Tomato and basil English muffins

This my savoury twist on classic English breakfast muffins: these are wonderful toasted and liberally buttered: the butter has to be liberal, and low-fat spreads and the like do not do justice to these muffins!

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Updated March 2019: new photos

The dough is flavoured with sun-dried tomatoes, for that amazing umami kick, and fresh basil. Together with the soft, pillowy dough, you have total comfort food literally at your fingertips!

I love to top the toasted muffins with cream cheese and either onion or chilli chutney: it has to be my number one supper snack!

Tomato and basil English muffins

These muffins, as indeed the classic English breakfast muffins, are wonderful topped with crispy bacon or smoked salmon, Or a poached egg and some hollandaise sauce for a version of the terrific eggs benedict.

Sourdough muffins

If you want to make sourdough muffins, my recipe is here.

Recipe: tomato and basil English breakfast muffins – makes about 10-12

Tomato and basil English muffins

• 380g strong white bread flour
• 20g caster sugar
• 4g easy-blend dried yeast*
• 8g fine salt
• 30g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large free-range egg plus one large egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 200-220ml milk
• a small handful of fresh basil, finely chopped (about 20 large leaves)
• 30g finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• about a tablespoon of very fine semolina for dusting

* if going for a sourdough version, omit the yeast and instead use 100g of active sourdough starter. Reduce the flour to 330g, the milk to 150-170g and increase the butter to 50g. Being sourdough, the fermentation/rising times will be longer but that is great for flavour.

(1) Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, basil and tomatoes in a bowl and give it a stir. Add the whole egg, the egg yolk and the melted butter along with most of the milk, stirring to get a very soft but not too sticky dough. Add more of the milk if you need it.

(2) Knead for 10-15 minutes on a surface that has been lightly floured or dusted with fine semolina until smooth and more elastic: popping the dough in a food mixer with the dough hook attachment makes this effortless!

dough for tomato and basil English muffins

(3) Put the dough in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave either at room temperature for a few hours until doubled in size or, for the very best flavour, leave in the fridge overnight. If making a sourdough version, leave it at room temperature for a couple of hours to start off its rise (bulk fermentation) and then chill: it make take up to 36 hours or so until increased in volume but sourdoughs are never for rushing!

(4) Dust the work surface with semolina and turn the risen dough onto it. You don’t knead this dough to deflate it, which you would normally do for bread following its first rise: just roll out the aerated dough to about 2cm thick and cut out circles of dough using a plain cutter: I go for an 8cm cutter, but you can go smaller or larger.

Alternatively, cut the dough into 12 portions of about 70g each for the larger muffins, and lightly pat into the plain cutter, removing them as soon as they are shaped.

dough rising for tomato and basil English muffins

NB: you will get about 7 or 8 muffins out of the dough to begin with before needing to use the trimmings to make more. Lightly bring the trimmings together and re-roll: they might look a bit rougher than the first ones but they will turn out perfectly. If you find you can’t quite get clear enough cuts with the trimmings, instead take lumps of the dough trimmings and lightly pat inside the cutter to shape them.

(5) Place the cut out dough on a tray or a sheet of greaseproof that has been dusted with semolina. Give the dough circles a light dusting of semolina. Leave them, uncovered, for about an hour to puff back up again or a few hours if making sourdough muffins: they will rise up further when they are cooked.

(6) Heat a solid frying pan or a flat griddle pan on a low heat for about 5 minutes. Place the dough circles carefully on the pan, a little apart. For the larger ones, cook for 7-8 minutes on one side before turning them over and cooking for 7-8 minutes on the other. They should feel very light when they are done. You can cook them for a further couple of minutes per side if you think they need it. NB: the trick for perfect muffins is to let them cook slowly over the very low heat.

(7) Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack to cool. Split, toast and spread liberally with butter for the simplest joys!

Tomato and basil English muffins

Flavour variations

As with the classic English breakfast muffins, any of these flavoured muffins is terrific when sliced, toasted and buttered. Omitting the basil and the tomato for great English muffins:

English muffins

Cheese & onion muffins:

Mix 50g finely grated Cheddar cheese with the flour. Then mix in a finely chopped medium onion that has been cooked until soft (or even caramelised) in a little oil or butter. Make, prove and cook the dough as above.

Chocolate & orange muffins:

These sweet muffins are wonderfully different. A good salted butter on these toasted muffins works particularly well.

Mix 30g cocoa powder, 50g chopped dark or milk chocolate and the finely grated zest of 2 large oranges into the flour. Increase the milk content to about 220-240ml. Make, prove and cook the dough as above.

Author: Philip

Finalist on Britain’s Best Home Cook (BBC Television 2018). Published recipe writer with a love of growing fruit & veg, cooking, teaching and eating good food. View all posts by Philip