English Muffins with Mixed Berry Jam

Cook Time 1 hour (+ proving time)

Servings 20 small or 10 large muffins

Ingredients

Jam
3 punnets of berries
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 sprigs of thyme
¼ cup honey
½ lemon, juiced and 2-3 seeds

Muffins
300ml milk or water

2 ½ tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 egg whites
550g of bread or plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
Fine semolina, for dusting

Method

To make a quick jam, place three punnets of berries into a pot with the honey, cinnamon, thyme, lemon juice and seeds and bring to the boil. Turn down and simmer for 30-40 minutes until thick and sticky. Discard the thyme and lemon seeds and let cool completely. Pour into sterilised jars.

Warm the milk in a pot until it is lukewarm (around blood temperature: 37°C). Add the yeast and sugar and let stand for 15 minutes to active or until the mixture is frothy. Whip the egg whites to form stiff peaks.

Attach a dough hook to a mixer and add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix on low to combine the dry ingredients. Now add the yeast mixture and combine, then add the egg whites. Turn the mix on to a medium speed and knead for 10-15 minutes, to form soft dough. Alternatively you can do this by hand.
Transfer to a bowl greased with a little oil. Cover with cling film and rest in a warm part of the kitchen for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.

Now knock back the dough and dust your work surface with a little semolina. Roll the dough out so it is 2cm thick. Using a cookie cutter (6cm or 10cm) cut out circles. Cut out 10-20 squares of baking paper large enough to fit the individual muffins. Place each one on the baking paper, sprinkle with extra semolina and cover with a tea towel. Rest for another hour to rise again.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Once the muffins have doubled in size, place them in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes. Serve warm with butter and homemade jam.