Until I got this recipe from The Mixing Bowl in Camberwell it had never dawned on me that crumpets could be made at home. I just thought they were one of those things that you had to buy from shops. But this recipe is so easy and the crumpets so delicious I haven’t bought the packaged ones since I made my first batch. This recipe makes about 15 and the ingredients hardly cost anything – bargain!
Ingredients
450 grams unbleached bread flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3 teaspoons dry yeast
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
285 mls warm water
285 mls warm milk
Plus
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
150 mls warm water, extra
Method
1. Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. I make the mix in a large jug as it makes it easier to pour the batter into the crumpet rings, however if you don’t have a large jug you can make it in a bowl then pour into a jug just before cooking. Add the liquid ingredients, and mix thoroughly with hand mixers.
2. Cover the mix and place in a warm spot for 1 ½ hours. If the weather is cold I heat the oven to 40 degrees c, turn it off and place the mix in there. During this time the mixture will double in size (it really does, so make sure your jug/bowl is big enough) and then usually starts collapsing back down.
3. Blend the bicarb soda with the water and stir thoroughly into the mix. The batter will collapse but that’s perfectly fine, it’s what is supposed to happen.
4. Heat a large frypan over a medium-low heat. Generously butter crumpet rings and place in the pan – no need for oil, they won’t stick to the bottom. Pour enough mix in each so it comes about half way up the side. Cook until the bubbles that appear on the top of the crumpet start popping, and you can see that the batter is almost cooked.
5. Remove the crumpet rings with tongs and flip each crumpet over to cook for another minute or so. Don’t worry too much if the first lot are a little over or under cooked, sometimes it takes a few goes to get the temperature and cooking time right.
6. Place on a cooling rack and once they are cold pop in an airtight container to be enjoyed at your leisure.
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