Break
up the yeast in a small bowl to dissolve with the 2 msk. (2tbls.)
of warm water.
While
that is going, scold the milk in a small sauce pan by bringing it
up to a boil and immediately removing it from the heat. Then with
a fork or spoon remove the scum that will have formed on the top.
In
a bowl large enough to hold all the finished dough, place the water,
sugar and salt give it a stir and then add the scolded milk. Be
careful it is not too hot or it will kill the yeast. No warmer than
40°C (105°F) degrees.
Now
add the dissolved yeast and stir a bit.
Add
half of the flour and with a wooden spoon mix it all together well,
it will be sloppy and wet like a batter instead of a dough. Set
it aside to proof for 1 and 1/2 hours covered with a clean towel
in a warm place. It will double in size and should collapse back
on itself.
To
the raised dough now add the 45gr (3tbls.) of softened butter and
beat in well. I usually do with 4 fingers of one hand, beating well
to incorporate the butter.
When
the butter is well incorporated add the remaining flour and with
your wooden spoon beat it in well. The dough will still be rather
wet and difficult to handle because it likes to stick to everything.
Flour
your work surface well and turn the dough out on to it and knead
it for a couple of minutes add just enough flour so that you can
reasonably handle it.
With
a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness just short
of 1cm. or (1/2 inch) Then with a ring cutter cut out circles of
7 1/2cm. (3 inches) and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet sprinkled
with a generous amount of cornmeal to stop the dough from sticking
to the tray. (Dry polenta will do the job just fine). Gather up
all the unused dough and roll it out again then cut out more disks,
do this until all the dough is used up.
The
traditional way of forming the muffins is with metal rings 7 1/2cm
(3inches) in diameter. Take a small piece of the dough and press
it into the ring not filling it more than half way up. Set these
on the cookie sheet and let rise as directed below. They are then
cooked in the rings, which will come away from the muffin as it
cooks, making it easy to remove the rings when done.
Cover
the cooking sheet now with a clean towel and set in a warm place
for its second raising. Depending how warm your kitchen is, it should
take about a half hour.
When
the dough has risen take a large cast iron frying pan, the type
you would use for pancakes and heat it until it is hot but not quite
smoking. Then lightly butter it using a paper towel to remove any
excess butter.
Gently
lift each muffin up with a metal spatula and place them in the pan
and cook on one side for about 4-5 minutes then turn them and cook
of there top side for another 3-4 minutes. You can tell when they
are cooked by their weight. They become rather light, split one
and look inside to be sure. Remove to a cooling rack and repeat
the process until all the muffins are cooked.
These
are best eaten right away or at least within the first few hours.
If you’re not going to use them immediately throw them into
a plastic bag and freeze them for later use. |
