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English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

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English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam will put a smile on your face!

At one point or another I may have alluded to toast being a staple in my life.

There was a short spell of time, when my sisters and I were much younger, that cinnamon toast was the only thing that would make us happy. Okay – maybe I was the only one feeling that happy – and maybe cinnamon toast wasn’t the only thing – let’s not forget my steak-um and fried onion frenzy. But I do recall the girls being there, at the kitchen counter, popping down bread…

I don’t know…things can get a little fuzzy after 40ish years, give or take a few…but perhaps we began that early Saturday morning with a full loaf of soft white sliced bread, a stick of butter and a cereal bowl full of homemade cinnamon sugar, and finished our meal in late morning, with an empty bag that made a light percussion sound as we shook the bits of crumbs still remaining.

Those were some good times and great memories…and today, it’s all about making a new toast memory.

This one feels a little more grown up, as this toast does not come from a bag, but from our oven, and its topping, not processed, but real.

I’ve longed to make this bread for decades. This recipe hails from my Hearty Soups & Fresh Breads class that I took so many years ago.

I guess I have felt that as long as Thomas’ continued to do the job it was doing, there was no great rush for me to hop on the English muffin bread band-wagon. Until today. There’s been a shift. And I am responding.

 

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

 

Dom brought home a large bag of dried figs for the holidays. Beautiful figs, nice to munch on with a little cheese and a cracker, however, there are only so many figs one can eat this way, which meant – it was time to get creative.

 

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

 

What better way to use up figs than to make jam? And how awesome would that jam be if it included blueberries? And lemon juice, a little cinnamon and vanilla?

 

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

 

Nice, right? Cozy, with a nice bit of crunch from the cornmeal to the fig seeds.

 

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

 

And can I take a moment to discuss how much I love making yeast bread. I don’t know what I like more…the yeasty aroma as it’s rising or the punching when it comes time to deflate…who needs kickboxing when we have dough to pound? Man, the good times and awesome workouts we can have in our kitchens!

 

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

See what toast does to me?

I love it! I hope you do, too!

Buon Appetito!

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English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

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  • Author: Ciao Chow Bambina
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries
  • 2 cups fresh figs
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 2 pkg. active dry yeast
  • 2 eggs
  • cornmeal

Instructions

  1. Place the blueberries and figs in a food processor and puree until smooth.
  2. Transfer the puree to a medium sized pot and add the honey, lemon juice, vanilla and cinnamon.
  3. Place over low heat and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Remove from heat and let cool.
  5. In the meantime, prepare the English muffin bread.
  6. In a small saucepan, heat water and oil until very warm (120-130 degrees).
  7. In a large bowl, blend warm liquid, 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast and eggs at low speed until moistened.
  8. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
  9. By hand, stir enough remaining flour to make a stiff batter.
  10. Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and doubled in size, about 45 – 60 minutes.
  11. Grease and sprinkle with cornmeal two 9×5″ loaf pans.
  12. Pat down dough and beat vigorously for 30 seconds.
  13. Place dough into prepared pans.
  14. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 30 – 45 minutes.
  15. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
  16. Bake for about 20 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
  17. Remove bread and cool.
  18. Toast bread and top with softened butter and blueberry fig jam.

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{Jam adapted from The Paleo Kitchen.}

English Muffin Toast with Blueberry Fig Jam

Ciao!

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Comments

  2. As soon as I saw this, I thought “no way, she didn’t MAKE English muffins did she??”. Lo and behold, of COURSE you did. Because you are Annie, not me! WOW a million times over. I never thought to make English muffins!! Now I have to try it!!

    Reply

  3. This looks beyond delicious. I want to grab this along with a hunk of cheese and a glass of wine and call it the best meal ever!

    Reply

  5. I love this – english muffin toast! I have to have toast in the morning so am adding this to my weekend baking projects. I always think jam is going to be complicated but I see it’s not – so will be trying this as soon as I can get some figs. Lovely photos, Annie!

    Reply

    • Hi Geraldine…This is a nice combination of flavors. I know some jams can be a little more involved however I found one that is very simple! Buon Appetito!

      Reply

  8. One of my goals this year is to improve my baking skills – I’m not so good dealing with anything with yeast in it! This bread is very inspiring – makes me want to roll up my sleeves and give it a go! p.s. I LOVE toast!

    Reply

  12. English muffin bread is one of those breads that I haven’t tried yet, but have been meaning to. Yours looks perfect Annie! I love making yeast breads too, definitely trying this one! Also – love the new look of your blog! 🙂

    Reply

  14. Wow! This looks seriously tasty! I love freshly made bread and the way it make your whole house smell! The color of your toast is absolutely perfect! (Personally, I can’t make a piece of toast without burning the hell out of the first few pieces!) And the blueberry-fig jam! Sounds absolutely divine!

    Reply

    • This is so funny, Kathleen…I love that you noticed the color of the toast! I unintentionally cut the slices a little too thick for the toaster so I put the bread under the broiler to toast and it came out perfect, the first time – which I don’t usually do, either! Hahah! It was a very yummy breakfast! Thank you!!

      Reply

  15. I love how much you and your sisters adored cinnamon toast and this English muffin version with the blueberry fig jam sounds like it will become a new favorite for sure. It looks absolutely amazing! Love the new site design too! It’s so pretty!

    Reply

  17. I usually never keep figs around long enough to make jam with them. Half of the time they are gone before I even bring them into the house because they are so good. I definitely need to save a few and make this fresh jam. It looks amazing!

    Reply

  20. This is such a lovely, post, Annie. I read it on my phone while eating my lunch, and your writing, photos and design transported me to a cozy place filled with the aroma of fresh bread topped with jam I can just taste. Thank you for providing that kind of experience! I’m off to make bagels for my daughter and will have to try the English muffin toast in the future. 🙂

    Reply

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