I had the pleasure of checking my mail the other day to find that a copy of Brittany Angell's new book Every Last Crumb had arrived! I have had my eye on this book for a while after seeing her share all of her delicious creations on her Instagram feed.
Y'all know I have recently gotten into the realm of autoimmune paleo baking, so I was intrigued to see how she was able to re-create basically any bread or baked good you used to eat before you went paleo using paleo-friendly ingredients. She really figured out a rhythm with several key ingredients -- potato starch and flour, tapioca starch, coconut flour, xantham gum, shortening, and yeast. Those aren't the only ingredients, but they come up again and again throughout. I know from my own recent baking experiments that very slight adjustments to batters can result in very different outcomes, and that's what you will find in Every Last Crumb, too.
Do you miss bagels? Sandwich bread? Cakes? Biscuits? English muffins? Or more specialty items like apreas, naan, or pretzels? She's got it all in her book. Paleo no longer has to feel like a totally limited, restricted diet thanks to this new cookbook. There are over 150 recipes inside covering just about every sweet or savory baked good you can imagine! Of course, the recipes in this book aren't meant to be staple items; they're treats. But, oh my word, what amazing treats they are! Sometimes you really just want to feel normal, and if that means eating a paleo bagel or po boy, well, have at it! I am so grateful to have this cookbook in my collection and I think it deserves a place on your paleo bookshelf, too.
One very important note about this cookbook is that the measurements are done by weight, not volume. I have never baked by weighing out 200 grams of water and 100 grams of this flour, 200 grams of that flour, but it was actually really easy to get the hang of thanks to my digital kitchen scale. I've known for a long time that baking by weight is much more fool-proof and consistent than doing it by volume, I'd just never done it before! Now I am inspired to begin developing recipes that use weight and not volume.
While I was browsing through the book, the English muffins caught my eye. I made a batch right away (after stopping by Publix to pick up a bag of xanthan gum and some instant yeast -- I had never baked with those ingredients before!) What did I do with the English muffins? I made burgers out of them!
There is a restaurant in Miami that I used to love to go to that served their burgers on Portugese muffins -- very very similar to English muffins, but sturdier and slightly sweet. Yes, they were made with gluten, but thankfully after healing leaky gut I am no longer gluten intolerant. Anyway, I was really missing that flavor combo, so I made my own burgers from the English muffin recipe. Holy WOW were they amazing!
Good news: Brittany is allowing me to share the English muffin recipe with you today! This one is actually pretty easy to whip up, but the cooking process is kinda slow and takes some time. And then you have to wait for them to completely cool before you break them open (torture!). I assure you, though, that the end result is so worth it. You can enjoy these simply with butter or ghee and jam, for breakfast sandwiches with eggs and/or meats, or use them as hamburger buns for you favorite burger.
As you can see, my attempt at using aluminum foil as the rings to hold the batter together didn't work that great - notice how they split open? :-P I'm going to spend the $6 and just buy a set of real English muffin rings to use next time :-) Even though my muffins weren't perfectly shaped, they tasted perfectly delicious!
It was absolute torture to wait for them to cool before pulling them apart.... I toasted them by heating them cut face-down in a frying pan greased with butter. So. Freaking. Good.
Then, I put a quarter pounder in each one and topped with lightly grilled onions and Bubbie's pickles. And ketchup and mustard, of course.
These English muffins are quite sturdy and didn't flinch a bit under the weight of the beef. They held together until the last bite and were the perfect paleo, gluten-free burger I had been wishing for since moving away from Miami!
Pssst......there's a flash giveaway going on!
Head on over to my Instagram page and follow the instructions to enter. 4 winners each get 1 new cookbook each! Choices are Every Last Crumb, Frugal Paleo, Mediterranean Paleo, and Paleo Eats. Yeah! Ends at 12pm EST on 12/22, so hurry!
Here's a peek inside the book, with Brittany's shot of these delightful English muffins!
Paleo English Muffins (from Every Last Crumb)
These paleo English muffins are nut-free, grain-free, and egg-free and come from Brittany Angell's new cookbook Every Last Crumb. Enjoy them with butter or ghee and jam, bacon and eggs, or, like I did, as hamburgers!
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 English muffins
Ingredients
- 207 grams lukewarm water (about a scant 1 cup)
- 1 Tbsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp coconut palm sugar (I recommend sucanat instead)
- 127 grams potato or sweet potato starch (about 2/3 cup plus 2 tsp)
- 72 grams coconut flour (about 1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp)
- 30 grams tapioca starch (about 1/4 cup)
- 3/4 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt (I recommend unrefined sea salt)
- 64 grams Spectrum shortening (about 1/3 cup --- and I just have to say WHY in the WORLD isn't leaf lard listed as the shortening of preference in this book?? :-P That's what I use in all my paleo baking, including this recipe, and it tastes SO GOOD. It is the original shortening your great-grandma would've used, after all!)
Cooking Directions
- In a small bowl, mix together the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the potato starch, coconut flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, and salt.
- Stir the yeast mixture and shortening into the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated and a dough forms. The dough will be fairly wet and sticky.
- Oil a large skillet and the inside of each of 4 English muffin rings (see Notes). Place the rings in the skillet
- Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and place a portion in each ring. Brush the tops liberally with water.
- Cover the skillet and place over low heat for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, keeping the English muffins covered, and allow them to rise for 15 to 18 minutes.
- Turn the burner back on to medium-low heat. Keeping th elid on the skillet, cook the English muffins for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and flip them.
- Cover and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom. Remove the rings.
- Cover the skillet and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the finished English muffins from the skillet and let cool completely before breaking open with a fork and toasting. Store extras at room temperature in a sealed container, or freezer for another day.
- NOTES: You can create your own English muffin rings by folding aluminum foil over itself. Use metal paper clips to hold them together. If you find that your English muffins are not fully cooked through, lower the heat and cook them longer. You can continue to cook a muffin in the skillet even if it has been cut open.
- TO MAKE BURGERS: While you are waiting for the muffins to cool, cook your patties. Use your favorite burger recipe, or just plain grass-fed ground beef. Divide 1 pound into 4 patties and cook over medium low heat in a skillet until done to your liking. Top with your favorite toppings. I used lightly grilled onion slices (I put them in the same pan as the burgers arranged around the patties) and Bubbie's pickles along with simple ketchup and mustard. Serves 4.
Recommended Ingredients
These are the ingredients I use in my own kitchen and think you'll enjoy using in yours, too! Links are to my trusted affiliate partners.
