Crumpets

I made two attempts. Although all the crumpets got eaten up, I’m not 100% satisfied with the results. Sorry, no crumpet-making classes in my kitchen just yet. My conclusion is that crumpets are essentially pancakes made in molds using a fairly thin yeast dough or batter, and are cooked mainly on one side, resulting in a crispy bottom and delicate, spongy top. I definitely plan on attempting these again, although I would like to try them with crumpet rings and see how that affects the outcome, and also would like to try some of the variations – such as using a combination of yeast and baking powder or soda, as a comparison to solely yeast-raised; and also with eggs and/or milk.

Crumpets – Attempt #1

2 1/2 tsp. yeast (I used rapid rise yeast)
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 Tbsp honey

Sprinkle yeast on top of lukewarm water (about 110*F – will feel warm on wrist or back of arm). Add flour, salt, melted butter and honey and beat 200 strokes or so until smooth. This dough is thin, really more of a batter. Cover and let rise about 1 hour. It should more than double (almost triple) in volume. (If you use regular rather than rapid rise yeast, it may take longer than an hour).

About 15 minutes before you’re ready to cook, set griddle or skillet on to heat over low to medium-low heat. Grease pan, or use nonstick skillet. Grease inside of crumpet rings (4″ across and 1″ high). Since I didn’t have crumpet rings on hand, I substituted canning rings, though I think if you had tuna tins you were able to cut the tops and bottoms out of, they might work better.

Stir the dough down thoroughly after rising (it may have fallen already – stir it anyway). Pour into each ring to cover the bottom to about 1/2″ thickness or a little more. A full 4″ muffin ring can take about 1/2 cup of batter. Use less batter if using smaller rings.

Cook until the crumpet is set. The top should fill with holes and become dry to the touch. Remove the rings. You may need to lift the crumpets off the skillet with a spatula in order to remove the rings. Turn crumpets and lightly brown the tops. Press lightly to see if it springs back to ensure it is baked all the way through.

If the top does not fill with holes…oh well. (And that’s what happened to me). Flip and brown the other side, as well. You’ve just made English muffins instead. Well, sorta almost…ha ha.

Eat fresh with butter and jam, or split and toast.

In this photo, I have split one of the crumpets/muffins and spread with butter and topped with a spoonful of jam.

Crumpets – Attempt #2

My second try at crumpets reduced the ratio of liquid to flour to 1:1.

1 (heaping) tsp yeast (or about 1 1/4 – 1 1/2 tsp.) (I used rapid rise yeast)
1 cup warm water (may substitute milk)
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp oil or melted butter
2 tsp honey or sugar

Beat all together, and let rest/rise 15 – 20 minutes while you heat the skillet. (I used a rapid rise yeast which does not require as much time to rise. If you are using regular yeast, I suggest letting it go through a first rise of about 1 hour, stirring down, and then heating the skillet.) After a trial crumpet, add a little more warm water if necessary to thin the batter. A crumpet should have holes forming all over the top as it bakes – much like a pancake. If the batter is too thick, the air bubbles won’t make it to the top.

When the crumpet is covered with holes and becomes dry on top, you can remove the crumpet rings, flip and lightly brown the other side. Or, you can cook it on just one side until the top springs back with lightly pressed, showing it is done all the way through. Best served with a topping, such as jam.

In this photo, the bottom of a crumpet is shown on the left, while the topside of a crumpet, with a spoonful of jam, is shown on the right. They are unsplit. This second batch of crumpets did not rise to nearly the height of the first batch.

VARIATIONS: Some crumpet recipes include eggs, or replace the water with milk. Some use baking powder, or baking soda and cream of tartar, as well as yeast, while others use these types of leaveners instead of yeast. Feel free to try some of the variations.

If you use yeast and do not cook all the way through, they will taste very yeasty – which is not very nice in my opinion. So, be sure to cook all the way through. Reduce heat if they are getting too brown on the bottom before the top sets.