Maybe it’s the fluffy nook-and-cranny texture that’s so adept at catching pools of melted butter and jam, or maybe it’s the contrast with the dusting of crunchy cornmeal, or maybe it’s just that they’re so perfect for toasting. In any case, it’s easy to find a reason to love English Muffins and this simple bread version takes many of those excellent qualities and brings them to you in sliceable, oh-so-toastable, loaf form.

This isn’t a “quick bread.” It does involve some yeast and rising time, but there’s no kneading and it’s a forgiving bread that most anyone can handle. You don’t need a dough hook, all you need is your basic hand mixer or stand mixer attachments. You whisk together your dry ingredients and then warm the liquid ingredients – milk and water and oil – a bit before beating them together until they’re smooth.

That soft dough goes into a loaf pan that’s been liberally dusted with cornmeal, so you still get that delicate crunch that you usually find on the bottom of an English Muffin.

You set the dough somewhere reasonably warm to rise, just until it comes about a quarter of an inch above the pan, which should take no more than an hour.

All that’s left to do is bake. There’s no folding or kneading or shaping to worry about, just one simple rise and a brief baking time of about twenty-five minutes.

The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool completely before you slice it, which you’ll want to do to make sure you don’t end up with a gummy texture. After that, it’s an ideal bread for toasting and topping with a bit of butter and your favorite jam or jelly. It has a texture that’s reminiscent of a true English Muffin – craggy but fluffy – and makes for an excellent slice of toast in the morning (and a mighty fine afternoon snack, too).