English Muffins

Ok, so i have to admit i LOOOVVEE muffins, banana walnut ones, strawberry or blueberry ones.. the choice is almost endless, but once in a while, i have a craving for English muffins. There is just something about them- the crispiness of the exterior, the butter melting into all the nooks and crannies of the interior...what can i say??
So, I found myself in a dark house when evryone else was sleeping this morning, and i thought-hmm, i could really go for an english muffin. Bearing in mind that in Cyprus such things are not readily available, and if they WERE there is no way i would find them at 4:30am on a sunday morning- so into the recipe book i go!

I found a great recipe by Isa Chandra Moskowitz in her Vegan Brunch cookbook (a totally awesome cookbook by the way!).

You start off with 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 cup of water- place in a bowl, and let it do it's thing for 10 minutes or so, then add the flour (2 1/4 cups) the salt (1 1/4 teaspoons) and the margarine (3 tablespoons). Mix it untilb it forms a sticky dough

Then turn it out onto a floured surface, and knead for 6 minutes or so, until you have a nice smooth dough. Now leave to rise for an hour (in a nice warm place) until the dough has doubled in size.

Now we are ready to roll it out on a floured surface, and using a cookie cutter (or the top of a coffee mug) cut out rounds (about 3 inches across).

Preheat a heavy frying pan or skillet, and melt about a table spoon of margarine in it (the pan should not be hot enough to burn the margarine!). Now, working in batches put a few muffins in the pan at a time, and fry for about a minute on each side until the muffins are lightly browned  and then put them on a greaseproof paper lined cookie sheet, and into a oven at 180C (350F) for 6-10 minutes. Let them cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes (this is what Isa suggests, but to be honest, these didn't last that long!) Serve dripping in butter and with a nice cup of tea!