Prepare the Dough Starter
Step 1 Mix the flour, water, and yeast for the starter in a small mixing bowl. Whisk until the batter is smooth and glossy, about 100 strokes. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for at least 1 hour. The mixture will become bubbly.

Prepare the Dough Mixture

Step 2 In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm flax milk (or other plant-based milk) and yeast for the English muffin dough--stir until dissolved. Scrape the dough starter from Step 1 into the mixing bowl and use a whisk to break it up and dissolve it into the flax milk and yeast. It should become quite frothy.

Step 3 Add the sugar, cashew cream (or other plant-based butter), and salt to the bowl and whisk to combine. Add 3 cups of the bread or all-purpose flour and ¼ cup of the whole wheat flour and stir with a large spoon until you form a shaggy, floury dough. (Note: I generally premix my dry ingredients -- bread flour, whole wheat flour and salt in a separate bowl first so that the flours and salt are well-mixed before combining with the wet ingredients. This is my routine but not absolutely necessary.)

Step 4 Turn dough out of bowl onto your unfloured surface and knead for 8 minutes. When finished kneading, form your dough into a ball and cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes. After the 30 to 45 minute rest, place your covered dough in the refrigerator overnight.

Step 5 In the morning, maybe start with a nice coffee or tea. If you are using muffin rings, lightly rub the inside of the rings with some plant-based butter or other type of oil to prevent the muffins from sticking to the rings. Remove your dough from refrigerator and split the dough into 10 equal pieces (to keep each piece consistent. I remove the plastic wrap from my dough bowl and place the wrap on my digital scale and then weigh my dough and divide by 10 to determine the weight of each muffin, generally between 100--109 g each). Sprinkle some corn meal or other course flour grain on your surface and on a baking sheet. Roll your first piece of dough into a ball using the palms of your hands. Place the dough ball on your cornmeal-dusted surface and then press down on the ball with your palm to flatten into a pancake-shaped disc. Place this flattened dough disc inside a muffin ring (if you have) on a cornmeal dusted baking tray. Use your fingers to gently press your dough disc to mostly fill the muffin ring. Repeat this process for each piece of dough. Cover your dough discs with towel or parchment paper and let rise for 1 -- 1½ hours. (I normally put my dough in my proofing oven for 1 hour).

Step 6 Transfer to a hot plate (about 300--325° F) and cook 8 minutes then flip and cook another 8 minutes. Remove from hotplate and place on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes. Remove from the muffin rings when cool enough to touch and enjoy!

¹ How to make Cashew Cream
Cashew cream is a very versatile replacement for dairy cow cream and sometimes butter for small amounts in recipes. It is very versatile and can be used in both sweet and savory deserts, soups, bread, bakes, etc. Also, it contains fiber, phyto-nutrients, and some protein. Here is how I make cashew cream at home.

1. Soak about 1 cup of raw cashews in water overnight*. Add enough water to completely cover the cashews.
2. After soaking overnight, drain the cashews (save the drain water) and place the drained cashews in a blender (I use a powerful VitaMix™ -- the more powerful the better). Add a little of the cashew drain water to the blender.
3. Start blending at low speed until the cashews start to break down. Add additional water as needed. The consistency should be similar to a heavy cream.
4. Increase the blender speed to medium or medium high. Blend for about 3--4 minutes. The longer you blend, the more creamy your cashew cream will be. Don't worry if its not completely white, the longer you blend the whiter it will become.
5. Adjust water to keep the consistency similar to heavy cream
6. When complete, put cashew cream into a sealed jar or container and refrigerate. When you need to use the cashew cream, shake it up in the container to make it well mixed. Use on a 1-1 ratio when heavy cream or butter is required.
7. My cashew cream last about a week in the refrigerator.

*If you are in a hurry, you can skip the soaking and add raw cashews and some water directly to a powerful blender and make your cashew cream on-the-spot by blending longer and faster until you reach your desired cream consistency.