Always delighted at PJs recipes. I read a mention in one of the comments here that baked English muffins don't seem to create as many holes. I am certainly not an expert but I have been experimenting with several recipes. I wanted the tang of a well-known brand of English muffin. The addition of vinegar in my last experiment, which I noted that PJ has included, has done the trick. I've seen also that vinegar plus milk is a substitute for buttermilk. One of the byproducts of buttermilk I believe, is whey. The combination of vinegar plus baking powder creates more carbon dioxide…i.e. holes in the dough.

I baked mine, and it had plenty of holes. The only differences for me were
1. Even using SAF Instant yeast, I prefer to start the yeast with a quarter cup of warm water and a tablespoon of sugar. I let it process for about 15 minutes before adding it to the dry ingredients. I always seem to get a better rise that way even though my yeast is really fresh and I leave it in The sealed canister that King Arthur sells, in the fridge.
2. I did the first rise in the refrigerator overnight, (about 9 hours) which created a lot of holes and then I handled it very tenderly so as not to deflate tio much before proceeding with the rest of PJs recipe.
3.Did second rise in the fridge but only left it until it had risen.
4. I started my oven cold rather than hot, As though I were cooking them on the griddle. Extended the initial baking time by five minutes before I flipped them. t I will try PJs recommendations the next time of preheating my oven which makes more sense to me.
My 2 questions are:
1. Wondering if buttermilk plus the vinegar and baking powder might make more bubbles in baked muffins.
2. Wondering if the addition of King Arthur's Diastatic Malt might affect the bubbles as well as adding a bit more tang?

That other commercial English muffin mentions whey AND vinegar as ingredients.

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