Overnight Sourdough English Muffins

Light, fluffy, honey-sweetened — makes 12

There is something deeply satisfying about making your own sourdough English muffins from scratch. The moment you split one open with a fork and see all those gorgeous nooks and crannies staring back at you, you know you have made something truly special. These muffins are soft, pillowy, and lightly sweetened with honey — the kind of breakfast that makes you want to slow down and savour every single bite. And the best part? You mix everything the night before and wake up to a dough that is ready to shape and cook.

Why Make This Recipe

Store-bought English muffins simply cannot compete with homemade. When you make them yourself with sourdough starter, you get a depth of flavour that commercial versions never achieve — that subtle tang, that chew, that satisfying crust when toasted. Using honey as the only sweetener keeps things natural and adds a gentle floral note that pairs beautifully with butter or jam. This recipe is designed to fit into your sourdough routine with minimal effort: mix in the evening, sleep, and cook in the morning.

Role of the Ingredients

Sourdough starter is the soul of this recipe. It provides the rise, the tang, and the complex flavour that makes these muffins worth making. At 80g, you have enough starter to leaven the dough beautifully overnight without over-fermenting. Make sure it is active and bubbly before you begin — fed within the last 4–8 hours and at its peak.

Whole milk replaces any water in this recipe, and this makes a real difference. Milk enriches the dough, adding fat and protein that contribute to a softer, more pillowy crumb. It also helps the muffins brown beautifully on the outside while staying tender inside. Warming it slightly before mixing encourages the starter to get to work right away.

Butter adds richness and tenderness to the dough. Melting it before adding ensures it incorporates evenly and gives every bite that gentle buttery flavour without weighing the dough down.

Honey does double duty here — it lightly sweetens the dough and also feeds the starter, encouraging a more active overnight fermentation. It adds just enough warmth without making these taste like a sweet bun.

All-purpose flour gives the muffins a soft, open crumb. It has enough protein to develop good structure but not so much that the muffins become tough or overly chewy.

Salt balances everything. It strengthens the gluten, enhances the flavour, and keeps the fermentation in check during the overnight rise.

Cornmeal is the finishing touch that makes these unmistakably English muffins. It creates that slightly crunchy, textured crust on the outside that you know and love.

Why This Recipe Is Great

This recipe uses only whole milk — no water — which means the dough is richer and more forgiving than a lean sourdough. The overnight bulk fermentation does all the hard work for you while you sleep, developing deep flavour without any extra effort. The honey keeps the sweetness subtle and natural. At 70% hydration, this dough is beautifully workable — soft enough to give you an open crumb full of nooks and crannies, but not so sticky that it becomes difficult to shape. And because you are making a medium batch of 12, you will have enough to enjoy fresh that morning and still have plenty left to freeze for the week ahead.

Tips for Success

Make sure your starter is at its peak before mixing the dough — it should have doubled in size and be full of bubbles. This is the single most important factor for getting a good rise overnight.

Do not rush the bulk fermentation. Eight to ten hours at room temperature (around 68–72°F / 20–22°C) is ideal. A cooler kitchen may need up to twelve hours.

Pat the dough to exactly one inch thick before cutting. Thicker muffins cook more evenly and give you that tall, impressive rise in the skillet.

Always cook on medium-low heat with a lid on. This allows the inside to cook through gently before the outside gets too dark. If your skillet runs hot, drop it to low.

Split your muffins with a fork, never a knife. The fork creates a rough, jagged surface that toasts up into the most incredible nooks and crannies.

Storage

Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. To freeze, split them with a fork first and place in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. You can go straight from freezer to toaster — no thawing needed.