Revisiting Buttermilk Crumpets!
Once you’ve tasted home-made crumpets, you will find it difficult to go back to the store bought variety. And they’re not that difficult to make. But I recommend making a big batch and freezing some – saves time when you really want to toast a few crumpets on the weekend! Buttermilk gives these crumpets a great flavour.
250g strong white flour
9g yeast
55g tepid water
275g buttermilk at room temperature
1 teaspoon caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
50g warm water
Butter for greasing and cooking
Put the flour and yeast into a large bowl. Measure the water and buttermilk and combine with the sugar.
Add this mixture to the flour/yeast and stir to combine.
Cover the bowl with cling wrap or my favourite – a plastic shower cap. Leave to rise until the mixture has almost doubled in size and has lots of bubbles.
At this point turn on your hot plate and heat a large heavy bottomed frying pan or griddle pan. It’s best to cook the crumpets in metal crumpet rings, but egg rings will do if you don’t have metal rings. Grease whatever rings you are using well with melted butter.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water, then stir into the batter.
Melt a small knob of butter in the pan and swirl it around the pan - you don’t need too much.
Place 2-3 rings in the pan, depending on the size of your rings and the pan. Spoon in enough mixture to fill about ½ to ¾ of each ring. Cook on a medium heat until bubbles then small holes appear on the tops. Crumpets are all about the holes! This should take about 3-5 minutes. Then flip the crumpets over, easing the crumpets out of the rings. Cook on the other side for a couple of minutes until the bottoms are brown.
Remove from the pan. And don’t forget to toast these crumpets before you eat them – delicious with lots of butter and honey. That’s what those holes at for!