Sourdough English Muffins

Hi All,
The weather is getting cooler so I thought it was time to start using The Mooshe(my sourdough starter) again. I have been building him up for a bread bake( hopefully later on this week) and wanted to see how strong he is so I made some English Muffins. The recipe is from the Wild Yeast blog. I changed some of the ingredient amounts and technique somewhat. I am posting the original along with my changes. I will also include some comments from the blog. This is the second recipe I've tried, have 2 more to do then will decide which one is my favorite, here is recipe # 2. 
Sourdough English Muffins, makes 8-10. I made 8.
Sponge: 
110 grams 100% hydration Sourdough Starter (The Mooshe), unfed
160 grams AP flour. I used bread flour.
100 grams whole wheat flour
276 grams milk. I used whole milk. Non-dairy milk is ok to use, hazelnut, almond or Trader's light coconut milk.

In a medium bowl, mix the above Sponge ingredients until just combined. Cover and let rest 8 hours or overnight at room temperature.

Final Dough:
75 grams flour. I used AP flour
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking soda 
1 1/2 tsps agave or honey. I used 2 tsps honey.
All of the above Sponge

Add " final dough ingredients" to the "Sponge" and mix to roughly combine. Turn out onto counter and hand mix 7-8 minutes or until surface becomes smooth. Dough will be very sticky and soft at first. Resist the urge to add more flour, it will become less sticky with mixing. I saw that the dough was way too sticky to turn out onto an unfloured surface so I stretched and folded the dough for about 7 minutes in the bowl. I did the stretch and folds with wet hands to prevent sticking.

Flour the counter and your hands well, roll or pat the dough out to 1/2" thickness. Cut into 3" circles and place on a semolina dusted parchment paper. Cover and let proof 45-60 minutes ( don't worry if you don't see any rise). I pulled off 92 gram pieces of dough, shaped them into a rough round and put them onto the semolina dusted parchment paper lined jelly roll pan, then I dusted the tops with more semolina and covered them with plastic wrap. I let it proof at room temperature 60 minutes and I didn't notice any rise.

Lightly oil a griddle (I used a 12" cast iron pan) and heat over medium-low heat. Cook muffins 7-8 minutes per side or until browned and sides are firm. I used muffin rings. I greased and preheated them. I put the dough rounds into the rings and cooked them 7 minutes on each side. The last 2 I cooked without the rings, they kept their shape and rose very well. I fork split one to see if it was cooked through, it was but a little moist so I baked them all in a preheated 350F oven for 7 minutes and that dried them out a bit more without overcooking them. Remove muffins from pan/oven to cool completely on a rack. I ate one while still warm, it had small nooks and crannies and a mild tang, yum. Once cooled I fork split them, wrapped each one in plastic, then into a ziplock bag. Will keep at room temperature a couple of days then leftovers will go into the freezer. Enjoy Joyce
Comments from blog:
Recipe works with dairy free milk. Light coconut milk from Trader Joe's smell funky, tastes great. Homemade hazelnut milk tasted the best.

Slap and folds makes handling this very wet dough easier without adding extra flour per recipe instructions.

Do stretch and folds in bowl 7-8 minutes, using wet hands (each time) under running water and used spatula (each time) to pick up dough and grabbed a handful, then patted dough (with wet hands) to form into 3" round, 1/2" thick muffins.

Can use all white flour, whole wheat ,spelt, or white whole wheat. Can use a white or whole wheat Starter. 

Can add 1/4 cup wheat germ to the dough.

Do not add anymore flour than the recipe calls for. The kneading/ mixing/ stretch and folds should tighten up the dough. 

Pumpernickel variation: Use bread flour for the AP flour, rye flour for the whole wheat flour, use 5 grams unsweetened cocoa powder, 70 grams white flour instead of the 75 grams, 1 1/2 Tbsps molasses instead of the agave/ honey and add 1 tsp caraway seeds.

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