Why April 23

The English muffin gets its day on April 23, and if you have only ever known the supermarket kind, it is worth learning what makes it special. The version Americans know is often credited to Samuel Bath Thomas, an English immigrant who opened a bakery in New York in the 1880s and sold a griddle-cooked muffin that toasted up full of holes. Those famous nooks and crannies became the muffin’s whole identity, and for good reason: they are little reservoirs built to catch melting butter.

Unlike most breakfast breads, the English muffin is cooked on a griddle rather than baked, which gives it flat, pale tops and bottoms and that distinctive chewy, open crumb.

The fork-split rule

Here is the one thing to remember today: never cut an English muffin with a knife. A blade shears the interior flat and smooth, erasing exactly the texture you want. Instead, pierce all the way around the edge with the tines of a fork and gently pull the two halves apart. You will expose a rugged, cratered surface with far more area for toasting and butter.

Toast the split sides until deep golden and a little crisp at the peaks, so the ridges shatter while the base stays tender.

Butter, then build

Butter an English muffin the instant it leaves the toaster, while it is hot enough to melt the butter down into every crevice. That is the pleasure the whole design exists to deliver, so do not let it cool first.

From there, the muffin is the ideal breakfast sandwich base. Its sturdy crumb holds up to a fried egg, cheese, and sausage or ham without collapsing, and it is of course the classic foundation for eggs Benedict.

The nooks and crannies are not a marketing line; they are functional architecture for holding butter.

Homemade is within reach

Making English muffins at home is more approachable than baking a loaf, since they cook on the stovetop in metal rings and need no fancy oven work. The dough is wet and simple, and pressing it into rings on a warm griddle is genuinely fun.

Whatever route you take, split one with a fork today, toast it dark, and give those crannies the butter they were built for.

How to celebrate

  1. 1
    Split with a fork

    Never cut an English muffin with a knife, which shears the interior flat and erases the texture. Pierce all the way around the edge with fork tines and gently pull the halves apart. You will expose a rugged, cratered surface with far more area for toasting.

  2. 2
    Toast dark, butter hot

    Toast the split sides until deep golden and a little crisp at the peaks. Then butter the muffin the instant it leaves the toaster, while it is hot enough to melt butter down into every crevice. That is the whole pleasure the nooks and crannies exist to deliver.

  3. 3
    Build a breakfast sandwich

    The sturdy crumb makes the English muffin an ideal sandwich base that will not collapse. Load a fried egg, cheese, and sausage or ham onto a toasted muffin. It is also the classic foundation for eggs Benedict.

  4. 4
    Freeze and toast from frozen

    English muffins freeze well, so buy extra and stash them. Split them before freezing so you can drop the halves straight into the toaster. There is no need to thaw first; they toast up fine from frozen.

  5. 5
    Try making them

    Homemade English muffins are more approachable than a full loaf because they cook on the stovetop in metal rings. The dough is wet and simple, and pressing it into rings on a warm griddle is genuinely fun. You control the size and get that fresh, chewy crumb.