Crumpets

Ingredients

  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp dried active yeast
  • 1 tsp caster sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 250ml whole milk
  • Water
  • Cooking oil

Method - Preparing the Batter

  1. Warm up the milk in the microwave (in 10 seconds increments) until lukewarm, then stir in the sugar and yeast and let it sit for a few minutes until frothy.
  2. Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl, add the frothy milk mixture and stir until you reach a smooth lump free batter.
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  3. Cover the bowl with cling film and let the batter rise in a warm place for at least an hour. The best way to do this, especially on cold days, is to turn on the oven on to low (about 100C) and place the bowl on the opened door. Note: don’t skip this step, this is necessary for the yeast to take action.
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  4. Once risen, stir the batter gently and add a bit of warm water (one tablespoon at a time) if the batter has gotten too thick. Just enough to make it a bit runny again. This is important in order to get all these little crumpet holes. In fact, in between each batch of crumpets, keep adding a tablespoon or two of warm water to the rest of the batter.

Method – Cooking the Crumpets

  1. Heat up a non-stick frying pan on low heat (must be low heat) with a bit of cooking oil of your choice.
  2. Dip the crumpet rings in oil and place them on the hot pan. Note: if you don’t have crumpet rings, you can use egg rings, cookie cutters or even mason jar lids but you’ll need something circular (and preferably as non-stick as possible) to shape up the crumpets.
  3. Pour two or three tablespoons of batter in each ring, or until the batter reaches the very top of the ring, start your timer and cook for about 5 minutes without touching, moving or disturbing the crumpets at any point during the process. The batter will bubble up, then when the surface of the crumpets is no longer wet and the bubbles pop leaving little holes, it’s time to flip the crumpets.
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  4. Flip the crumpets and cook for up to one minute extra, until the tops are fully cooked and a light golden colour.
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