Preparation / Directions:
Pizza, Focaccia, Flat, and Filled Breads From Your Bread Machine - Perfect Every Time by Lora Brody.
These hearty muffins are slillet-baked and then toasted like English muffin. Or if you prefer, you can bake them in the oven with an egg glaze to get puffy little breads with crispy crusts. The whole wheat dough is flavored with allspice, molasses, and sherry-soaked raisins and currants. They are fabulous slathered with butter.
Skillet-baked muffins will keep for several days, stored after cooling in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To freeze them, keep them tightly wrapped in a plastic bag.
Oven-baked muffins will keep for two days, tightly wrapped in plastic. They may be frozen, tightly wrapped. Reheat them in a toaster oven to retain the crispy crusts; do not microwave them.
For the dough:
Soak the currants and raisins in the sherry overnight or microwave them in a tightly covered contain for 2 minutes.
Place all the ingredients except the currants, raisins, and sherry in the machine, program for Dough, Basic Dough, or Manual, and press Start. The dough will be sticky during the first part of the kneading cycle. At the end of the final cycle, add the raisins, restart the machine, and allow it to knead just until the fruit is mixed in.
To finish the muffins:
Roll the dough out on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Flour the rolling pin as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Cut rounds with a 3 inch floured cutter. You can use a tuna fish can as a cutter if you cut off both ends. Sprinkle a baking sheet with the cornmeal and arrange the cut muffins 1 1/2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
To bake in a skillet:
Cover the muffins with plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Preheat an electric skillet to 250 deg F and oil it or spray it lightly with nonstick vegetable spray. Place the muffins in the skillet with the cornmeal side down. You can probably cook 4 - 8 at a time depending on the size of your skillet. Leave room for them to be turned easily.
Cook the muffins for 10 min, or until they are deep golden brown on the bottom. Turn the muffins and continue baking for another 10 minutes. Cool the muffins on wire racks. Split them and toast them like English muffins.
To bake in Oven:
Form the muffins as above, but only allow them to rise while the oven preheats to 350 deg F with the rack in the center position. They do not need longer than a 10 - 15 min rising time for they will rise in the oven. Generously brush the egg glaze over the muffins. Sprinkle with the sugar and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until slightly browned.
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