In my continuing quest to cook new and intersting things, yesterday I decided to bake a batch of Whole Wheat English Muffins.  These combine breakfast convenience with the health benefits of whole grains, so why not?

The first challenge I encountered was the whole wheat flour.  I had purchased it less than a month ago but upon opening the package noticed a musty odor and what looked like small spots of mold.  For about a minute I carefully observed it, poking with a fork, sniffing, looking carefully.  It certainly seemed less dry than it should.

Finally, I decided to throw the whole wheat out and instead changed the recipe to Regular White Wheat with a Half Cup of Wheat Germ Thrown in for Good Measure English Muffins.

The recipe said the dough would be a little sticky.  How “little” is a little?  Because it was sticky.  Maybe substituting regular flour for the whole wheat was causing the dough to be a little… thin?  Is that the right word?  I patted it out to about 1/2-inch thick per the instructions, but wound up with 18 muffins instead of the 12 the recipe said it would make, using the 3-inch diameter biscuit cutter, per instructions. 

Resting on a baking tray, they rose beautifully but when I tried to remove them they stuck so much that the handling caused them to deflate.  What I put into the pan looked and acted more like a sticky pancake.  When they baked they started to look more like real English muffins except for the ragged inconsistency in shape, but they never really puffed up and gained any volume.

The finished product tasted good enough but the muffins were too flat to actually split.  And isn’t that the defining characteristing of an English muffin?  You split it with a fork and then toast it.

Maybe this weekend I can take another attempt at the recipe.  This time with some whole wheat flour, as it was written.

Below: Chris and Tehlin with their children, celebrating Samuel’s third birthday.  I find it very funny how Chris and Tehlin are looking one way, the children the other.  Proof that parents and children never look at things the same way.