This delightful whole grain English muffin bread was originally shared with us by my friend Tami Noyes. We’ve given the post a big update with some more details, but stayed true to her classic recipe. It’s a simple bread that requires just a bowl, a mixer, wholesome ingredients, and 15 minutes or so of hands-on time to create. There’s no kneading, no fuss, and unlike many English muffins and recipes, no dairy of any kind! 
Whole Grain English Muffin Bread with No Knead for Dairy
This whole grain English muffin bread is a sneak peek into the Whole Grain Vegan Baking cookbook I wrote with Celine Steen. It’s a great snack or breakfast bread, and is also impressive for brunch. But it’s so easy to make! And yes, you can get those wonderful nooks and crannies with whole grains. It just takes a couple of tricks.
First, it’s easiest with a very wet batter. So wet that it can really only be made in a stand mixer rather than by hand. I like to weigh the flours to reduce the chance of adding too much flour, but I’ve included both cup measurements and gram weight in the recipe. Here’s a visual of how wet the batter will look:
Second, right after mixing in the baking soda, I pop this loaf in the oven. Baking soda reacts quickly once combined with liquids, so you want it left alone and baking away as soon as possible. A lot of recipes for English muffin bread have a second rising, but I find this easier, faster method works much better. Your final loaf will have this wonderful craggy texture to soak up your favorite dairy-free buttery spread or jam:
Special Diet Notes: Whole Grain English Muffin Bread
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free, optionally soy-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian. Be sure to choose the dairy-free milk beverage that suits your dietary needs.
- ½ cup warm water
- 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sucanat, coconut sugar, or other granulated sweetener
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour
- ½ cup (70g) whole spelt flour
- ¼ cup (32g) finely ground cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (can reduce, if preferred)
- 1½ cups plain dairy-free milk beverage (Tami uses soymilk)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons coarse ground cornmeal, for the pan
- In a mixing bowl, stir together the water, yeast, and sweetener. Let it sit and proof for 5 minutes. If it doesn’t look foamy or bubbly, your yeast might be inactive. Start over with fresh yeast.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, fine cornmeal, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture, milk beverage, vinegar, and oil to the yeast mixture. Beat with a mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The consistency will resemble cake batter.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it sit in a warm place for 1½ hours, or until the batter is doubled.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the coarse cornmeal evenly in the bottom of the pan.
- Add the baking soda to your risen batter / dough. Beat on low for about 1 minute.
- Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan and evenly sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 teaspoon coarse cornmeal.
- Bake the bread for 20 minutes. Check to see if the top is getting too dark, and if so, cover lightly with foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer, or until the loaf is pulling away from the sides of the pan and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. If the loaf resists coming out of the pan, return the loaf to the oven (covered with the foil) for 5 more minutes.
- Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool 2 hours before slicing.
More Easy Vegan Bread Recipes
The Best Brown Soda Bread
Alisa’s Favorite 100% Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Rolls
Sarah’s Basic Beer Bread
2 Comments
Is there a replacement for the cornmeal? I’m allergic to corn. Thx!
If you still want to add some texture to the bread, you can use coarsely ground oats or ground flaxseed. Otherwise, you can just use more wheat flour in place of the cornmeal. Wheat flour will also work fine for dusting the bottom of the pan. I do this often.