English muffin bread is the loaf version of round English muffins. Both versions use the same ingredients, but the bread is baked in a loaf pan, while muffins are cooked on a griddle. English muffin bread is sliced like regular yeast bread, but has the same "nooks and crannies" texture of English muffins.
The crater-like texture of English muffins and bread is created by the baking soda that is added to the batter. The batter is not kneaded like regular yeast bread, so it is faster to prepare. Besides baking soda, yeast, salt, flour, water, and milk or buttermilk form the rest of the batter. Cornmeal coats the outsides of the loaf, just as it does on English muffins.
English muffin bread is sliced and eaten with the same toppings a person would put on English muffins. Many people enjoy butter, jam, and/or cream cheese on toasted slices. Both English muffins and bread are great for spreading with tomato sauce and adding cheese and leftovers and baking in the oven for a few minutes. These "pizzas" make excellent snacks or can be served as a light lunch alongside a salad.
Either a conventional oven or a bread machine can be used to make English muffin bread at home, although bread machine recipes often use powdered instead of liquid milk. There are also microwave versions. It's often more convenient for a home cook to make the bread rather than muffins because only a standard oven and a loaf pan are needed rather than muffin rings and a griddle. It's also less time consuming since, once it goes in the oven, the baker doesn't need to actively watch the bread cook.
Some people like to serve English muffin bread with fried eggs as sort of a food sponge, since the texture of the bread makes it ideal for getting the last drops of egg yolk. Similarly, slices can be used as the base for a ground beef sauce, or sloppy Joes. The possibilities for toppings are limited only by a person's imagination.
