National English Muffin Day – April 23, 2024

History of National English Muffin Day

Known simply as a muffin in the United Kingdom, the English muffin is reportedly the first to have emerged from Wales in 900 A.D. A derivative of Bara brith bread, which is a tea-flavored dough mix, the English muffin was and still is a common and cheaply manufactured food. It has fast become a favorite amongst the people.

In 1880 Samuel Bath Thomas opened his bakery in New York City. He emigrated from Plymouth, England, in 1875. Using his mother’s recipe, he began baking the delicious breakfast sides and sold them to hotels and grocery stores. From the 1800s, the manufacture and appeal of the English muffin rose, and locally they became known as the American Muffin, even though there is nothing that separates the two muffins except their names. Through the 1990s, the English muffin received incredible popularity, and many people, not just in The U.S., began to bake and produce their own.

The debate around who is responsible for the baked delicacy is a point of contention as many believe that the English muffin is a completely foreign baked good to the U.K. While historically, Thomas was an immigrant and did use his mother’s recipe to create the muffin, the term ‘English muffin’ was coined in the U.S. after Thomas began baking them. It is believed by some, that the English had no experience of the muffin before 1990, which was the year Thomas’ English muffins were imported to the U.K. from the U.S.