Food
The night before breakfast
by Lois Daish
Author and academic Marion Maddox shares the secret of her nightly brew.
When she has tucked her young son Lawrence up in bed, Marion Maddox brings in an unusual companion to share his room. It is a bowl of yeasty dough, which is placed on a rack above the heater that is kept on all night so that Lawrence can have the extra warmth he needs to sleep soundly. While he sleeps, surely comforted not only by the warmth of the room but also the familiar aroma of sourdough fermentation, the soft dough in the bowl is slowly rising. By morning, it will have filled the bowl and be ready for Marion to make into English muffins for the family’s breakfast.
At 7.45am, two heavy frying pans are put on the stove to heat while Marion scoops out large spoonfuls of dough and drops them lightly into a dish of coarse rice flour. Once they are coated, the thick discs are placed in the hot pans. In the time it takes to have a quick shower, they will be lightly browned on the bottom, ready to be turned over. At 8 o’clock, breakfast is ready and Marion and her husband, food historian Michael Symons, sit down at the table with Lawrence and daughter Dorothy. Sometimes, Marion will have shaped the dough into baps to be baked in the oven, and in the weekend she often makes yeast pancakes, instead. None of the doughs takes more than 10 minutes to prepare in the evening, and 15 minutes to cook in the morning. It’s quicker than going to the shop and you don’t have to put on your coat.
An earthenware jar of sourdough starter, which Marion has nurtured for over four years, has become an important part of the pleasure she takes in making yeast doughs; whether English muffins, pancakes or loaves of bread. The fact that sourdough works more slowly and unpredictably than commercial yeast doesn’t bother her at all. In fact, she feels particularly comfortable with this process, which reflects the way that she functions best in her work as an academic at Victoria University, Wellington. Once she has the germ of an idea, she likes to let it quietly ferment for a while, and willingly accepts that she can’t predict how things will develop until she has finished the work. This was certainly the case in her acclaimed study of the rise of the religious Right in Australian politics, God Under Howard (Allen and Unwin, 2005). In the first sentence of the book, she acknowledges that it “is the result of long cooking …”
The recipe that Marion uses to make English muffins has its roots in a traditional one found in The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea – The art and pleasures of taking tea, by Helen Simpson (Ebury). Looking back at that recipe now, Marion is surprised to find how much she has modified it over the years, in particular replacing the commercial yeast with her own sourdough starter. One thing that hasn’t changed is the distinctive form of the muffins, which allows them to be easily pulled apart to expose a loose honeycomb-textured interior backed with a firm crust. They are so much more delicious than bought muffins that it is no surprise that Marion describes herself as “evangelical” about making them at home.
Here is a simple recipe using commercial yeast similar to the one that got Marion started. You will also find recipes for English muffins in many American baking books, reflecting the fact that although these muffins originated in England, they are even more popular in the US, and possibly New Zealand, too.
ENGLISH MUFFINS
2 tsp dried yeast granules; 1⁄2 tsp sugar; 250ml warm water; 125ml warm milk; 350g high grade flour; 100g standard flour; 1 tsp salt; rice flour or fine cornmeal
Put the yeast and sugar in a small bowl with half of the warm water. Stir and set aside for a few minutes, then add the remaining water and the milk. Put the flours and salt in a large bowl and use your hand to mix in the yeast, water and milk mixture. Knead the mixture, which will be sticky, thoroughly in the bowl. (Or use the dough hook of an electric mixer.) Cover the bowl with a damp teatowel and set aside to rise until more than doubled. Although this may take only a couple of hours, the dough can also be allowed to rise overnight. Deflate the dough by pulling it away from the sides of the bowl. Lift it out of the bowl and divide into 8 pieces. Drop each piece on a tray liberally dusted with rice flour or cornmeal and roll them over until well coated. Form each piece into a thick disc. Place the discs on a baking tray and place another tray on top. Leave to rest and rise for 20 minutes, then remove the covering tray. Place a cast-iron griddle or large frying pan over a low heat. When only moderately hot, place 4 of the muffins on it and cook for about 10 minutes until light beige on the bottom. Turn the muffins over and cook the second side for a similar length of time. Wrap the cooked muffins in a dry teatowel. Pull apart with your fingers and eat while still warm. For toasting, pull the muffins apart and toast on both sides. Makes 8 large muffins.
