Put the flour, salt, and instant dry yeast into a large bowl and stir together.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the melted, lightly cooled butter.

Gradually pour in all of the milk, stirring as do so, to start bringing a dough together.

Very gradually add some water, stirring all the time, to form a wettish but still firm rather than sloppy dough. Use a sturdy silicone spatula or spoon to turn and fold the dough so it's thoroughly mixed with no dry flour visible.

Tip: You may not need all the water, or you may need a little more. Use the image in the blog post as a guide for how the dough should look.

Place in a large reusable polythene bag, or cover the bowl, and leave at room temperature overnight, 12 - 14 hours, or until the dough is risen, spread, and very bubbly.

Tip: If the room is warm, you can put the dough in the fridge overnight. Bring the dough back up to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.

Sprinkle a little flour over your work surface and turn the dough out onto it.

Tip: you may not need extra flour if you first cover your work surface with a silicone mat (affiliate link).

Briefly fold the dough over itself so you have a smoothish ball, then divide into 8 equal pieces, using scales for accuracy.

Line a large tray or board with baking paper and sprinkle with coarse cornmeal or polenta.

Take the first piece of dough and use your fingertips to fold it into a ball.

Sprinkle a little cornmeal/polenta over the centre of your work surface and place the ball on it, smooth side up. With your fingers lightly touching the worksurface and the dough ball smooth side up cupped beneath your palm, quickly move your hand in a circle about 10 times to finish shaping into a neat, round-topped ball.

Sprinkle more cornmeal/polenta on top of the ball, then use your fingertips to pat into a circle approximately 6 cm in diameter and 3 cm high.

Place on the prepared tray.

Repeat with the remaining dough pieces, placing them slightly apart to allow for expansion.

Cover or place in a large reusable polythene bag and set aside at normal room temperature until lightly puffy (approximately 30 - 40 minutes but could be shorter if the room is warm).

Important: do not overprove or the muffins may lose their shape when cooking.

To check whether they're ready: gently press a finger onto the dough. If it leaves an indent rather than immediately springing back, it’s ready. If not, leave just a few minutes longer then check again.

Heat a frying pan over medium-low heat (e.g. my electric burner goes up to 6 and I have it mainly at 3 for cooking muffins).

Put in as many muffins as will fit with a little room for expansion.

Put on a lid and cook for 5 minutes (this creates steam which helps the muffins rise).

Tip: check after 3 minutes that the bottoms aren't dark brown rather lightly golden: reduce the temperature if necessary.

Turn the muffins over and put the lid back on (you may need to turn the heat back up if you reduced it earlier). Cook for another 3 - 4 minutes then take off the lid.

Continue cooking without a lid, turning as often as necessary for an even colour, until the muffins are firm (approximately 14 - 16 minutes in total). If you have a food thermometer the centres need to reach 93 - 95° C (200°F).

Tip: as heat builds up in the pan you may need to temporarily turn the heat down then up again, although all appliances will vary.

If you plan to eat the muffins warm straight away, wrap in a cloth to keep soft and warm while you cook the next batch. If storing, put on a wire rack until cold.

Remove any browned bits of cornmeal/polenta from the pan before starting the next batch and cook in the same way. Remember to periodically check whether you need to temporarily turn the heat down if the pan gets too hot.

Serving Suggestions

If the muffins are still hot from cooking, wait until cool enough to handle then go all around the middle making holes with a fork. Tear open and serve, toasted or not, spread with butter or other toppings.

If cold, split with a knife and toast (either both sides or cut side only).

Storing

English Muffins are best eaten on the day they're made, otherwise wait until cold, split then freeze. Split muffins can be toasted from frozen.