Week 2, and it’s bread week! Surprisingly, yet again the technical challenge is something I would actually want to make!
You can find the recipe on the BBC website here.
I decided to do it all by hand and didn’t cheat by using my stand mixer to knead the dough, the dough progressed through phases of lumpy, sticky, snotty, then back to sticky, then was proved in a bowl. NB. I had to prove my dough for longer than an hour, for it to double in size, perhaps because I had all the doors and windows open and it was a bit chilly in the kitchen, in the end I think it was at least 2 hours.
You then roll it out and rest it, and cut out 9cm circles, prove again, then finish off by cooking them on a flat griddle (or big frying pan!)
….and here is the finished result!
So uniformly round! Haha! However, if I zoom out….
…you will see the somewhat irregular ones on the bottom row! The top five were cut out directly from the rested dough, the others from re-rolled dough, which is why they are a little less nice looking.
But the taste? Well, I cut one up and spread it warm from the griddle with a bit of butter:
Yum!
I was going to take these beauties into work today for my lovely co-workers and I to munch on, but… I was on call last night and didn’t end up at work today.
And Mr M and I sort of ate them all…..
But I made the most of my day off and made another batch, and also a little variation of the recipe by adding 1 tsp of smoked paprika to the dough and kneading it through:
The smoked paprika adds a nice bit of flavour and heat to the taste, I reckon they will be nice toasted with a bit of cream cheese….Mmmmmmm
….and check out the second batch of regular ones:
Cor blimey! Surely even Mr Hollywood would think that these were not too shabby! Although there are 9 of them…. not sure how that happened.
There is however much more uniformity in appearance, even in the re-rolls, possibly because I kneaded the offcuts gently together to recombine them, rolled (or actually I just sortof pressed the dough out) and allowed it to rest for a minute or so before cutting the remaining circles.
I’m linking this post up to the Great Bloggers Bake Off run by the Crazy Kitchen and Mummy Mishaps
Baking, Making, and Crafting 
oh my goodness your muffins look amazing – so plump and fluffy looking! after seeing last nights show i am going to have to try my hand at these because they just look so nice!!! i love that you added some paprika to the top – i bet that added a lovely warmth to them. I think My Holloywood would love your muffins 😉 thank you for linking up and i look forward to seeing what you come up with fo next weeks challenges! x
I actually kneaded it through the dough, so every bite is filled with smoky warmth! I took them all (both plain and paprika) to work today along with butter, cream cheese, lemon curd, and nutella, and we are toasting and eating them all up with pleasure!
They are amazing, so perfectly cooked! I’ve never made muffins before but I’m inspired too after last night, but I don’t think I could make them look as lovely as yours!
They were yummy, both the plain ones and paprika ones. We had such a tasty tea break this morning! The smell of toasting muffins drifting down the hall was enticing all to tea!
I had made some spinach muffins before, using the Fabulous Baker Brothers recipe from the series, and they were ok, but I think these ones worked better (I think the added spinach made the dough even wetter!)
Wow these look great! I’ve never made English muffins before but love them so definitely need to give them a go
They’re really good and fairly easy!
i love muffins and the paprika must make then even better! They look amazing!
Yep, they are really tasty! Recommended!
I’m intrigued by the paprika, I bet it adds a lovely flavour kick 🙂 And your muffins turned out perfect looking, great job!
Really lovely!
Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised with how straightforward they were to make, as long as you are familiar with basic breadmaking. They went down a real treat among my baked goods loving co-workers!
Definitely being made again!
love that you used paprika what a lovely warming flavour to have but they are really tasty
Thanks!
oooh they look fantastic. I LOVE muffins, will have to give them a go. x
Definitely do!
wow, they look brilliant! Haven’t had a real muffin in ages, must try to make some too.
Definitely one of the easier technical challenges that I have attempted!
Wow they look amazing, I am going to try these!
Great! Let me know how you get on!
Wow! They look amazing, I am far too scared to attempt muffins but I think you may of inspired me to give it a go!
Do it! I promise it’s not as difficult as they make it seem, just don’t have your griddle/pan too hot.
Lovely muffins. A great comfort bake
Thanks!
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These are lovely. I think I’m going to try them. Thanks for sharing.
No problem! Hope you enjoy them!