English muffin

An English muffin is a small, round, flat yeast-leavened bread which is commonly sliced horizontally, toasted, and buttered.[2] It is often part of breakfast in North America and Australia, frequently eaten with sweet or savory toppings such as fruit jam or honey, or eggs, sausage, bacon, or cheese. English muffins are an essential ingredient in Eggs Benedict and a variety of breakfast sandwiches derived from it, such as the McMuffin.

English muffin
A split English muffin ready to be toasted
Alternative namesBreakfast muffin
TypeBread
CourseBread
Place of originGreat Britain[1]
Main ingredientswheat flour, butter, milk, sugar, salt, egg, yeast

In North America and North American-influenced territories, they are called English muffins to distinguish them from plain muffins, which are larger and sweeter miniature quick breads. English muffins are available in a wide range of varieties, including whole wheat, multigrain, cinnamon raisin, cranberry, and apple cinnamon.

English muffins are very similar to bolo do caco in Portuguese cuisine.

Origin

The word muffin is thought to come from the Low German muffen, meaning "little cakes".[3] Into the early nineteenth century muffins were sold door to door in England by hawkers as a snack bread before most homes had their own ovens. The traditional English nursery rhyme "The Muffin Man", which dates from 1820 at the latest, traces to that custom.[4]

By country

United States

References to English muffins appear in U.S. newspapers starting in 1859,[5][6][7] and detailed descriptions of them and recipes were published as early as 1870.[8][9]

The "Muffin House" in Manhattan, home of Samuel Bath Thomas' first bakery

Samuel Bath Thomas emigrated from Plymouth, England, to New York City in 1875.[10] By 1880, he had opened his own bakery at 163 Ninth Avenue. Using his mother's recipe, he began making 'English' muffins there in 1880, selling them to hotels and grocery stores. They were soft and spongy before baking, like traditional muffins, pierced to be "fork-split" prior to toasting, giving a rougher surface than would be obtained by slicing.[11] They became popular as an alternative to toast; Thomas opened a second bakery around the corner from the first at 337 West 20th Street in a building that remains known as "The Muffin House".[12] The Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the origin of the term English Muffin to 1902. In a 1926 trademark filing by Thomas'; Samuel's bakery brand, it was claimed the term was first used in 1894.

Today the company is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA, which also owns the Entenmann's, Boboli, Stroehmann, Orowheat, and Arnold brands.[13]

Foster's sourdough English muffins were a popular brand of English muffin originally from San Francisco. They were a signature menu item at Foster's restaurants from the 1940s to the 1970s, and continued to be produced as a packaged brand until 2008.

United Kingdom
Wholemeal English muffins from a Tesco in Abingdon, England.

English muffins are referred to simply as muffins in Britain. The U.S.-style muffins (a sweet quickbread) are sometimes referred to as American muffins, American-style muffins,[14] or sweet muffins but usually only for clarity or branding purposes. In general, the word muffin is almost always used for both, usually without confusion or misunderstanding.[15]

Germany

English muffins, known as Toastbrötchen (toast bun) are available in most major supermarkets across Germany.

See also

References
  1. "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy". Intenet Archive. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. David, Elizabeth (1977). English Bread and Yeast Cookery. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 0713910267. Contains a discussion on the origins and use of the English muffin.
  3. "muffin". Retrieved 29 December 2016 – via The Free Dictionary.
  4. "London Sound Survey". Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  5. "Thomas' Dining Saloon". The Buffalo Daily Republic. 22 September 1859. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Wanted: An English Muffin and Crumpet Baker". New York Daily Herald. 17 September 1862. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Call at Steam Bakery". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 30 May 1863. p. 5. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Fancy Bread". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 4 November 1870. p. 1. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "English Muffins". The Weekly Star. 29 March 1876. p. 6. Retrieved 25 February 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Olver, Lynne. "The Food Timeline--history notes: muffins to yogurt". The Food Timeline. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  11. "Wolferman's: A Different Style of English Muffin".
  12. Muffin House -Daytonian
  13. "Bimbo Bakeries - Our Brands".
  14. American muffins at cakebaker.co.uk; retrieved 27 January 2019
  15. "Cambridge Dictionary: Definition of 'muffin'".
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