Today is a celebration of love, Hallmark generated or not. Because I'm quite certain you can find plenty of decadent desserts all over the internet today (and I just posted some a few days ago), I decided to focus on another love: carbs. Whether or not you have a significant other, I'm willing to bet a lot of my readers aren't going to deny the fact that they truly love carbs, particularly in the form of bread.

In honor of carb love, I want to share with you a recipe for homemade English muffins. Like all bread made from scratch, I've found that it is far superior to its pre-package, store-bought versions. The week I made these Ryan and I couldn't get enough, throwing aside all regular dinner plans to instead enjoy night after night of breakfast for dinner: eggs, collard greens with bacon, and a homemade English muffin, hot from the toaster and slathered in peanut butter and jam.

These were a lot easier to make than I expected. There are a few rises required, but hands-on time is minimal. Once the English muffins have been cut out, they're simply cooked on a skillet until lightly browned. When you're ready to eat, just slice, toast, and serve as desired. (These also freeze well--just thaw and toast before serving!)

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day to the one I love more than any carb ;)

One Year Ago: Carrot Spice Muffins
 Check out my guest post on Blog is the New Black, where I'm sharing two oldie but goodie recipes! 

Homemade Whole Wheat English Muffins

from Channeling Contessa

*Note--my batch yielded quite a few English muffins (15+), but I rolled my dough more thinly than it called for. For thicker (and fewer) English muffins, leave the dough thicker before cutting out your circles.

Ingredients:

-1 cup milk

-2 tbsp granulated sugar

-1 package (.25 oz) active dry yeast

-1 cup warm water (110F)

-1/4 cup melted shortening

-3 cups whole wheat flour

-2 cups all purpose flour

-1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Heat milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from heat, add sugar, and stir until dissolved. Allow to cool to lukewarm.

2. Meanwhile, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Combine milk, yeast mixture, shortening, and 3 cups flour in a mixing bowl. Beat with dough hook until smooth. Add remaining 2 cups flour and salt, beating until dough comes together. Knead for 2 minutes before placing dough in a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 2 hours.

4. Punch dough down. Roll out on a floured surface to 1/2-inch thick. Cut rounds out of dough (I used a glass). Place on wax paper sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes to an hour.

5. Heat ungreased griddle over medium-high heat (I used my electric griddle) and cook muffins 5-10 minutes a side (just until lightly browned). Flip and brown the other side. Return to wax paper to cool completely before storing in plastic bags.