I love English muffins and as a teen, I tried my hand at making them. I learned that they tended to be finicky and it took forever to cook them four at a time on a griddle. So I figured that I’d almost never have them on the boat — they were virtually non-existent in Mexico.
Then I discovered English Muffin Bread. Every bit as good, but WAY, WAY easier to make. Don’t even have to knead the dough and it rises very quickly. In 70-degree weather, a loaf only takes an hour and a half from thought to eating; in typical tropical temps, only about an hour. Yeah, I can do that and have a hot loaf for breakfast!
The recipe for making a loaf in a conventional oven is in the PDF sample of The Boat Galley Cookbook (along with 32 other recipes) — you can get it here (for those who wonder, when you sign up for it with your email address, you’ll get ONE email immediately in case you had a problem with the download and another a couple of days later, and you get a subscription to The Boat Galley newsletter if you don’t already have one but that’s all — no spam, I don’t sell the addresses, etc.).
So, what if you don’t have a conventional oven on the boat?? Are you consigned to making English muffins on the griddle with the time it takes and the heat it puts into the boat??
Of course, the answer is NO . . . you can make English Muffin Bread in the Omnia Stove Top Oven.
Read more about the Omnia here or buy it from either of these two sellers:
- Omnia Stove Top Oven on Amazon
- Omnia Stove Top Baking Oven from Sea Dog Boating Solutions – Note: Sea Dog Boating Solutions no longer sells the Omnia Oven. But they do sell some Omnia accessories.
I’ve done some experimenting and adapted the recipe so it’s sized correctly for the Omnia. And as you can see in the photos at the top of this article, it turns out deliciously.
English Muffin Bread for the Omnia Stove Top Oven
Ingredients
- 1 packet yeast (2-1/2 teaspoons if using bread machine yeast or bulk yeast)
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2-1/2 cups white flour (can use up to half whole wheat flour)
- 1 cup milk OR water
- 1/2 cup water (in addition to the milk or water above)
- Cornmeal, oatmeal or a bit of extra flour for pan
Instructions
- Prepare the aluminum food pan of the Omnia by greasing it with a bit or butter, margarine or oil and then add approximate one teaspoon of cornmeal and shake the pan so that the entire inside is coated.
- Mix the yeast, sugar, salt, baking powder and the flour in a large bowl. Add the milk and water. Stir until thoroughly mixed. DON’T KNEAD. Place dough into the prepared pan.
- Put the cover on the pan and let the dough rise until doubled, about 45 minutes if the temperature is about 70° F. (21 C.) (the time will be shorter if it’s hotter; longer if it’s cooler).
- When the dough is almost doubled, place the steel base for the Omnia on a hot burner and let it preheat for about three minutes.
- Place the food pan on the hot base. Leave the burner on hot for one minute (60 seconds). This is important for heating the pan and the air that is channeled over the top of the bread.
- Turn the burner down to just above medium (my stove has settings from 1 to 7, 7 being the hottest, and I turn it to 4).
- Bake the bread for about 35 minutes. The easiest way to tell if it is done is to stick an instant-read thermometer in the center of the loaf. It will read between 195° F. and 200° F. (90 to 93 C.) when done.
- If you don’t have a thermometer, the top should appear dry and you’ll see a bit of golden brown along the edges of the top (next to the pan). Stick a knife into the center of the loaf and make sure there is no raw dough on it when you pull it out.
- Remove the pan from the stove and turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack, cutting board or plate (if you leave it in the pan, the bottom and side crusts will get soggy instead of being crunchy).
- Let cool at least a few minutes before cutting. Serve warm or toasted.
Notes
Want over 800 boat-friendly recipes, over 100 substitutions, and tons of tips for cooking on a boat?
Sailing Banyan on Facebook says
Sounds (and looks) yummy… just need to look into that Omnia Stovetop Oven, looks like a good thing to have !
Cheryl Geeting on Facebook says
Sounds good. So glad you’re sharing recipes for the Omnia Oven. I need to start practicing with mine!
sue says
We used a cast iron dutch oven on our 32 footerwhich did not have an oven. Inside the dutch oven we placed a cake cooler and the baking tin on top of that.it kept the base of the bread/cake/scones off the heat source. The temperature was a bit uncontrollable but if you were vigilant it worked very well.
Steve A says
JUST made this and am thrilled with the results! We can use this bread for breakfast, lunch sandwiches (tuna melts) or as an accompaniement to soup for dinner. Was doubtful the Omnia would be able to pull it off but am happily surprised with the results. Thanks so much for sharing the Omnia and the recipe with us. You have saved us the cost of putting an oven into the boat!!
Red Canoe says
is your book in stores?
The Boat Galley says
Some . . . best place to get it is Amazon. For example, sometimes I’ll see it in a West Marine, then won’t for two months, then it’ll be back again . . . I can’t figure out any pattern. In Canada, it’s on Amazon Canada and also Nautical Mind in Toronto (they’ll ship anywhere). I’m sure other places too . . .
Red Canoe says
aye I just don’t do online shopping. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for it!! Or ask Santa for it lol. Thanks for making a great cookbook!
Tammy Swart says
Is it in the cookbook?
The Boat Galley says
Of course!
Anne Ellingsen says
I need to try this. Have your cookbook on my kindle. Our playground is the west coast of Washington & B.C. Temperature is normally not that warm in spring & late fall. This morning the temp when we woke up was 58f. Thinking that s too cold for the yeast?
The Boat Galley says
One trick that I use in cool weather is to use a hot water bottle (usually literally a bottle with warm, not boiling water in it). Put it next to your bowl with the dough and wrap a towel around both.
Sonjashootingstar Wells says
Wish listed, along with your book 🙂