I spotted a recipe for sourdough English muffins on www.anoffgridlife.com and decided to try it with some modifications.  It turned out pretty well, but I would like to try again to see if I can get a more open crumb.  I started with my 50/50 sourdough starter, which seems pretty inactive since I had not used it or fed it recently.  I supplemented the starter with ¼ tsp. of yeast.

Cooking the muffins in a skillet requires some experimentation to get the temperature right.  It should be high enough to get some browning on the top and bottom and low enough to be cooked through in the middle without burning the top and bottom.

This will make 8 muffins.

½ cup active sourdough starter

1 Tbs. sugar

1 cup milk, warmed to skin temperature

13 oz. (3 cups) all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

~1/4 cup cornmeal

Mix together the sourdough starter, sugar, and milk.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the flour and salt.  Add the liquid mixture and stir with a dough whisk until a rough dough is formed.  Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Using the dough whisk, knead the dough for about 5 minutes on the lowest setting until a smooth dough is formed.  Form the dough into a ball and put it in a doubling container and lightly coat it with oil.  Cover and allow to ferment until doubled, which will take 8-12 hours.  (I ended up retarding the dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Weigh the risen dough.  (In this case it was 726 grams.)  Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.  (In this case 91 g. each) Form each piece into a ball.   In available use English muffin rings.  Sprinkle about ½ tsp. of cornmeal inside the muffin ring.  Put a ball in the ring, and press to fill the ring.  Sprinkle another ½ tsp. of cornmeal on the top of the dough circle.  Press the cornmeal into the dough.  Repeat with each of the dough balls.  Remove each of the muffin rings after use.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat.  Cook the muffin doughs in batches for about 4 minutes on a side.  Cook more as necessary until the center is cooked through and the top and bottom are browned.  Remove the cooked muffins to a wire rack when each is finished to cool.