I hadn’t made crumpets in a while, and was craving them recently so I made a batch. Several people on Twitter & BlueSky expressed interest, so I decided to share my recipe. You can’t make them without crumpet rings; when I got mine they were fairly difficult to find, but I imagine finding them on the internet would be no big deal. Since crumpets are eaten toasted anyhow, it’s best to make these earlier in the day or even the day before you actually want them. I’m assuming most of my UK readers who cook already have a recipe, so I’ll just use standard US cooking measurements here.
2 1/4 cups flour
1 packet yeast (I like the quick-rise kind)
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp warm water
1) Mix milk, 1 1/2 cups warm water, salt & sugar in a small saucepan and heat until warm (not hot). Mix flour and yeast; add liquid and beat with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then high for 3 minutes. Cover with a towel and let stand in a warm place for 1 hour.
2) Mix baking soda into the 2 tbsp warm water; add to the batter and mix well. I usually just let my stand mixer set up during the wait time so I don’t have to dirty another beater. Let stand covered in a warm place for 10 minutes; meanwhile, grease crumpets rings, place them on a griddle or large skillet, and preheat over medium heat.
3) Ladle the batter into each ring, filling about 3/4 of the way up. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the tops are mostly dry (the middles will usually be still wet). Remove rings with kitchen tongs and set aside; flip each crumpet with a spatula and cook for another minute. Remove to a cooling rack.
TIPS: Keep your eye on the griddle temperature; I use a cast-iron skillet so I usually need to nudge the heat down after the first batch to avoid burning the bottoms. Also, since you want to regrease the rings for each batch, I find cooking spray is the fastest & easiest way to go.
SERVING: Toast the crumpets when you’re ready to eat them; I find it’s best to do them just a notch lower than you would sliced bread (unless you’re one of those barbarians who like your toast burnt, in which case do them several notches lower). They’re great with butter, clotted cream, jam or marmalade, lemon curd, anything like that. One of my readers said he likes them with Marmite, which I have not tried but sounds interesting. This recipe will make roughly a dozen or just under, so put any you’re not going to eat that day in a sealed Tupperware-type container. Anyway, that’s all there is to it; the thing I love best about them is their texture, much more like a proper waffle or pancake than an English muffin. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply