Diamonds in the Rough

Man-sized English muffins

On the back of the Gold Medal unbleached flour bag there is a recipe for a no-knead artisan loaf you can put together in five minutes. Since my bread machine bit the dust quite some time ago, I have been using that recipe, slightly altered (because I always alter recipes), for weeks now. When we were growing up Mom always had some sort of rolls on the supper table, or at least I remember it that way. Supper just doesn't seem like it is complete unless we have our habitual bread with it. I know, it's filler, right? And my body could really do without it. 

But the other day I ran across this variation of their basic flour bag recipe on the Bread in 5 website  -- griddle-baked English muffins. 

Had to try 'em.

As you can see above, only four fit in my 10" skillet. (They really aren't yellow -- that's my camera, sorry.) These are MAN-SIZE English muffins! That wasn't the recipe's fault, but mine. I sort of forgot the dough would grow while the unbaked muffins were resting on my counter top. I used a wide-mouth canning ring to cut them, getting only 8 English muffins out of what would normally be a nice sized loaf of bread. So these are like 4-5" in diameter. Unlike the shrimpy Thomases English muffins, there is no problem getting these babies out of the toaster!

Whoops, sorry, I tore off a piece before taking the photo.

I am wondering what I will be filling my days with after all my kids are grown.  I won't be an expert at anything, but maybe I will have at least tried lots of things.  :)

I think for my next trick I will be making this apple strudel bread. Or maybe not. It does feel futile to bake for a family of six. But I love them... and I love bread, too.  Okay, you talked me into it.