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These gluten free English muffins are light and fluffy, toast up with crisp edges, and have tons of nooks and crannies.
Once these muffins are cooled and fork-split, they freeze perfectly. And you can even finish them right in the pan without turning on your oven, so your kitchen stays cool!
“Hi Nicole! I have been doing English muffins using this recipe for months now and they are so good, I just can’t tell you how grateful I am for your recipes because they are the best and they turn out always the same quality! I'm using plant milk.”
“I’ve made them 3x now – fantastic recipe and even better flavor and texture than the wheat flour ones.”
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
- Authentic English muffins: Just like the original Thomas' brand, they're round and flat disks made of yeasted bread dough that cook entirely on the stovetop in a covered skillet.
- Texture: Soft in the middle with nooks and crannies from how much they rise as they bake, plus how you split them with a fork instead of slicing them.
- Taste: Let the dough rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight so the yeast develops lots of flavor.
- Nothing packaged compares: I've tried the overpriced so-called gf English muffins from the grocery store, and they're bland, crumbly, and have don't even toast well.
Recipe ingredients
- All purpose gluten free flour – I recommend using a high quality well-balanced gluten free flour blend that's made with a finely ground rice flour and designed to be used in yeast bread.
- Tapioca starch/flour – Even though your gluten free flour blend already has some tapioca starch, we add more here to provide additional stretch to the muffins.
- Sugar – To feed the yeast and adds a bit of flavor.
- Instant yeast – I like baking with instant yeast, also called rapid rise or breadmaker yeast. It gives these muffins their rise.
- Salt – We also use just a bit of salt for added flavor and to control the development of the yeast.
- Warm milk – Adds flavor, moisture, and richness, and activates the yeast.
- Apple cider vinegar – Provides a bit of flavor and helps the muffins to rise quickly.
- Egg white – Adds some structure without adding any unwanted richness.
- Neutral oil – Provides a touch of fat for moisture and tenderness.
How to make gluten free English muffins
Place all the ingredients in the order listed in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a food processor with the plastic blade, and beat really well. Place the dough in a sealed container and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours to develop flavor and absorb moisture.
Once the dough has rested and chilled, shape using a very light touch, sprinkling lightly with tapioca starch/flour as you go. The dough is very sticky and wet, but the secret to shaping it is thinking of it like you're only smoothing the outer layer, leaving the inside wet and messy.
If you'd rather not shape the dough, and you're okay with a more homespun shape, you'll need to use English muffin/crumpet rings to create that shape. One-inch rings cut from empty aluminum cans work just fine, if you don't have a set of actual made-for-English-muffins rings.
If you've shaped the dough into disks, you can still use the rings to encourage the muffins to rise up, and only out a little bit, with those flat edges. Cover and cook, flip, and finish cooking. Fork split when still slightly warm.
My Pro Tip
Expert Tips
Handle lightly
Make sure your dough is wet enough that it's not very easy to handle. Use only a light sprinkling of extra tapioca starch to shape the dough into disks, and a light touch. Wet dough makes the best muffins with big nooks and crannies.
Don't skip the extra tapioca starch
Even though all well balanced all purpose gluten free flour blends contain some tapioca starch, this recipe calls for more
Don't slice them open
Instead, “fork split” them by using the tongs of a fork to pierce the muffins all the way around, and then gently pull the two sides apart. The irregular split is what creates the crannies.
Work with cold dough
I recommend chilling the raw dough in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. It gives the yeast a chance to develop some flavor, and makes the dough much easier to handle. If you don't have that long to chill it, at least chill it until it's cold.
Ingredient substitutions
Dairy free
You only have to replace the milk with nondairy milk to make these English muffins dairy free. Be sure to use a nondairy milk that has some fat and no added sweeteners or flavors. I really like unsweetened almond milk for recipes like this.
Vegan
There is only one egg white in this recipe, and I bet you can replace it with aquafaba, which is the brine from a can of chickpeas. If you replace the egg white, and the dairy as discussed above, I think you can make gluten free, vegan English muffins. Be sure that your sugar isn't made with bone char, too.
Instant yeast
There's no substitute for yeast here. But if you only have active dry yeast, just use 25% more (for a total of almost 8 grams), and dissolve it first in some of the milk before adding it to the dough.
Tapioca starch
Tapioca starch is uniquely stretchy, and nothing else quite compares. It will also most likely be a part of your all purpose gluten free flour blend. If you would like to try to replace it, you can try superfine glutinous rice flour made from short grain white rice. I can't promise the results will be the same, though. No other starch will work quite the same.
Gluten Free English Muffins Recipe
Equipment
- 4 English muffin rings or tall round cookie cutters, or rings cut from aluminum cans
- Stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or try using a food processor with the plastic blade)
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups (315 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum, (omit if your blend already contains it)
- ¼ cup (30 g) tapioca starch/flour, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) instant yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (12 fluid ounces) milk, warm (about 95°F)
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 (25 g) egg white, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) neutral oil, (canolavegetable, grapeseed, etc.)
Instructions
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the flour blend, xanthan gum, tapioca starch, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and whisk to combine well. Add the salt and whisk again.
- Add the milk, apple cider vinegar, egg white, and oil, and mix to combine well.
- Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed, and mix for about 3 minutes or until the dough begins to look somewhat “whipped,” like air has been incorporated into it.
- The dough will be very sticky and shapeless, but should hold together well.
- Transfer the dough to a 2 liter proofing bucket with a tight-fitting lid or a large bowl sealed very tightly. Place in the refrigerator for between 12 hours and 2 days.
Shape the dough and cook
- Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat, or heat a griddle to medium (about 350°F). Lightly grease the skillet.
- While the pan or griddle is heating, grease four metal English muffin rings (1-inch tall rings cut from empty aluminum cans also work well) and set them aside.
- Remove the bread dough from the refrigerator and scoop a portion of about 1/3 cup (95 grams).
- Sprinkle a clean, flat surface liberally with tapioca starch, and place the portion of raw dough on top. Using a VERY light touch, and sprinkling with more tapioca starch only as necessary to prevent sticking, shape the dough into a 3-inch disk. With floured fingers, pinch together any seams that form on the dough.
- Repeat with 3 other portions of dough, and place them all in the hot skillet, as far apart as possible (make only 3 at a time if that’s all that fits comfortably). Place the prepared rings around each muffin.
- Cover the skillet or the portion of your griddle that your muffins occupy and allow them to cook for at least 10 minutes or until browned on the bottom and the sides seem mostly set (they will no longer glisten).
- Uncover the skillet, and remove the rings (unless they’re stuck to the edges of the muffins). Use a spatula to flip the muffins over, and replace the rings.
- Cover the skillet again, reduce the heat to medium, and finish cooking until browned on both sides and fully cooked inside (another 15 minutes) The muffins will register at least 200°F on an instant read thermometer placed in the center.
- Remove the muffins from the skillet and place on a wire rack to cool briefly until just warm, but no longer hot, to the touch.
- Remove the rings, and repeat with the remaining dough, re-using the same muffin rings, newly greased.
- Split each muffin with a fork by inserting the tines in the center of the muffin along the middle, parallel to the muffin itself, and gently pry open the muffin with your fingers. Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
These muffins will stay fresh for about 2 days on the counter at room temperature in a sealed container. Just don’t put them in the fridge as that will make them dry out quicker.
For longer storage, these muffins freeze very well for up to 3 months. Split them using a fork, and then wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Put the wrapped English muffins into a larger container, and freeze.
You can also let the raw dough rest in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 5 days and make only as many English muffins each day as you'd like to eat.
FAQs
The story behind English muffins is rather straightforward: The recipe for this bread originated in the United Kingdom. The bread came to the US and took on its new name in the late 1890s.
No1 Particularly if you're willing to shape the muffin dough lightly into disks, you can really let them cook without rings. Even if you're not shaping your dough, if you don’t have English muffin or crumpet rings, you can easily use the rings from Mason jars, aluminum foil folded over several times and shaped into rings, or egg molds.
Yes! They come out just as well on a griddle as they do a cast iron pan. You'll need a lid to cover them, but you can use the lid from any pot or skillet you have, as long as it's tall enough to enclose the muffins on the griddle.
Yes! All properly balanced rice-based gluten free flour blends have tapioca starch as an ingredient. This recipe uses more tapioca starch to add stretchiness and crispness to the English muffins. You should never leave out an ingredient in a recipe. Every ingredient is essential and serves a purpose.
Good afternoon I have a fairly serious allery to apples. What could I substitute for the apple cider vinegar and in what amount
Hi, Christine, you can use white wine vinegar in its place. I hope that’s helpful!
I’ve made them 3x now – fantastic recipe and even better flavor and texture than the wheat flour ones. Because I live in CA and the flours are very dry, I add a tiny bit more water (like 14g/1T) to make it easier to spread the dough to the edge of the forms. Four people have eaten them including three who say they “hate” gf bakes and all raved about them.
Nicole, your recipes and explanations are fantastic. I know this site is a labor of love and I am grateful. You are the best there is at gf baking for home kitchens. Thank you so much.
That’s so great to hear, Mary! Thank you so much for sharing that you add an extra tablespoon of water in your dry climate. I also really appreciate your kind words about the site. Blogging, especially recipe blogging, is definitely more labor intensive than most people realize. I am so grateful for your recognition. It means more than you may know!