Crumpets
Nothing is more British than tea and crumpets. At our house they are a firm favourite for breakfast. We are curmudgeonly about crumpets, only Warburtons will do. Then I saw them make crumpets on THE GREAT COMIC RELIEF BAKE OFF and I had to give crumpet making a try.
Now the thing about making crumpets is you have to use crumpet rings. I know, I didn't know there was such a thing either. A shopping trip was required. Fortunately, my mum-n-law gave me Lakeland vouchers so I could shop to my heart's content.
Now all I needed was a crumpet recipe. Oh, there's one on the back of the crumpet ring package:
200 grams sieved bread flour
50 grams plain flour
1 sachet dried yeast (I used two heaped teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50 ml water
325 ml milk
Heat the water and milk together until lukewarm.
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
With a large wooden spoon, mix the warm milk and water into the flour mixture, then whisk for a few minutes until a batter is formed.
Place a damp tea towel on top of the bowl and place in a warm place for approximately 1 hour.
The mixture should have risen and be covered in bubbles.
Generously grease the insides of the crumpet rings and add a knob of butter to a pre-heated frying pan. (I used canola oil).
Add the crumpet rings to the frying pan and add approximately 2 tablespoons of crumpet mixture to each ring. (rings should be just under half full)
Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until the surface has bubbled, formed holes, and has dried out.
Remove the rings when the mixture shrinks away from the sides of the crumpets. CAUTION: rings will be very HOT!
Flip the crumpets over and cook for a few seconds so the tops can brown.
Serve warm with butter and jam or save and toast for breakfast.
They don't look bad for my first attempt... take that Mr. Warburton!
Now the thing about making crumpets is you have to use crumpet rings. I know, I didn't know there was such a thing either. A shopping trip was required. Fortunately, my mum-n-law gave me Lakeland vouchers so I could shop to my heart's content.
Now all I needed was a crumpet recipe. Oh, there's one on the back of the crumpet ring package:
200 grams sieved bread flour
50 grams plain flour
1 sachet dried yeast (I used two heaped teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50 ml water
325 ml milk
Heat the water and milk together until lukewarm.
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
With a large wooden spoon, mix the warm milk and water into the flour mixture, then whisk for a few minutes until a batter is formed.
Place a damp tea towel on top of the bowl and place in a warm place for approximately 1 hour.
The mixture should have risen and be covered in bubbles.
Generously grease the insides of the crumpet rings and add a knob of butter to a pre-heated frying pan. (I used canola oil).
Add the crumpet rings to the frying pan and add approximately 2 tablespoons of crumpet mixture to each ring. (rings should be just under half full)
Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until the surface has bubbled, formed holes, and has dried out.
Remove the rings when the mixture shrinks away from the sides of the crumpets. CAUTION: rings will be very HOT!
Flip the crumpets over and cook for a few seconds so the tops can brown.
They don't look bad for my first attempt... take that Mr. Warburton!
Well done I saw the bake off, I thought they all did very well. Yours as all your baking does looks delicious, I like mine with butter and marmite, how do you like yours ?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind complement! I like my crumpets oozing with butter with a cup a tea on the side.
DeleteNow these are awesome! I have never had one and think that I ought to try to make some!!! Thanks for sharing friend! Happy weekend to you!! Nicole xo
ReplyDeleteI never made or tried crumpets, but they look delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful Sunday, here the weather is bright and sunny.
Janneke
They "don't look bad"? These look fantastic! There are a couple of cake shops in London that serve crumpets, and I wish more places would. There's a lovely passage in Nick Hornby's book, About a Boy, about how crumpets are better than toast:
ReplyDelete"It was much better than buttering toast, because with toast you had that thing where if the butter is too cold and hard all you could do was scrape off the brown that made toast what it was, and he hated that. With crumpets it was effortless: you just put a lump of butter on top, waited for a few seconds, then messed it about until it started to disappear into the holes. It was one of the few occasions in life where things seemed to go right every time."
These look very good - much better than those on the Bake-off I have to say!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I can't imagine being on the Bake Off. I couldn't take the stress. : )
DeleteThey look amazing for your first attempt! Definately star baker Debs!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you! : D
DeleteFantastic! I've made pikelets which are kind of flat versions (ie crumpet rings not required) but I do love crumpets. May be I'll jjust nip over to the Lakeland website...
ReplyDeleteIt took a bit to get the batter to the right consistency but I finally got there in the end : D I should have tried pikelets first and worked my way up to crumpets.
DeleteI think you have made some wonderful crumpets, I can almost taste them with the butter all melted and oozing out as you bite into them.
ReplyDeleteWould you make them again? I remember my sister making them a few years ago, they tasted so nice fresh off the griddle but she decided they were too much of a faff to make again.
Angela - Garden Tea Cakes and Me
Thanks, Angela! : D I've invested in the crumpet rings so I'll make them again. I will try some different recipes to see how they vary. Crumpets, like scones, need practice to make a really exceptional one. I need more practice.
Delete