand. Perhaps that was the problem?)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I didnt have a mixer and did it by hand and mine worked
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Your house may not have been warm enough for it to rise, your water could have been either too hot or too cold – hot kills the yeast and too cold doesn’t get the yeast excited enough to do anything. I get my tap water to the temperature I would like for a bath and it has always worked for me. My house wasn’t really warm when I made my loaves so I turned on my oven for a little bit, turned it off and put the loaves with the rising bread on top, covered with a tea towel. Took 45 minutes for it to rise and turned out awesome.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t know what I did wrong – but this did not turn out as planned! I’m not an amazing cook – but I can generally follow directions. I had rapid rise yeast, and as far as I can tell, I followed all of the other instructions as well. The dough was even sticky like you show…but after 30 minutes it hadn’t risen at all. I went ahead and baked it (Because what else was I going to do? lol) And it is bread-like but doesn’t look at all like your pictures.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have NEVER attempted making bread and am considered a pretty good cook. I this a whirl and have to tell you; I can’t keep it in the house! I make it once every two weeks and freeze 3 loaves at a time. My husband, son-in-law and five year old grandson were on their way to camp one weekend,
the adults smelled yeast, turned around and saw our grandson gnawing on a loaf I had sent up with them. My sister and niece from California were visiting and that is all they wanted to eat!
Love it, thank you for sharing!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you so much for this! We are happily chomping on this and my kids think it’s dessert! Love it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Ok, I just sliced up one of my two loaves (I halved the recipe), popped a piece in the toaster and ate it with butter and homemade wine jelly and it is friggin’ DELICIOUS!!!! 5+++ stars for this recipe!!!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I was so excited to see this on Pintrest! My mom used to make this all the time when I was young, but has lost the recipe. I can’t wait to make this and surprise her.
I love old handwritten recipes too. I came across this site that tells you how to have your recipes copied onto dishtowels. Thought I would pass it along: http://blog.spoonflower.com/2012/07/turn-recipes-into-tea-towels.html
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This looks lovely, bread making isn’t one of my skills but I’m going to give it a go! Could you please tell me the weight of yeast to use? I don’t know how much is in a package of the yeast you use. Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Kelly….
1 package or envelope of dry active yeast is equal to 2-1/4 teaspoons. I’m not sure why. :-)
I hope you like it as much as we do!! Let me know how it turns out. :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this the other day and it is wonderful. I cut the recipe in half because I only have two loaf pans, but I may need to buy a couple more because we went through this bread fast. It makes fantastic open faced sandwiches and melts.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have made English Muffin Bread alot. I always sprinkle cornmeal in the greased pans and alittle on top of dough. After raising in the pan, I put it in the microwave–one loaf at a time and cook on high for 6 1/2 minutes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is an amazing recipe! Can you please
Please log in or create a free account to comment.tell me what you use for a gluten free substitution?
I would love to know what to use for gluten free flours as well. Has anyone tried it gluten free?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love this gf flour blend and I have substituted it cup for cup in non gf recipes. http://www.littlenaturalcottage.com/shoshannas-gluten-free-flour-mix-recipe/ Making this bread today and waiting to see how it turns out.
can’t wait to make this. i have two loaf pans but also have a pan that has 12 small “loaf” shapes on in! so going to use that, its perfect for my husband to grab a quick breakfast ar 5 am and will be eaier to store! i have a bread maker but all the ingredients takes to long this sounds faster to make, with a one year old not much time in the kitchen! thank you for sharing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hey I made this yesterday for today’s breakfast, and my mom is asking me to make more frequently!
Its taste is the best ever<3
Thanks!
http://oi49.tinypic.com/vheych.jpg
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hey, I found this recipe on Pintrest about 2 weeks ago. Since then I have made 10 loaves of this amazing bread. It is soo good with butter and honey but I also grilled it in my panini press with nutella and strawberries. It also freezes really well. Thanks!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I halved the recipe and got 2 lovely loaves. I used FLEISHMAN’s Yeast (I have a 1 lb pkg – kept in the fridge). I forgot to let it rise once, then again. It only rose once. It came out just fine!! I love the idea of putting my own cinnamon and raisins or whatever else I want. And especially NOT having to buy English Muffins. Hug you mom for me! And thank you so much for sharing such a useful recipe for us english muffin lovers!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Now if only I could make it smell like salt-rising bread, it would be perfecto! That’s a very tough bread to perfect and bake. I’ve tried for years, with dismal results. No one has heard of it here in N.C.
Thanks again!
I made this last night and it is wonderful. I made a half batch, then spooned half the dough into a loaf pan, and to the other half dough, I added just a tad more water and a 1/4 cup dehydrated onions. Delish! Thanks so much for this great recipe.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.In case anyone’s curious as to what a half recipe’s measurements are (for those of us with only 2 loaf pans) is, I entered it into a recipe converter & used the info on the Fleischman’s rapid rise yeast packet saying 1 packet of yeast is 2 1/4 tsp. Here it is:
2 3/4 cups warm water
Please log in or create a free account to comment.1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
5 1/2 cups flour
Looks great. Is it possible to set this up so I can print it?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Never mind. I’m an idiot.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I would like to know if anyone has tried whole wheat flour in place of the white in this recipe?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That bread looks delicious! I love your step by step detailed pictures. I am looking forward to trying it soon.
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